A lady who allegedly helped cover the physique of former Vanessa Guillén after her demise at Fort Hood has pleaded responsible to varied expenses in reference to the disappearance of the U.S. Army specialist, the Department of Justice introduced on Tuesday.
Cecily Aguilar, 24, of Killeen, Texas, pleaded responsible to at least one rely of accent to homicide and three counts of false illustration or making a false assertion, the DOJ stated, including that she faces a most potential penalty of 30 years imprisonment with three further years of supervised launch, plus a $1 million advantageous. A federal district court docket choose will overview U.S. sentencing tips and statutes with a view to decide any sentence for Aguilar, anticipated at a sentencing listening to that has not but been scheduled.
“Cecily Aguilar’s guilty plea today was another step on the long path toward justice for Vanessa, my client, and her courageous family,” legal professional Natalie Khawam, who represents the Guillén household, stated in a press release, in accordance with the Associated Press.
Guillén was discovered useless on the bottom at Fort Hood — which notoriously has a number of the highest charges of homicide, sexual assault and harassment within the Army — in the summertime of 2020. A fellow soldier and specialist named Aaron Robinson is suspected to have murdered her earlier than later dying himself by suicide, officers stated on the time. Aguilar, a second suspect, is recognized because the estranged spouse of a former Fort Hood soldier, was additionally arrested in reference to Guillén’s demise.
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Citing court docket paperwork, the DOJ stated that Aguilar assisted Robinson between April 22 and July 1, 2020, “in corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating and concealing evidence—that is, the body of Vanessa Guillen—in order to prevent Robinson from being charged with and prosecuted for any crime.” The paperwork allege that Aguilar altered and destroyed data saved in a Google account belonging to Robinson, and in addition accuse her of constructing 4 materially false statements to federal investigators, in accordance with the Justice Department.
The following yr, in April 2021, the U.S. Army launched a report that confirmed how officers had ignored complaints of sexual harassment from Guillén, main 21 troopers to be both relieved of responsibility completely or reprimanded for his or her components in these dismissals. The Guillén household then filed a lawsuit looking for $35 million in damages from the U.S. authorities on the idea of sexual harassment, abuse, assault, rape, sodomy and wrongful demise.
A current Netflix documentary titled “I Am Vanessa Guillén” make clear the case.