All rights reserved. 2023 Texas Standard. I cried a lot because I didnt want her to enlist, Gloria Guillen said. The disappearance and killing of soldier Vanessa Guilln has gripped Texas, and reignited widespread outrage over sexual violence in the US military and the failures of recent reforms to address it. Staff Sergeant Devin Schuette was found dead in his pickup truck, fitted with a hose running from the exhaust pipe to the cabin, in January 2016. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. In 2015, a sergeant with the bases sexual assault reporting unit which Guilln would have reported to had she lodged a complaint pleaded guilty to running a prostitution ring with vulnerable young soldiers. Robinsons girlfriend Cecily Aguilar, a civilian, was arrested and later charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Had anyone helped Robinson clean up Guillens murder in those 40 minutes? The base was named after John Bell Hood, a Confederate general from a family that enslaved people in Kentucky, who made his name by breaking a Union line at Elthams Landing in Virginia and who, by todays standards, likely suffered from PTSD. Not long after Fort Hood opened, soldiers began bringing home souvenirs in the form of war brides. Those remains, it turned out, belonged to yet another soldier, Private Gregory Wedel-Morales, who had gone missing the previous summer. She is one of six children in her family. At least nine service members have . Morales was reported missing in August 2019. Ever since returning from a deployment to Iraq in February 2019shipped off two months after basic training for a nine-month tourRing had become withdrawn, developed a drinking problem, and had been arrested for drunk driving. Khawam, is also collecting testimony from women in the military who wish to share their stories of sexual assault and harassment. So when, the following spring, Fort Hood offered a $15,000 reward for information about Guillen, then raised it to $25,000 in June, Kim called to demand the same. After the public remonstrations began, Fort Hood launched something it called Operation Phantom Action, a weeklong retreat of sorts that was meant to rebuild trust between soldiers and the leadership. Why was Robinson not put under watch? By then Wedel-Morales had grown distant from his family in Oklahoma, who had not been told of the marriage. Protesters gather at a march and vigil for Vanessa Guillen on 12 July in Austin, Texas. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 12 Fort Hood soldiers who have vanished, died, or, in one case, turned up dead after going missing last year. Guillns family say they learned what allegedly happened to Vanessa as the public did. In 2007, also in Iraq, Specialist Kamisha Blocks death was ruled an accident by a single shot of friendly fire before the family received the body and saw that she had five gunshot wounds, including one to the head. In 2018, a soldier was allegedly shot and killed in her front yard by her husband at Fort Campbell, in Kentucky, which also has one of the highest rates of suicide in the Army. If not, what explained the false accounting? It installed 35 firing ranges, 18 chapels, three bowling alleys, and 1,384 barracks that would house, at its peak, 95,000 soldiers, the most densely populated military base, at a cost of $35 million. In death, she is no longer a daughter or a sister or a partner. And so his disappearance was no surprise, his father told me. The letter said that according to army data there were an average of 129 felonies committed annually at Fort Hood between 2014 and 2019, including cases of homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery and aggravated assault. They returned several days later to pour concrete over the remains. On August 25, a rail worker in Temple, Texas, 26 miles east of Fort Hood, saw a body hanging from a tree across from a burned-out warehouse near the tracks. Fernandes transferred to another unit where he was called a snitch and worse. That morning, Guillen had left her third-floor barracks and headed downstairs to her work station at the motor pool, a vast garage for military vehicles. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. The back-to-back deaths come just four months after two congressional committees launched probes into the high number of deaths at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, in 2020, highlighted by the disappearances of three soldiers who were later found dead, including Spc. Officials did not reveal how she died but said an investigation is underway into the circumstances. They married in May 2017, and he took her name with hyphenation. Jessica Mitchell and 19-year-old Pfc. Its just been a very sad, mourning weekend for us.. He ultimately murdered her when she was eight months pregnant, then set her on fire before fleeing to Mexico. Fort Hood has had over 50 deaths in the last 5 years." Three years after the murder of Fort Hood Army Spc. The vast emptiness that is most of the state can make you feel inconsequential, as if you could disappear and no one would know you ever lived. Fort Hood, which is situated in Killeen, Texas, is one of the largest military bases in the country, housing 36,500 soldiers and another 30,000 family members. A few hours later, Robinson, who had mostly been playing video games, escaped Fort Hood by car. Guillens phone records found that her last outgoing text message was to Robinsons phone, according to the complaint. Information related to any possible harassment will be addressed and investigated fully," the base said in the statement. Aguilars cell phone location data was also analyzed and revealed she and Robinson were together near Leon River on April 23 and April 26, the complaint states. The 2020 murder of Spc. On August 11, a higher-up called Fernandess mother, Ailina, to tell her that her son had not shown up for work for two days. Khawam said Army officials, accompanied by an Army chaplain, met with Guillens family on Sunday to inform them that Guillen was dead. Guillens case sparked national attention after she was allegedly murdered by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood in Texas in April, then dismembered and her remains dumped. (Fort Hood refused all official interview requests for this story, citing ongoing investigations. Offerings sit in front of a mural of the slain army specialist Vanessa Guilln painted on a wall in the south side of Fort Worth, Texas. Fort Hood also stated that it had completed an exhaustive search for Fernandes, and that it had interviewed all relevant parties, including the family. The family of Guilln, whose remains were found on 1 July, has rallied from Texas to the doors of the White House calling for a congressional investigation. Guillen family attorney Natalie Khawam told CNN Sunday that Guillens face was so badly mangled that investigators could not identify her by dental records. If he killed himself, dont they want to know why?. . (His sons alleged killer is in custody awaiting trial.) The Army is about to leave the house from this visit they had. Speier leads the armed services subcommittee on military personnel. Fernandes was dropped off at his friends house the next day, never to be seen again. Fort Hood is a sprawling base of nearly 215,000 acres, or 340sq miles, founded in 1942 in mid-Texas, between Austin and Dallas. Just before noon, Guillen left her keys, Army ID, and bank cards in one arms room and entered another adjacent arms room, separated by a hallway. But survivors and advocates already know the limits of congressional advocacy. McCaskill, a former sex crimes prosecutor, found herself labeled as the roadblock to the most significant piece of congressional legislation challenging rape culture in the military. Fort Hood might not even stand out were it not for a particularly bad year among many. A few days later, they spoke again, for the last time. A small minority, which bikers call one percent groups, and which the Department of Justice calls by the regrettable acronym OMG, or outlaw motorcycle gangs, were the people Wedel-Morales had been hanging around with. The wave of pain went away as suddenly as it had come on but returned again, and again, and again, over the next hour. That gun safety is a distant concern in a community where the Second Amendment tops the Maslow charts. The Pentagon, in a document attached to the suicide figures, cautioned against ranking them by risk, noting that the populations of the . On Wednesday, April 22, 2020, Guillen reported for duty at Fort Hood. First it was a five-mile run, then it was a two-mile run. A second suspect, Cecily Aguilar, 22, was charged on July 2 with one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence. According to the letter, during an August visit to Texas McCarthy stated that Fort Hood had the highest, the most cases for sexual assault and harassment and murders for our entire formation of the US army. The last time an American troop was executed for his crimes was in 1961, when Army Pfc. By Kristen Cabrera, Shelly Brisbin & Caroline CovingtonJuly 12, 20216:54 amCrime & Justice, Military and Veterans' Affairs. IE 11 is not supported. Chris and Moses friends of Gregory Wedel-Morales at the site of his remains, Killeen TX. Then they tried burning the body. At 9:30 p.m., Mayra, Cruz, Guillens other sister Yovana, and Yovanas boyfriend set out for Fort Hood. After 8 p.m., Guillens sister Mayra called the base. Sexual assault in the military has long been an issue. He had then driven the body to the Leon River and had come back to pick Aguilar up from the gas station where she worked on Veterans Memorial Boulevard, five miles east of Fort Hood. It was unclear, in 2020, what American soldiers were fighting for. The dollhouse, strip club Gregory Wedel Morales frequented, Killeen Tx. She pleaded not guilty. His wife, Christal, was denied her husbands mobile phone, the final investigation report, and even his corpse, until Texas Congressman Ron Wright stepped in on that front. Terrie Boley, whose daughter Candance became addicted to crack cocaine while serving at Fort Hood and was murdered in a motel room in 2011, told me not to drink the water. ), On July 3, a fortnight after Wedel-Moraless body was found, Specialist Miguel Yazzie, 33, died at Fort Hood after his repeated requests to see a doctor were denied, according to Carma Johnson, whose brother died at Fort Hood. I lived in Afghanistan for four-and-a-half years. #TXwx . Two days after Staff Sergeant Anthony Lovell, 40, disappeared in 2017, his body was found, eyes pecked clean, face split in half, in a creek off Killeens seedy main corridor called Rancier, the same street where Specialist Freddy Delacruz, 23, was shot and killed last March. Military bases are the last piece of the homeland that soldiers see before they are deployed to fight and the first glimpse of home when they return. The first week I spent in Texas that October, 22-year-old Lucas Hicks-Mack went missing on base. Thirteen killed themselves. the army secretary, Ryan McCarthy, announced last week. Her story, what happened to her, really resonates for me because, shes a Mexican American woman that lost her life, and that could have easily been me with the things that I went through, the sexual harassment, the attempts of assault, and dealing with the chain of command where you try to report things.. According to the letter, the subcommittees will jointly investigate if recent deaths may be symptomatic of underlying leadership, discipline and morale deficiencies throughout the chain-of-command. Forty-one Fort Bragg soldiers took their own lives in 2020 and 2021, making suicide the leading cause of death. FORT WORTH, Texas One of the fastest-growing cities in North Texas is seeing an unwanted increase in one of its violent crime numbers. She is now for the movement.. It is also one of a number of US military bases named for leaders or generals of the Confederacy, which fought and lost the civil war between 1861 and 1865 in an attempt to maintain slavery. Before Guillen, there had been Private LaVena Lynn Johnson, who was found dead in a tent in 2005 in Iraq. Awareness and outrage over sexual violence in the military grew after the 2012 documentary Invisible War. Staff Sergeant Jessica Mitchell is seen in this undated photo. Women, who make up 17 percent of active-duty military, were doubly bereft, and the case files were awash with stories of the dead. Rosecrans, shot four times, was found three miles from his vehicle. Casteel had been stationed at Fort Hood since the end of June, where hed been bullied for a spinal injury that consigned him to desk duties. Khawam told CNN on July 5 that the Guillen family is devoutly Catholic and that a priest was present when family members were informed that Guillens remains had been identified. Mitchell, a drill sergeant assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center for Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, was shot to death around 2:30 a.m. on New Year's Day while driving on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Police Department. (According to Killeen police, no such vests were found at the scene of the crash. However, efforts to pass legislation reforming military justice faltered over a debate about commanders roles in prosecuting sexual assault. The man behind Mattress Mack: salesman, gambler introvert? The 20-year-old small arms specialist, then a private first class, was supposed to be off that day, so she showed up in civilian clothesblack tee, purple leggings, and a fanny pack. Barely a week later, Private Corlton Chee, 25, died during training. We are deeply saddened by the loss of PV2 Ana Basaldua Ruiz, and we extend our sympathies to her father, mother, and her sister, said Lt. Col. Patrick Sullivan, commander of the 91st Engineer Battalion. Fernandes had just been stationed at Fort Hood in January. Last year, at least 39 Fort Hood soldiers died or went missing. The ancient Greeks wrote epic poems on the subject, the most famous of which is the Iliad. Guillns disappearance prompted protesters to march in the streets across major cities in Texas over Independence Day weekend, before her remains were found. She enlisted for her country, to defend us, and now that she needs us we need to support her and look for her and catch that miserable personwho knows who he is of all of them.. The US army is assembling a civilian review panel of consultants to review the command climate and culture at Fort Hood, the army secretary, Ryan McCarthy, announced last week. Later came Koreans, Japanese, and Vietnamese, who still run sushi and pho restaurants in Killeen. Fort Carson in Colorado had 18 such deaths in 2020. The disappearance and killing of soldier Vanessa Guilln has gripped Texas, and reignited widespread outrage over sexual violence in the US military and the failures of recent reforms to address. On August 17, Sergeant Elder Fernandes, 23, disappeared. Should inmates in Texas be eligible for early parole if they exhibit good behavior? Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Fort Hood said Thursday that "no foul play" was evident so far in an ongoing investigation into the March 13 death of Pvt. His body was mostly intact but for his hyoid, which was never found. It is unclear if Killeen even bothered to visit his namesake town, which, by the early 1880s, comprised 40 people living across 360 acres, mostly working in the two cotton gins, two gristmills, and two saloonsit had the most saloons, gamblers, and shootings per capita in Bell County, according to historian Martha Bowmer. Its like a fox in the hen house, Khawam told the Guardian. Women in the military have shared their stories of sexual harassment and assault while on duty as part of a social media campaign started by Lupe Guillen, Vanessas older sister. On July 2, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Jackie Speier called for an investigation by the Department of Defense Inspector General. 'We are Vanessa Guilln': killing puts sexual violence in US military in focus, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Many questions remain unanswered about the events leading up to Guillns death. After he returned to Fort Hood, Rodriguez managed to get Casteel on a video call. Michael Burnett. Darlene Krashoc Sexually Assaulted, Murdered, and Dumped in Parking Lot in Colorado Springs; DNA Match Leads to Arrest of Michael Whyte (March 17, 1987) Captain Gordon Hess, U.S. Army Army Captain Gordon Hess Found Stabbed to Death at Fort Knox in Kentucky, Military Investigators Ruled Suicide Despite the 26 Stab Wounds to Neck & Chest Area (1998) Jeong says Fort Hood could be attracting individuals who are dealing with added pressures at home. (The Boley case remains unsolved.) Site Gregory Wedel-Morales' remains were found in Killeen, Texas. None of the messages added up, nor were they how he usually speaks to me, Rodriguez told me. Why hadnt the arms room been treated like the crime scene it was? On November 5, 2009, 13 people are killed and more than 30 others are wounded, nearly all of them unarmed soldiers, when a U.S. Army officer goes on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood in central . He told his sister there were three white soldiers who did not like him. On August 28, Chee was called into a training run. Khawam plans to present womens testimony to Congress to encourage legislation while the family visits Washington D.C. this week. Dominic Criqui, who served in Vanessa Guillens unit, says that the training had come to feel stupid and pointless. What on earth are you training for? he asks, then answers. The 28th death at Fort Hood this year occurred last week. Who were the soldiers who had testified to seeing Guillen leave the arms room the day she disappeared? July/August 2021 MAY JEONG DEVIN OKTAR YALKIN. The very next day, a Fort Hood investigation concluded that Fernandess charges of sexual assault were unsubstantiated. Guillen was last seen on April 22 in the parking lot of her Regimental Engineer Squadron Headquarters, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, at the Fort Hood military base wearing a black shirt and purple fitness pants, according to a public statement by Fort Hood. They pointed glumly to past cases, some of which there were public records for and others I could find no traces of in the official files. And yet: The data is not really out of the ordinary for U.S. military bases. There are currently four inmates awaiting execution at Leavenworth, but these four will not face the gallows. Anthony Peden, Pvt. There were no Black residents in town until the early 1950s. On May 11, however, Fernandes reported to Fort Hood abusive sexual contact from a staff sergeant, whom he alleged groped him in a supply room, according to the redacted military investigation report. Cecily Aguilar, a woman authorities say was Robinsons girlfriend, pleaded guilty to federal charges last November, accused of helping him dispose of Guillns body and lying to investigators. Inside Jeffrey Epsteins Decades-Long Relationship With Leslie Wexner Trumps Deranged Replacement Theory Mightve Lost Him the Election Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk Want to Burn Their Cash in Space Three Texans Bust Myths About the Alamos Famous Last Stand The Guy Who Could Send Trump to Prison May Soon Cooperate With the Feds Bill and Melinda Gatess Epic Divorce Saga Enters Its Next Phase Juneteenth, Critical Race Theory, and the Winding Road Toward Reckoning Trump Is Now Urging People Not to Vaccinate Their Kids Against COVID From the Archive: Microsofts Odd Couple, in the Words of Paul Allen Not a subscriber? In a particular blow to the Florida governor, one Texas Republican said he decided to endorse Trump specifically after meeting with DeSantis. Washington CNN The Army announced Tuesday that 14 senior officers will be punished following a probe that was initiated after the murder of a soldier and several other deaths at the Army's. Fort Hood concluded Chee had died in training. And I think its just the confluence of these factors that is intersecting in this spectacularly terrible way.. For the Army to say no foul play would also indicate a tone deafness to the concerns of the father and the mother of Ana Fernanda Basaldua Ruiz who stated that she had been the target of alleged sexual harassment repeated and consistent sexual harassment by other service members up to and including an immediate superior to who she reported, David Cruz, the Communications Director of LULAC, said. His killers were never looked for properly and thus never found. The soldiers said that Guillens belongings had been found in the arms room, but otherwise she had left no trace. Vanessa Guilln was 20. There was a deep cut above his left eye, and cuts all over his legs. More 4,000 women and non-binary veterans and active duty members have signed a petition directed at the leaders of Department of Defense and congressional leadership supporting the familys calls. The defense department was able to substantiate only one of the 129 retaliation cases it investigated in 2018, and 64% of service members surveyed said they experienced retaliation for reporting assault. Back in Houston, Gloria recalled a conversation with her daughter not long before, when Guillen had been home for the weekend. Within days of arriving at Fort Hood, Chees clothes were stolen. Specialist Vanessa Guillens father, Rogelio, wondered if I shouldnt carry a gun. The study also notes that the prevalence of sexual assault is high and has increased since 2016. Hood was an unsuccessful battle commander; 400 men of his Texas Brigade died in a single fight, some would argue through incautious direction. By Nicole Lopez. Ive lost brothers and sisters in arms, a marriage, Ive lost family, Ive lost friendships that were supposed to be forever. Writer May Jeong told Texas Standard that at least 30 soldiers went missing or killed themselves last year. During the run, Chee, who had no preexisting health conditions, collapsed. Last December, a Special Forces soldier and an Army veteran were found dead at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where another soldier disappeared in May and was later found murdered. Eleven of the deaths remain unresolvedsome legally; others for the victims families. One of the first times she stepped onto the base, a rosary she had been carrying in the palm of her hand tore apart, its beads scattering over the concrete ground. The area, east of Killeen, was built on 109,000 acres of high bluffs, ridges, sharp slopes, and mesa-like hills covered with mesquite and chaparral. The numbers are distressing. I am astounded nobody is interested, the Fernandes family lawyer Lenny Kesten told me. We are Vanessa Guilln, thats our story too, it could have easily been any one of us, said Tristeza Ordex, a retired marine corps staff sergeant who helped start the letter along with Pam Campos-Palma, a former intelligence analyst and community organizer. As distressing as the remains in shallow graves or the missing hyoid bone is the fatalism from soldiers and locals alike. Aguilar advised the female soldier never made it out of the Army alive, the complaint states. Mayra Guillen, Vanessas sister, told KPRC that before her disappearance she had been talking about plans for her life. If she wanted to pursue things further, they advised, she would have to file a missing persons report with the local police. While visiting Killeen last year, Jeong says the atmosphere was uncomfortable. Graham was a human resources specialist who was stationed at Fort Bliss in December after completing basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, officials said. For the Army to say no foul play presumes facts that have not yet been brought forth. Authorities determined that the soldier suspected of killing Guilln was Spc. Analysis of phone records and location data place Robinson near Leon River, where human remains were found on June 30, for approximately two hours in the early morning of April 23. It did make me wary of going out at night, for example, Jeong said. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 27, 2023 at 2:33 PM PDT. Later, Robinson would tell investigators that Guillen completed her task and exited the building. After over two months in which hundreds of people searched for her across large parts of central Texas, remains were found in late June, and were later identified as Guillns. "Army CID will continue to conduct a thorough investigation and gather all evidence and facts to ensure they discover exactly what transpired. Christopher Salmon, and Pfc. By then, the Army, it seemed, had stopped providing Wedel-Morales with a sense of purpose, and he had turned to alternate sources of meaning, namely car and motorcycle clubs, and life beyond the base. [4] Hasan was shot and as a result paralyzed from the waist down. Fernandes wouldnt share much, nothing about what had caused him to be hospitalized, and said that he was using an insecure base hospital line. Traveling in the time of plague, trying to build rapport with people from six feet away, was enervating. The incident took place in Killeen, Texas, where Fort Hood is located. As her family publicly pressed for answers, the army announced that a suspect, soldier Aaron David Robinson, died on 1 July by suicide as law enforcement pursued him. Ana Basaldua Ruiz, 20. Published: Apr. The 20-year-old soldier said she was being sexually harassed by superiors before her dismembered body was found in Texas. Agamemnon demonstrates disrespect, vanity, and other lapses in judgment, the result of which is what clinical psychiatrist Jonathan Shay describes as moral injurya (i) betrayal of whats right, (ii) by someone who holds legitimate authority, (iii) in a high stakes situation. Such moral injury deteriorates social trust, which is then replaced by the settled expectancy of harm, exploitation, and humiliation from others, resulting in despair and violence to self and to others. If you or someone you know may be contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line. Casteel had told Rodriguez he was getting away from the abuse.. (Marine Lance Corporal Riley Schultzs death on March 15, 2019, at Camp Pendleton in San Diego County, was also ruled a suicide, despite his hyoid being broken. Fort Hood is a sprawling base of nearly 215,000 acres, or 340sq miles, founded in 1942 in mid-Texas, between Austin and Dallas. Mitchell, a drill sergeant assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center for Excellence at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, was shot to death around 2:30 a.m. on New Year's Day while driving on Interstate 10 in San Antonio, according to the San Antonio Police Department. One even made chief. No arrests have been made and police are investigating if Mitchell was targeted. Four days later, an anonymous tip directed investigators to an urban prairie at the end of a residential street where Penny Morales used to live. On November 5, 2009, a mass shooting took place at Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas. Graham enlisted Army in July 2019 and in her short career received the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon, military officials said. And the mix of suicides and interpersonal violence on base points to a troubling culture among leadership there that Jeong says has trickled down into the lower ranks. Is it possible Elder was murdered? At first, Aguilar told investigators, they cut her up using a machete. Guillen is from Houston, a three-hour drive south east of Fort Hood, where she relocated after first being stationed in Virginia, according to Houston KPRC 2. This increase is very troubling and shows that the Armys sexual assault prevention strategies have not achieved their intended results, the report says. The enduring missions, beneficial partnerships, and promising outlook validate each installation's vital role in our nation's defense. That September, Wedel-Morales, who was from rural Oklahoma, was due to be honorably discharged from the military. Ana Basaldua Ruiz was found dead on Monday at the same military base. He died in 1879, leaving a troubled legacy that is only now beginning to be questioned. In death, Guillen has become a kind of patron saint for all those who feel wronged by the U.S. military. Nearly 200 miles away in Houston, Rogelio Guillen was entering his fourth hour of work at a nickel-plating factory when he felt a sharp spasm in his chest. American military bases, once established, seldom shutter, and Fort Hood, which started operating during World War II, has remained open for business, its 218,000 acres spreading across two counties in central Texas near an otherwise unremarkable town called Killeen.