TX - PFC Vanessa Guillen, 20, 22 Apr 2020 *MEDIA,MAPS,TIMELINE ONLY NO DISCUSSION

[Seattle1]

Cecily Aguilar's court date pushed back two months

Sept 15, 2020

WACO, TX — An upcoming court date for Cecily Aguilar, who is accused of helping to dispose of the body of Spc. Vanessa Guillen, has been pushed back by two months.

According to court documents, rearraignment was scheduled for September 22 while jury selection and trial was set to begin on September 28.

Aguilar's counsel requested that the hearings be reset and the government did not oppose.

Rearraignment has been rescheduled to November 10, while jury selection and trial will begin on November 30.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Site of Vanessa Guillen memorial in Killeen vandalized | kcentv.com

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Cecily Aguilar's court date pushed back again by two months

The start of Cecily Aguilar's trial in federal court in Texas has been once again delayed to January 19, 2021.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Fort Hood to name one of post's gates after slain Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen

Army officials invited Guillen's family onto Fort Hood once again Tuesday, asking for their input on design concepts for a gate to be named after their beloved sister and daughter.

"The gate we designated leads to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment area where Vanessa served," a statement from Fort Hood officials said Tuesday. "The gate is accessed by thousands of soldiers, civilians and families every day."

Natalie Khawam, the attorney who represents the Guillen family, said on Tuesday that the family appreciates the gesture and the great strides the post's new top commander is taking to not only change the culture at Fort Hood, but also help protect and respect soldiers.

 

[oviedo]

14 Fort Hood soldiers fired, suspended over violence at base
Snipped

"In a sweeping condemnation of Fort Hood's command hierarchy, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy fired three top commanders and suspended two others pending a further investigation.
He also ordered a separate probe into staffing and procedures at the base's Criminal Investigation Command Unit, which is responsible for investigating crimes on Fort Hood."

 

[oviedo]

"Totally unacceptable": Army secretary condemns command climate, says Fort Hood report "will change the Army" - CBS News

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Cecily Aguilar defense requests third delay for trial | kcentv.com

WACO, Texas — The defense attorney for Cecily Aguilar filed a motion in a Waco federal court Monday to delay her trial.
Court documents show Supervisory Assistant Federal Public Defender Lewis Gainor's motion to continue was unopposed by the prosecution.
---
Gainor asked the court for more time to complete his review of discovery and investigation in his motion. He asked for a continuance of at least 30 days.
---
Gainor also filed what's called a motion for a bill of particulars on Dec. 22.

A bill of particulars requires the prosecution to advise the defendant of "any essential detail omitted from the indictment," according to the motion.
“When the charges in an indictment ‘are so general that they do not advise a defendant of the specific acts of which [she] is accused,’ it is within the trial court’s discretion to grant a bill of particulars," the motion said.
---
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright had not ruled on either motion as of Tuesday.

 

[Seattle1]

Army leader reveals Spc. Vanessa Guillen’s entire chain of command at Fort Hood was fired

Jan 8, 2021

FORT HOOD, Texas — Leaders responsible for Spc. Vanessa Guillen from her squad to her battalion were fired during the disciplinary action that took place last month at Fort Hood, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston told soldiers Thursday at the base.

Speaking to a group of about two dozen junior enlisted soldiers, Grinston used the firings as an example of how the Army is taking action to root out leaders who allow corrosive behavior to persist in the ranks.

Fourteen leaders faced disciplinary action following the Dec. 8 release of the Fort Hood Independent Review Committee report that found the command climate and culture problems at the base were a result of poor leadership. At the time, only action taken against leaders in positions at the brigade level and above were identified, in accordance with Army personnel privacy policy.

Leaders responsible for Guillen in her squad, platoon, company and battalion were also fired, Grinston said Thursday.

[..]

Fort Hood’s commander, Lt. Gen. Pat White, returned from a yearlong deployment in September and initiated a “people first” training program to improve trust between soldiers and leaders. The program included a weeklong break from field training to allow leaders to sit down with soldiers and get to know them on a personal level, talk with their families and visit their living quarters.

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Fort Hood NCOs Prevented Soldiers from Reporting Crimes, Investigators Tell Congress

"There was a serious risk there that should've been known by the leadership. The NCOs became the blockers. They did not facilitate or encourage reporting and were part of the shaming of victims," Chris Swecker, a North Carolina lawyer and former FBI inspector who led the review, told lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

Here are the links to all the docs mentioned from the last day.

Oder Setting Motion Hearing for 4/27/2021 at 1:30 pm @Niner

https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txwd.1102033/gov.uscourts.txwd.1102033.51.0.pdf which states that all required to be present in the courtroom

16 page Motion to Suppress document https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txwd.1102033/gov.uscourts.txwd.1102033.50.0.pdf

General Link to her case overall (in case some docs are unsealed that we've been wanting to see)

https://www.courtlistener.com/docke...d_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc

 

[AmandaReckonwith]

Hearing about throwing out Cecily Aguilar confession delayed | kcentv.com

Judge Jeffrey Manske granted the motion and gave the prosecution until May 5 to respond.

In a separate court, Judge Alan Albright denied a defense motion on Monday for more access to the prosecution's case.

Public Defender Lewis Gainor was seeking what's called a bill of particulars, according to the document.

A bill of particulars is a "formal, detailed statement of the claims or charges brought by a plaintiff or a prosecutor, usually filed in response to the defendant’s request for a more specific complaint,” the motion reads. “The purposes of a bill of particulars are to obviate surprise at trial, enable the defendant to prepare his defense with full knowledge of the charges against him, and to enable double jeopardy to be pled in case of a subsequent prosecution.”

According to the motion, the defense must request the bill of particulars within 14 days of the indictment. Aguilar was indicted July 14, 2020. Gainor did not request the bill of particulars until Dec. 22.

 

[Seattle1]

Woman charged in Vanessa Guillen's death to face judge | kcentv.com

Jan 20, 2022

WACO, Texas — On Thursday, a judge denied the motion to throw out the indictment of Cecily Aguilar, the woman accused of helping dismember and dispose the body of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen in 2020.

Last July, a grand jury indicted Aguilar with 11 counts, including charges of tampering with documents or proceedings and conspiracy to tamper with documents or proceedings for her role in Guillen's death and disappearance in April 2020.

Her defense filed the motion to have her indictment dismissed altogether last April, saying the indictment lacks specificity, fails to state an offense and charges the same offense in more than one count. Aguilar’s defense also argues the indictment includes no other alleged factual basis or allegations.

In court Thursday, Judge Alan D. Albright denied the motion, but did not explain why.

Aguilar's trial date is still pending.

 

[Caring1]

11/30/22

A Texas woman who helped mutilate and conceal the body of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén pleaded guilty on Tuesday to aiding Guillén’s killer and lying to federal investigators. Cecily Aguilar pleaded guilty to one count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of making false statements, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas. Aguilar faces up to 30 years in prison.

Woman pleads guilty in connection to death of Vanessa Guillén at Fort Hood - NewsBreak

A Texas woman who helped mutilate and conceal the body of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén pleaded guilty on Tuesday to aiding Guillén’s killer and lying to federal investigators. Cecily Aguilar pleaded guilty to one count of accessory to murder after the fact and three counts of making false...

www.newsbreakapp.com

 

[Seattle1]

Cecily Aguilar pleads guilty for role in Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen's death

Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen's sister admitted she was taken aback by Cecily Aguilar's guilty plea Tuesday but saved her harsher words for a tweet.

abc13.com

11/29/22

Guillen was a Houston-native soldier, training at Fort Hood before being murdered in 2020.

Cecily Aguilar waived her right to a trial by pleading guilty to a single count of accessory after the fact and three counts of making a false statement.

She faces 30 years in prison with a $1 million fine and an additional 12-year supervised leave after her sentence.

 

[Seattle1]

Woman accused of helping burying Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen

Cecily Aguilar, 22, waived her right to a trial on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to a single count of accessory to murder and three counts of making false statements in the Vanessa Guillen case.

www.dailymail.co.uk

11/29/22

The alleged girlfriend of the man suspected of murdering and dismembering Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen has pleaded guilty to involvement in the crime.

Cecily Aguilar, 22, waived her right to a trial on Tuesday and pleaded guilty to a single count of accessory to murder and three counts of making false statements.

She was the only person charged in connection to Guillen's murder, after police said the 20-year-old saw a photo of Aguliar, a married woman, on Aaron Robinson's phone, prompting the army specialist to bludgeon her to death and bury her remains.

 

[Seattle1]

Suspect's girlfriend pleads guilty to playing role in Vanessa Guillen slaying

Cecily Aguilar, then-girlfriend of suspected killer Aaron Robinson, faces 30 years in prison for her role in the Fort Hood death of Vanessa Guillen.

www.statesman.com

11/29/22

In what might be the only rendering of justice in the slaying of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen, a Killeen woman has pleaded guilty to lesser charges for her involvement in the aftermath of the Fort Hood soldier's death.

Cecily Aguilar, 24, is the former girlfriend of Spc. Aaron Robinson, the man Army investigators believe bludgeoned Guillen to death on the post in April 2020. Authorities believe the pair worked together to dismember and dispose of Guillen's body near the Leon River in Bell County shortly after her death.

[..]

Aguilar was charged in July 2020 with three felony counts of conspiracy to tamper with evidence. She first pleaded not guilty on July 14, 2020, but she needed to do so again after a series of attempts by her defense team to have her confession suppressed.

On Tuesday, she pleaded guilty to one count of accessory after the fact and three counts of making a false statement. Aguilar now faces a combined maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

 

[Seattle1]

Cecily Aguilar pleads guilty in connection to Vanessa Guillen's murder

She now faces up to 30 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release and a $1 million fine, according to the Department of Justice.

www.kcentv.com

Updated: 3:36 PM CST November 29, 2022

WACO, Texas — Cecily Aguilar pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday in connection to the murder of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen.

Aguilar appeared in federal court in Downtown Waco to enter her plea. Also in attendance was Guillen's family who say they were "very taken aback" by Aguilar's decision.

[..]

A sentencing hearing was not set in court Tuesday, however, it's expected in the next 90 to 100 days.

"I'm glad that we are going to have an opportunity to speak in front of the judge and her and of course, hear what she has to say," Mayra Guillen said.

"... I comfort myself knowing she will be locked up for most of the rest of her life and I hope she has time to sit down and think about what she did and how she impacted our lives."

 

[Seattle1]

Congress renames Houston post office for Vanessa Guillén

Change memorializes legacy of the soldier whose death sparked a movement to reform the...

www.houstonchronicle.com

1/19/23

WASHINGTON — A post office in southeast Houston will now bear the name of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén, an addition to the legacy of the soldier whose death sparked a movement to reform the military justice system.

President Joe Biden on Thursday night signed legislation renaming the post office at 5302 Galveston Road for Guillén, a Houston native whose reports of sexual harassment by a superior officer were ignored by her chain of command at Fort Hood in the months before she was killed.

“This local post office building will now provide Houston-area residents with another special way to remember our local hero Spc. Vanessa Guillén in our everyday lives," said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat who pushed the legislation with Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.

“We can never forget the life, service and sacrifice of Spc. Vanessa Guillén, or the pain her family endured," Cruz said.