Suspect in disappearance of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, kills self when confronted by police after remains are found.

[CountAntonio]

WAPO
The family of missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén said Wednesday that her likely remains were found in a shallow grave near the Army installation in Texas, possibly bringing a months-long search for her to a tragic end.

Guillén, 20, was last seen on the morning of April 22 in the parking lot outside her regiment headquarters on the sprawling base outside Killeen.

Her disappearance, punctuated by allegations that she had been sexually harassed by a superior, sparked sadness and rage within her family and the Latino community, who said the Army's investigative efforts after her disappearance moved too slowly.

"We lost a beautiful young soldier," family attorney Natalie Khawam said at a news conference with Guillén's family outside the Navy Memorial in Washington.

Killeen police encountered a suspect tied to Guillén's disappearance early Wednesday. The fellow soldier "reportedly displayed a weapon and took his own life," Army investigators said.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Much more at link. Tragic case that is far from done. Rest In Peace Vanessa.




Update
"Federal and military investigators say a soldier missing since April was killed and dismembered by a fellow soldier stationed at the same Texas base."

 

[Z-Beat]

Damn, RIP

Was the suspect the superior who was harassing her?

 

[CountAntonio]

Damn, RIP

Was the suspect the superior who was harassing her?

Click to shrink...

They haven't been identified yet.

 

[Mariolee]

Jesus, what a heartbreakingly tragic story.

 

[onadesertedisland]

Ft Hood ignored this until it received national attention

 

[CountAntonio]

Jesus, what a heartbreakingly tragic story.

Click to shrink...

Yeah and it's been outgoing for awhile now. Her family has been very vocal from the beginning and ignored until celebs started taking up the cause on social media. The remains were found only recently.

 

[Volimar]

I wonder how many others may have been involved.

 

[entremet]

Ft Hood ignored this until it received national attention

Click to shrink...

Of course, they did. The military is notoriously terrible for women.

A culture that fosters sexual assaults and sexual harassment persists despite prevention efforts, a new Pentagon study shows

The new 2019 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Report includes harrowing feedback from troops.

www.militarytimes.com

 

[CountAntonio]

Ft Hood ignored this until it received national attention

Click to shrink...

Can't imagine the rage this family must feel.

 

[Cyborg009]

This deserves more attention.

 

[RocketKiss]

This great Fort Hood which helped win WW2 and in which nothing horrible ever happened really needs to keep its Confederate namesake

 

[hateradio]

That's so tragic. :/

Of course, they did. The military is notoriously terrible for women.

A culture that fosters sexual assaults and sexual harassment persists despite prevention efforts, a new Pentagon study shows

The new 2019 Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Report includes harrowing feedback from troops.

www.militarytimes.com

Click to shrink...

Military has been continuously awful at addressing sexual assault.

 

[taro]

Yeah and it's been outgoing for awhile now. Her family has been very vocal from the beginning and ignored until celebs started taking up the cause on social media. The remains were found only recently.

Click to shrink...

I didn't hear about this story until Salma Hayek started putting it out there but have paid attention since. I wish this ended better for Guillen and her family.

 

[UltimateHigh]

women being harrassed/assaulted in the armed forces is a very real issue that gets zero coverage.

 

[nanskee]

They should shut that entire base down, this shit is infuriating

 

[entremet]

women being harrassed/assaulted in the armed forces is a very real issue that gets zero coverage.

Click to shrink...

The big problem here is that she disappeared for weeks before a serious investigation started.

It's absolute neglect.

 

[entremet]

Poor family. Her sisters are clearly devastated, but more by the lack of urgency in her case.

 

[Travo]

The Army should've done better. This pisses me off.

 

[HiLife]

I was wondering why this wasn't being covered here that much, unless I missed it. This has been circulating amongst veteran circles since the missing reports went public. Just another reason I'm happy to be out. So much complacency in the armed forces.

 

[krazen]

Depressing for all the 'we protect our own' apparently that doesn't cover women soldiers.

 

[Pirate Bae]

Hey all, not sure how many of you were aware of this story circulating around the news, but I wanted to make a thread about it to bring attention and awareness to these issues.


On April 22, PFC Vanessa Guillen went missing from a Ft Hood, TX parking lot. She was wearing civilian clothing and her keys, ID and other personal affects were found in her work locker.

In the months leading up to her disappearance, her family reported to investigators that she was being sexually harassed by a superior at work. His supervision, in turn, essentially brushed it under the rug and did nothing about the situation.

She went missing when she threatened to report him.

For two months, the Army barely did anything to investigate her disappearance. Guillen's family and attorney went to the media and social media and expressed their outrage, which finally made the Army do something about it.

On Tuesday, her remains were found in a shallow grave covered in cement. The medical examiner is still conducting an autopsy to confirm her identity, but it's most likely Guillen.

Yesterday, police went to the home of their suspect (her supervisor) and when they tried to make contact, he shot and killed himself. Police have arrested another civilian suspect in the case, but refuse to release their identities at this point.

This is the second murder / disappearance from Ft Hood in the past year.

You can read more about how atrociously the Army handled the case and how they failed to protect a sexual assault victim and one of their own here .

The Department of Defense as a whole needs to do better for victims and women. This isn't the first time something like this has happened.

 

[Lakershead22]

I've been following this story ever since I went to visit my mom and she was watching a report on it on Univision. Just awful. Rest in piece.

 

[mbpm]

I was seeing people say on their timeline how the Army would raise hell and try to locate them even if they were just late to an inspection or something, and that the way she could just disappear made no (good) sense.

 

[nsilvias]

this story has been pretty big on the spanish news. not really surprised if no one outside of the community knows

 

[Combichristoffersen]

The army covering up harassment of female soldiers? Surely you jest.

 

[Siggy-P]

Seen this story all over Reddit the past week or so.

They did protect their own; the supervisor. They have perfected an institution whereby the rapists are considered to be good soldiers and the victims are considered to be the problem causers.

 

[entremet]

Same topic:

Suspect in disappearance of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, kills self when confronted by police after remains are found.

WAPO The family of missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén said Wednesday that her likely remains were found in a shallow grave near the Army installation in Texas, possibly bringing a months-long search for her to a tragic end. Guillén, 20, was last seen on the morning of April 22 in the...

www.resetera.com

 

[Vertpin]

Absolutely horrifying. Wow...WTF?

 

[Contraband]

Wasn't their a sex trafficking ring running out of Fort Hood ?

Military Industrial Complex doing what it does.

EDIT - yeeep: https://www.kcentv.com/amp/article/...ting/500-50536a9e-d39c-4274-8578-206e65d634b3

 

[Deleted member 5086]

This is so awful. Everyone who both tried to cover up the sexual harassment and disappearance need to face consequences.

 

[Hiphopopotamus]

You give up your civil rights and do a job for your country that pays shit and often leaves you with few skills useful in the civilian realm, only to have your institution fail you so spectacularly to protect the career of some sociopaths with stripes on their sleeves.

Rest In Power Ms. Guillen

 

[ThatMeanScene]

Heartbreaking. F*** the killer and the military for not doing enough.

 

[Pirate Bae]

Update from the Guillen family attorney:

The information was provided to the attorney by Army Criminal Investigation Command. Fort Hood officials declined to comment on this narrative of events inside the armory when asked during a press conference on Thursday and by Army Times over the telephone because of their stated need to protect the ongoing investigation.

Robinson allegedly attacked the 20-year-old Guillen with a hammer, attorney Natalie Khawam told Army Times.

"This heinous act caused her blood to be splashed all over the armory room," said Khawam, who stated that she learned the information during a four-hour meeting with Army CID.

After Guillen was dead, Robinson allegedly contacted his married girlfriend "to help him bury her bloody body," Khawam said in the statement to Army Times. "At first they tried to set her on fire, but she wouldn't burn. Then they dismembered this beautiful U.S. soldier's body with a machete."

...


Guillen's unit, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, has also opened an investigation into allegations brought forth by her family that she suffered from sexual harassment by a supervisor.

"She was afraid to [report it] because the sexual harassment was coming from her superiors, so her concern was the retaliation, being blackballed," Khawam explained during the press conference. "We believe the person that killed her is that person that sexually harassed her."

Click to shrink...

Source

 

[Mr Jones]

That's fucking heinous.

How many others knew about her murder? Get them all.

 

[PhaZe 5]

Holy shit

 

[LakeEarth]

I was under the impression that going "AWOL" was something the Army took seriously. Why did it take two months a public outcry for them to do anything in this case?

 

[Deleted member 24118]

I was under the impression that going "AWOL" was something the Army took seriously. Why did it take two months a public outcry for them to do anything in this case?

Click to shrink...

CID started investigating the day after she went missing and they had people sweeping the fields. It's kind of hard to say that they did or didn't do anything, most investigation departments tend to be pretty closed-mouth until they actually have something to say, but I don't really think it's fair to assume they did literally nothing for two months and then one day evidence fell into their laps that resulted in them arresting two suspects and a third killing himself.

Not that they're necessarily good about it. Last year a guy disappeared and they just wrote him off as a deserter, did basically nothing for a year until someone stumbled across his remains in a field last week.

Redirect Notice

You give up your civil rights and do a job for your country that pays shit and often leaves you with few skills useful in the civilian realm, only to have your institution fail you so spectacularly to protect the career of some sociopaths with stripes on their sleeves.

Rest In Power Ms. Guillen

Click to shrink...

The guy had no stripes, he was an E4. Pretty much anyone above the rank of E4 is cool with ruining an E4's career.

I don't really think there's some big conspiracy here. Just because it didn't hit your local news station or facebook feed until 2 months after she had been missing doesnt mean nothing was done when she went missing.

 

[Pirate Bae]

CID started investigating the day after she went missing and they had people sweeping the fields. It's kind of hard to say that they did or didn't do anything, most investigation departments tend to be pretty closed-mouth until they actually have something to say, but I don't really think it's fair to assume they did literally nothing for two months and then one day evidence fell into their laps that resulted in them arresting two suspects and a third killing himself.

Not that they're necessarily good about it. Last year a guy disappeared and they just wrote him off as a deserter, did basically nothing for a year until someone stumbled across his remains in a field last week.

Redirect Notice

The guy had no stripes, he was an E4. Pretty much anyone above the rank of E4 is cool with ruining an E4's career.

I don't really think there's some big conspiracy here. Just because it didn't hit your local news station or facebook feed until 2 months after she had been missing doesnt mean nothing was done when she went missing.

Click to shrink...

Not to mention the only reason they found his remains was because they were looking for Guillen., the victim in this case.

Ft. Hood is under a lot of deserved scrutiny because of the sexual assault accusations and how Guillen's command failed to address them properly, not to mention the lack of response to her disappearance and the other one they labeled a deserter. They're getting a full Inspector General investigation by the DoD.

 

[Deleted member 24118]

Not to mention the only reason they found his remains was because they were looking for Guillen., the victim in this case.

Ft. Hood is under a lot of deserved scrutiny because of the sexual assault accusations and how Guillen's command failed to address them properly, not to mention the lack of response to her disappearance and the other one they labeled a deserter. They're getting a full Inspector General investigation by the DoD.

Click to shrink...

She didn't report it, as per the article you posted earlier:

"She was afraid to [report it] because the sexual harassment was coming from her superiors, so her concern was the retaliation, being blackballed,"

Sexual assault victims in the military being afraid to bring reports forward is a real and serious issue, but in this case the reason the Army failed to address it is obvious - she didn't report it to the Army or the police, so how were they supposed to know?

Entirely possible and likely she was intimidated, or didn't want to make a scene, or didn't think it'd be taken seriously, or any number of reasons. But I don't expect the Army to have known about the harassment.

Their failure to actually notify her family until they started calling people is fucked up though.

 

[Pirate Bae]

She didn't report it, as per the article you posted earlier:

"She was afraid to [report it] because the sexual harassment was coming from her superiors, so her concern was the retaliation, being blackballed,"

Sexual assault victims in the military being afraid to bring reports forward is a real and serious issue, but in this case the reason the Army failed to address it is obvious - she didn't report it to the Army or the police, so how were they supposed to know?

Entirely possible and likely she was intimidated, or didn't want to make a scene, or didn't think it'd be taken seriously, or any number of reasons. But I don't expect the Army to have known about the harassment.

Their failure to actually notify her family until they started calling people is fucked up though.

Click to shrink...

Yeah that's what I meant, sorry for miscommunication

 

[dallow_bg]

Ugh. Just read the details on local news.
So incredibly gruesome and disheartening.

Court Docs: Missing Texas Soldier Was Killed at Fort Hood

Federal and military investigators say a soldier missing since April was killed and dismembered by a fellow soldier stationed at the same Texas base. The revelation followed demands for the Army to release details about its investigation of the disappearance.

www.nbcdfw.com

 

[Zoe]

How the fuck could all of that have happened on base. Do they not have any kind of surveillance?

 

[RedBlue]

Ft Hood ignored this until it received national attention

Click to shrink...

Someone that i grew up with who was in the army and was stationed at Fort Hood for a while pretty much said he's not surprised. Him and his friends that served with him all said the same thing.

 

[Charcoal]

How the fuck could all of that have happened on base. Do they not have any kind of surveillance?

Click to shrink...

Outside of certain secure areas and the gates to the base, not really. I lived on a massive base and there were multiple areas where you could totally disappear.

 

[Deleted member 64002]

Hey all, not sure how many of you were aware of this story circulating around the news, but I wanted to make a thread about it to bring attention and awareness to these issues.


On April 22, PFC Vanessa Guillen went missing from a Ft Hood, TX parking lot. She was wearing civilian clothing and her keys, ID and other personal affects were found in her work locker.

In the months leading up to her disappearance, her family reported to investigators that she was being sexually harassed by a superior at work. His supervision, in turn, essentially brushed it under the rug and did nothing about the situation.

She went missing when she threatened to report him.

For two months, the Army barely did anything to investigate her disappearance. Guillen's family and attorney went to the media and social media and expressed their outrage, which finally made the Army do something about it.

On Tuesday, her remains were found in a shallow grave covered in cement. The medical examiner is still conducting an autopsy to confirm her identity, but it's most likely Guillen.

Yesterday, police went to the home of their suspect (her supervisor) and when they tried to make contact, he shot and killed himself. Police have arrested another civilian suspect in the case, but refuse to release their identities at this point.

This is the second murder / disappearance from Ft Hood in the past year.

You can read more about how atrociously the Army handled the case and how they failed to protect a sexual assault victim and one of their own here .

The Department of Defense as a whole needs to do better for victims and women. This isn't the first time something like this has happened.

Click to shrink...

There are so many stories like hers it's really sad. Just people end up disappearing or end up dead and the military just sweeps it under the rug.
There's one story I remember about a guy getting sexually assaulted and having to defend his friend in a trial. He ends up being found dead and hung later when he was sent in undercover to interview the woman. The military ruled it as a suicide but the coroner basically said that's not what happened. And then the military lied and did the slowest sloppiest investigation ever. So this poor family had to fight and advocate for their son to get any results whatsoever. To this day it's still ongoing and it's unclear wether or not the case will be reopened. His name was Kyle Antonacci and he's been dead since 2010.

 

[Chaos-Theory]

You give up your civil rights and do a job for your country that pays shit and often leaves you with few skills useful in the civilian realm, only to have your institution fail you so spectacularly to protect the career of some sociopaths with stripes on their sleeves.

Rest In Power Ms. Guillen

Click to shrink...

Military members do not get paid shit. Back in 2008, I was an E5 with six years getting paid shy of $30k a year in base salary, received $1200 per month in BAH (basic housing allowance) and over $200 per month in BAS (basic allowance for subsistence). Both BAH and BAS are non-taxable, plus I had free healthcare.

I had a lot of disposable cash each month, and the GI Bill once I got out that paid for my education and rent.

How the fuck could all of that have happened on base. Do they not have any kind of surveillance?

Click to shrink...

There are plenty of areas on base where there are no cameras, whether it's an a Navy, Army, Marine, or Air Force base.

 

[Chaos-Theory]

And as for the OP, it's not surprising and quite sad.

I'm glad I got out of the military. Different spanks for different ranks, plus office politics I couldn't stand.

 

[KG]

Wow, this is sad. My condolences to the family. Fuck this military base, this could have been prevented if she felt comfortable reporting the sexual assault. But alas, men rarely take these accusations seriously.

 

[orlock]

anecdotally, my SIL and a couple of other acquaintances who are all still serving or have previously served in the military ALL say that Fort Hood has a reputation for this kind of behavior. none of them are surprised to have heard about this. whether thats true or hearsay, i cant say, but it always seemed to me that the military as a general thing is basically like the police force, but writ incredibly large - they can only "police" themselves, seems like there's no legitimate accountability, things get swept away or covered up to just maintain the status quo...

Spoiler: somewhat baseless speculation - if not allowed, will delete

personal opinion, but knowing what my partner has said about her father's time as an MP on base... i honestly wouldnt be surprised if they let this dude seriously kill himself even if they could have stopped him. just stood there and let him do it to wrap this up, or maybe even encouraged him.

 

[Sunster]

Ft Hood ignored this until it received national attention

Click to shrink...

The US military is not safe for women. Change my mind.