The family of a Texas soldier who was sexually assaulted and died at a military installation close to Killeen in 2020 filed a lawsuit on Friday asking the US government to pay $35 million in damages.
20-year-old Aaron Robinson, a fellow soldier, killed Vanessa Guillen at the military post in 2020.
He beat her with a hammer, took her corpse from a Fort Hood, Texas armoury, dismembered her, and buried her bones on April 22 of the same year.
Robinson committed himself after passing out as police rushed to arrest him.
Guillen was slain at Fort Hood by a fellow soldier; a military inquiry following her death revealed that she was also sexually harassed and that commanders failed to take adequate action.
The complaint details two incidents of harassment that Guillen experienced while serving in the military, as well as Guillen’s suicidal thoughts that she had as a consequence of dealing with the harassment, which she told her family she did not disclose out of fear of reprisal.
The family of Guillen is suing for compensation for wrongful death, sexual assault, rape, harassment, and abuse.
Natalie Khawam, the person who brought the action on behalf of the Guillen family, said that it would be a chance for every victim to feel that they had a voice and might be made whole.
A three-judge panel from the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled on Thursday that an Army colonel may continue with a lawsuit against a former Air Force General over a sexual assault accusation. This ruling prompted the complaint.
The court determined that a statute that prevents military members from suing for compensation for injuries sustained while serving did not apply.
The search for Guillen began in April 2020. When the soldier suspected of murdering Guillen committed himself after a confrontation with police that July, her bones were discovered.
In addition to being charged, his 22-year-old married girlfriend Cecily Aguilar is accused of assisting Robinson in disposing of Guillen’s remains.
After admitting to helping her lover bury her corpse in April of last year, Aguilar was charged with tampering with evidence.
Investigators said that because Aguilar was still married to another soldier and Guillen was struck in the head with a hammer, he confessed to her that he was concerned about going in jail for breaking the Army’s fraternisation standards.
According to Aguilar, Robinson “would get into moods where he would not be his usual self and have a “tic,”‘ she said in a statement to the authorities.
She is also accused of having informed a fellow prisoner that Robinson “snapped” and had an image in his brain. He wanted to murder her after seeing himself do it.
Initially saying she was at home with Robinson the night Guillen vanished, Aguilar reportedly later admitted to being there when Guillen’s corpse was discovered.
Despite informing authorities that Guillen left a weapons room and proceeded to be with Aguilar—a story that was corroborated by Aguilar—investigators discovered that Robinson was the last person to talk to Guillen.
Later, it was determined by investigators that Robinson’s phone had pinged in Belton, Texas, along a bridge close to the Leon River in the early morning hours soon after Vanessa disappeared.
When they arrived at the scene, they discovered a fire pile that included the sturdy box that witnesses had previously reported seeing Guillen carrying.
Investigators saw that Robinson and Aguilar spoke on many conversations the night that Guillen vanished; Aguilar claimed that this was because she was unable to locate her phone.
Army officers at Fort Hood captured Robinson on June 30, a few hours after investigators found Guillen’s mutilated remains.
A year after Guillen’s corpse was discovered, in April 2021, the Army published a report on the commanders who disregarded Guillen’s accusations of sexual harassment.
At least twice in 2019 the fallen soldier had vocally reported it.
The study was delayed for months, which Natalie Khawam, the family’s attorney, condemned.
She told CBS News, “We knew she was being sexually harassed.” “We were aware of lies being said.”
We were aware that she had been misidentified. It was all known to us. I am puzzled as to why it took so long to release this.
With the hashtag #IAmVaessaGuillen, past and current service members have come out to share their own experiences in the military in response to Guillen’s murder and her family’s allegations that she was harassed and attacked at the Texas installation.
In memory of Guillen, state and federal legislators have subsequently approved laws that allowed survivors additional alternatives for reporting and reduced the power of commanders.