A lady who allegedly helped cover the physique of former Vanessa Guillén after her demise at Fort Hood has pleaded responsible to varied costs in reference to the disappearance of the U.S. Military specialist, the Division of Justice introduced on Tuesday.
Cecily Aguilar, 24, of Killeen, Texas, pleaded responsible to 1 depend of accent to homicide and three counts of false illustration or making a false assertion, the DOJ stated, including that she faces a most attainable penalty of 30 years imprisonment with three further years of supervised launch, plus a $1 million wonderful. A federal district courtroom choose will evaluate U.S. sentencing tips and statutes to be able to decide any sentence for Aguilar, anticipated at a sentencing listening to that has not but been scheduled.
"Cecily Aguilar's responsible plea at present was one other step on the lengthy path towards justice for Vanessa, my consumer, and her brave household," lawyer Natalie Khawam, who represents the Guillén household, stated in a press release, in response to the Related Press.
Guillén was discovered lifeless on the bottom at Fort Hood — which notoriously has a number of the highest charges of homicide, sexual assault and harassment within the Military — 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.
Citing courtroom paperwork, the DOJ stated that Aguilar assisted Robinson between April 22 and July 1, 2020, "in corruptly altering, destroying, mutilating and concealing proof—that's, the physique of Vanessa Guillen—to be able to forestall 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 likewise accuse her of creating 4 materially false statements to federal investigators, in response to the Justice Division.
The next 12 months, in April 2021, the U.S. Military launched a report that confirmed how officers had ignored complaints of sexual harassment from Guillén, main 21 troopers to be both relieved of responsibility solely 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 premise of sexual harassment, abuse, assault, rape, sodomy and wrongful demise.
A current Netflix documentary titled "I Am Vanessa Guillén" make clear the case.