Houston mayor Sylvester Turner visits Vanessa Guillen memorial after Fort Hood soldier’s gruesome death details emerge
HOUSTON Mayor Sylvester Turner paid a visit to a mural for Vanessa Guillen, days after gruesome details about the slain Fort Hood soldier’s death emerged.
Turner, who visited the memorial in Taqueria Del Sol in south Houston on the Fourth of July, placed a lily among the piles of flowers in front of the mural, and spoke about the need to honor Guillen’s service.
“On this Fourth of July, as we commemorate our country’s freedom and founding ideals, we also honor Vanessa’s service in the United States military,” Turner said, according to ABC 13. “The City of Houston stands in solidarity with the Guillen family in their grief and in their search for justice.”
Guillen, who is presumed to have been brutally killed by a fellow soldier on April 22 after going missing from the Fort Hood base, enlisted in the US Army after graduating high school in Houston. She was just 20 years old.
A march was also held on Saturday to honor the slain soldier from Discovery Green to Houston’s City Hall, ABC 13 reported.
Horrific details about Guillen’s death emerged last week, as human remains were found encased in concrete near the Fort Hood base where the young soldier was stationed. The family attorney, Natalie Kwaham, said in an interview that authorities told her Guillen was bludgeoned to death with a hammer, chopped up into pieces and later encased in concrete.
Officials initially announced that there were two suspects in the soldier’s death – one fellow soldier and one civilian. It was later confirmed that the suspected soldier, US Army Specialist Aaron Robinson, killed himself after authorities attempted to make contact with him.
The civilian suspect, 22-year-old Cecily Anne Aguilar, was reportedly dating Robinson and is believed to be involved with helping to dismember and dispose of Guillen’s body.
Aguilar is charged with one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence, the US Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Texas announced on Thursday.
Aguilar confessed to being involved with attempting to dismember and hide Guillen’s body, according to a detailed affidavit obtained by Crime Online. Robinson reportedly told her that he had beaten a female soldier with a hammer, and she agreed to meet up with him that evening and help hack the victim’s body apart, according to the confession.
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They then buried Guillen is three separate shallow graves.
Aguilar now faces up to 20 years in prison with a maximum $250,000 fine.
She will remain in custody as she awaits her initial court hearing, which is expected to take place early next week.