Attorney of missing Fort Hood soldier’s family says she was killed in armory, dismembered

An attorney representing the family of a Fort Hood soldier who was found dead on the base said Thursday that a fellow soldier killed her in the armory before dismembering her body.

CNN reported Thursday that the family’s attorney, Natalie Khawam, told reporters that Spc. Vanessa Guillen was killed with a hammer before her alleged attacker, Spc. Aaron David Robinson, and his girlfriend, Cecily Anne Aguilar, allegedly attempted to burn her body before dismembering her with a machete. 

Robinson died by suicide just days ago after being confronted by police in Killeen, Texas, according to U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID).

“While law enforcement agencies attempted to make contact with the suspect in Killeen, Texas, Specialist Robinson displayed a weapon and took his own life,” a spokesman for CID added at a news conference Thursday, according to CNN.

Khawam said that 20-year-old Guillen had planned to file a harassment complaint against Robinson before her death.

“She was afraid to [report it] because the sexual harassment was coming from her superiors, so her concern was the retaliation, being blackballed,” Khawam said, according to CNN. “We believe the person that killed her is that person that sexually harassed her.”

The CID spokesperson contended at the agency’s press conference that there was “no credible information” that Guillen had faced sexual harassment. Her family is calling for a congressional investigation.

“Our hearts are broken. We feel pain, frustration and devastation. This shouldn’t have happened. We demand a congressional investigation. We demand the truth,” said Khawam.

“If this could happen to Vanessa, this can happen to any one of our sisters, daughters and mothers. There’s no reason why a young beautiful girl who joined the Army, to honorably serve our country, should be in a shallow grave near on our own turf,” she added.

Robinson’s girlfriend, Aguilar, is charged with second-degree felony tampering/fabricating physical evidence, with intent to impair a human corpse, as well as a federal charge of conspiracy to tamper with evidence.