More than 2 years after the brutal murder of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen, the only person charged in connection with her death pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder After the fact and three other allegations.
Guillén, who was 20 at the time, disappeared from Ft. Hood Army Base in Texas on April 22, 2020. His remains were discovered on June 30 and investigators determined that he had been bludgeoned to death on the base by another soldier, Aaron David Robinson, who had hidden his body elsewhere. Robinson, who was in custody at the time, fled and fled, and later killed himself with a handgun when law enforcement attempted to apprehend him.
Aguilar was Robinson’s girlfriend and investigators allege she helped Robinson dismember Guillen and hide his remains. Aguilar was arrested on July 2 and told investigators that Robinson killed Guillén to cover up his relationship with Aguilar.
On Tuesday, Aguilar pleaded guilty to three counts of accessory to murder and making false statements after the fact. According to federal prosecutors, she engaged in “corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating and concealing evidence”.
Complicating the matter, Guillén told his mother before his murder that he had been sexually assaulted by an army sergeant and that the complaints were dismissed by his superiors in the army. The investigation into her death exposed deep problems in the military regarding sexual assault and directly prompted President Joe Biden to declare sexual assault a specific offense under the uniform code of military justice.
The case was detailed in the Netflix documentary “I Am Vanessa Guillen,” which tracks Guillen’s family’s efforts to bring her to justice. It started on 17 November.