July 3 (UPI) — The Army on Thursday identified a suspect in the disappearance of missing Fort Hood, Texas, soldier Pfc. Vanessa Guillen.
An Army investigator identified the man as Spc. Aaron David Robinson.
The Army Criminal Investigation Command announced Wednesday that Robinson died by suicide in Killen, Texas, after he fled Fort Hood a day earlier. The Texas Rangers also arrested a civilian suspect in connection with Guillen’s death, but the person’s name wasn’t released.
“While law enforcement agencies attempted to make contact with the suspect in Killeen, Texas, Specialist Robinson displayed a weapon and took his own life,” CID Senior Special Agent Damon Phelps said.
Phelps said Robinson and Guillen were co-workers but lived in different buildings and he was not in her line of command.
He added that investigators were examining Robinson’s interactions with Guillen but said there was “no credible information Guillen had been sexually harassed or assaulted.”
Guillen’s family said at a news conference Wednesday that Robinson had sexually harassed her but she was afraid to issue a formal report.
“She reported it to her friends. She reported it to her family. She even reported to other soldiers on base, but she didn’t want to do a formal report because she was afraid of retaliation and being blackballed, and she, like most victims, just tried to deal with it herself,” her sister, Lupe Guillen, said.
Guillen, 20, was last seen in the parking lot of her Regimental Engineer Squadron Headquarters at Fort Hood on April 22 between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., according to Army officials.
On Tuesday, Army investigators said they found “partial human remains” close to Leon River near Fort Hood but the CID said there was no confirmation regarding the identity of the remains.
