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Tasfia Ahmad writes about the apparent murder of Vanessa Guillén: a young American solider who was reportedly killed by another troop: Aaron Robinson. This article discusses the disturbing circumstances surrounding her death, including the claims of sexual assault which Guillén feared would be dismissed. Guillén's death has triggered the “#IAmVanessaGuillén” movement, as other female soldiers have begun to share similar experiences.
20-year-old Vanessa Guillén was last seen at Fort Hood in Central Texas on the 22nd of April. A commissioned officer notified the Army Criminal Investigation Command about Guillén’s disappearance and a search ensued.
Over the course of these past two months, the Army Criminal Investigation Command has been investigating new suspects such as Aaron David Robinson, who was the last person Vanessa called before her disappearance. On April 30, Secretary of the Army Ryan D. McCarthy commenced a COVID-19 briefing by stating: “I'd like to start out this morning by talking about a missing soldier, Private First Class Vanessa Guillén, in hopes of increasing the public's awareness and assistance in finding her. Private First Class Guillén went missing on 22 April from Fort Hood, Texas. In concert with local law enforcement efforts, the Army will continue aggressively searching for her. Our hearts go out to her family, and we will not stop looking for her until we find her.” The secretary released a reward poster and from there, Guillén's family and many others launched social media campaigns in the hopes of finding her. However, on June 30 at Leon River, a body was found, bludgeoned by a hammer, and dismembered with a machete, according to the criminal complaint. On July 5th, the body was confirmed to be Vanessa Guillén's.
Vanessa Guillén was a small-arms repairer with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment. She was supposed to be promoted to Specialist Vanessa Guillén on Wednesday July 8th after serving her time in the military. Vanessa’s little sister, Lupe Guillén said, “My sister Vanessa Guillén, since she was a little girl, like about 10 years old, she used to tell my mom how she wanted to be a soldier because she wanted to protect and serve the nation. She wanted to be a fighter. She wanted to be a hero. She wanted to be someone in life.” Guillén was last seen with Aaron Robinson, a specialist who is accused of killing Guillén and dismembering her body. Robinson was under scrutiny due to having been seen with Guillén, and calling her before she went missing. Robinson was questioned on April 28 about Vanessa’s disappearance, but told the Army Criminal Investigative Command that, on the day of Guillén’s disappearance, he went straight to work and to the off-post residence in Killeen that he shared with his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar.
The couple were no longer questioned until two witnesses released new information on May 18th. The witnesses claimed to have seen Robinson pulling a large wheeled box out of the Fort Hood arms room, where Robinson worked. They said he loaded the box into his vehicle and he drove off. On May 19th, Robinson consented to a search of his mobile phone logs. It was found that, on the morning of April 23rd, he had made calls of over a minute long from the Leon River, 25 miles east of Fort Hood. Aguilar’s phone was at the same place on both April 23 and April 26.
However, before Robinson could be questioned, he committed suicide after being approached the Killeen police, leaving Cecily Aguilar left to tell the public the truth. She recalled that, on the day Vanessa disappeared, Robinson picked her up from the gas station where she worked, and drove her to an area near Leon River. When the two arrived at the destination, Robinson walked her to a plastic box and from there, revealed Vanessa’s dead body to Aguilar. He admitted to her that he bludgeoned Vanessa with a hammer and, later on, they used a “hatchet or axe and a machete-type knife” to dismember Vanessa’s body, burned the remains and buried the parts in three holes. A couple of days later, they returned to the same place and did the same thing again, but instead covered the holes with cement. Aguilar faces felony alteration and mutilation charges, while the police are still investigating why Robinson killed Guillén. Thus far, many are suggesting that Vanesssa had been sexually assaulted by Robinson, and was preparing to report him. However, investigators have reportedly found zero evidence of harassment.
Recently, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy ordered the creation of a commission to carry out an “independent, comprehensive review of the command climate and culture at Fort Hood”. The commission’s purpose is to create a respectful, inclusive workplace that reflects on the Army's values and is free from sexual harassment, according to the Army, who confirmed that Guillén’s remains had been discovered on the 6th of July. McCarth stated that the Army will hire four consultants to observe Fort Hood for five to ten days and review historical data such as command climate surveys, inspector general reports, criminal/military justice reports and sexual assault and harassment statistics.
Vanessa Guillén’s disappearance and death sparked outcry in the “Me Too” Movement. “It’s shocking and heartbreaking,” Martina Chesonis, an officer in the Air Force Reserve, said of her death. “And not surprising”. The movement started in 2017 by an American activist named Tarana Burke. It became viral when celebrities such as actress Alyssa Milano began using the “#MeToo” hashtag to raise awareness of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual abuse allegations.
The officers working on this case assume Guillén’s murder is related to sexual harassment perpetrated by Robinson. According to family members, Guillén had complained of such incidents, and had contemplated reporting it to her superiors. Lupe Guillén recalls: “My sister was too afraid to report the harassment because no one would listen to her (...) They take the sexual harassment, the sexual assault, as a joke. They don't care.” On unit climate, focus group participants said that service soldiers find it fully difficult to define sexual harassment, while male and female service soldiers define it differently. Participants said that when it happens, service members do not address the issue, as they don’t want to risk the career of a high-ranking or better performing service member.
In the wake of this tragedy, many other women are taking to Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms to share their experiences of sexual harassment and assault in the military with the hashtags: “#MeToo” and “#IAmVanessaGuillén”.
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