Army officials on Thursday identified a dead suspect in the disappearance Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen.
E-4 Specialist Aaron David Robinson was a suspect in Guillen’s disappearance, Damon Phelps of the CID, the Army’s primary criminal investigative organization, said at a press conference Thursday. Robinson died by suicide early Wednesday morning after he fled Fort Hood late Tuesday night.
“While law enforcement agencies attempted to make contact with the suspect in Killeen, Texas, Specialist Robinson reportedly displayed a weapon and took his own life,” said Phelps.
The announcement comes a day after Natalie Khawam, attorney for the Guillen family, said they believe that her remains were found. The U.S. Army said it found partial human remains, which have not been identified yet, during a search for the missing soldier in Texas on Tuesday night. The finding comes days after investigators said they suspected foul play related to Guillen’s disappearance.
Phelps denied allegations that Robinson was Guillen’s superior, adding he was in “no way” in Guillen’s line of command. However, they were coworkers, he said.
The Army said Wednesday they promoted Private First Class Guillen, 20, to specialist due to her time in service.
Guillen was last seen at a parking lot in Fort Hood, where she was stationed, on April 22. Officials said that “her car keys, barracks room key, identification card and wallet” were found in the armory room where she was working on the day she disappeared.
On June 15, the Army raised the reward to $25,000 for anyone with information leading up to Guillen’s whereabouts. The League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s oldest Latino civil rights organization that has been helping the Guillen family, added an additional $25,000 to the reward the following day. Two days later, the military opened up a separate inquiry looking into allegations that Guillen was sexually harassed by a supervisor.
Khawam said Guillen reported her harassment to her family and fellow soldiers at the base.
Phelps said the Army still has no credible information or reports that Guillen was sexually assaulted.
After the sexual harassment reports surfaced, many service members have used the hashtag #IAmVanessaGuillen to share their experiences with sexual assault and harassment on social media.
Sexual assault in the U.S. military has increased over the past two years, according to a report from the Defense Department.
