Army investigators have identified the body of a soldier who vanished more than two months ago from a base in Texas, a lawyer for the soldier’s family told CBS News correspondent Mireya Villareal. Remains found last week buried near Fort Hood belong to Spc. Vanessa Guillén and Army officials informed her family in Houston Sunday, attorney Natalie Khawam said.
Guillén, who had been missing since April, was killed and dismembered by a fellow soldier who took his own life last week, federal and military investigators have said.
Human remains were found Tuesday near the Leon River in Bell County, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Fort Hood, during a the search for Guillén. An Army spokesman said earlier Sunday that they were still waiting for positive identification of the remains.
Investigators were unable to use dental records to identify Guillén because of the state of her remains and instead used DNA from bone and hair samples, Khawam said. Guillén’s family received the information in the company of their priest, she said.
Army officials identified the soldier suspected in Guillén’s disappearance as Aaron David Robinson. Cecily Aguilar, a 22-year-old civilian from a community near near Fort Hood, was arrested and charged with one count for allegedly helping hide the body of 20-year-old solider, according to a criminal complaint.
According to a complaint, Aguilar confessed and said Robinson repeatedly hit Guillen with a hammer, killing her, at Fort Hood on April 22. She was then mutilated and burned in an attempt to dispose of the body with Aguilar’s help, according to the confession. Aguilar, Robinson’s girlfriend, described the series of events to investigators during an interview on June 30.
Guillén’s family has said that they believe she was sexually harassed by Robinson and is calling for a congressional investigation.
Mayra Guillen said last week that her sister had spoken with their mother about experiencing sexual harassment, but that her mother has been too devastated to talk about it. From their text conversations, Mayra Guillen said she believed her sister was afraid during her time at Fort Hood.
Khawam said Sunday that military sexual harassment is “epidemic” and demands attention from Congress. “You can’t turn a blind eye anymore,” she said.
