U.S. Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen’s killer’s accomplice pleads guilty

A Texas woman pleaded guilty to charges in connection with the disappearance of U.S. Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen.

Cecily Aguilar, 24, of Killeen Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of false statement or representation.

The murder of Vanessa Guillén, a 20-year-old United States Army soldier, took place inside an armory at Fort Hood, Texas, on April 22, 2020, when she was bludgeoned to death by another soldier, Aaron David Robinson

Aguilar confessed to helping Robinson hide the body of Guillén after her death, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday. 

Before Guillén went missing, she had told her family that she was being sexually harassed by an unnamed sergeant at Fort Hood, and that complaints by other female soldiers made against the sergeant had been dismissed.

A sentencing date has not yet been set. Aguilar faces a maximum possible penalty of 30 years in prison plus three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to court documents, from April 22, 2020 through July 1, 2020, Aguilar assisted Army Specialist Aaron Robinson 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.

Upon learning about the discovery of Guillen’s body, Robinson fled Fort Hood. He fatally shot himself when law enforcement attempted to apprehend him in nearby Killeen, Texas.

Aguilar, a local woman identified by authorities as Robinson’s girlfriend, was indicted on eleven counts by a federal grand jury. By pleading guilty to accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of making a false statement, the remaining counts will be dismissed.

Aguilar also altered and destroyed information contained in a Google account that belonged to Robinson.

During the investigation into the disappearance of Guillen, Aguilar made four materially false statements to federal investigators.