Found Deceased TX - PFC Vanessa Guillen, 20, Fort Hood military base, items left behind, 22 Apr 2020 #2 *arrests*

[Gigi3]

It’s an incredibly standard protocol, at least in the civilian world. Not only will authorities not call the case of a missing person “foul play,” but they maintain this up until an arrest is made.

This isn’t true for every case, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that. It allows law enforcement to investigate, while keeping people talking.

I think they likely knew it was foul play very early on.
Remember when CID issued a reward within the first week or so? We knew something was not right. JMO

 

[MassGuy]

Exactly. I'm not saying they had sufficient blood to act on, I'm saying it appears they never checked!

But how would we know? That’s why I’m waiting for more information, as CID and NCIS for that matter, have one huge advantage over civilian law enforcement agencies:

They are insular, and able to keep a secret a secret.

 

[ImDone]

There’s still due process, even in the military. I do want to know what exactly went down that day though, and why they weren’t able to collar him before he was able to get wind of the discovery (likely through the media). I’ll bet he was following all of this very closely on his phone.

I would have liked nothing more than for him to spend the rest of his life in the brig, and his suicide is a huge disappointment.

I can’t imagine what the family is feeling, as there are questions only he can answer.

Massguy, I've seen it happen when someone is under investigation. They were detained and sent to Bell County to be held in custody while the investigation was ongoing. And they weren't being investigated for another soldier's death that they worked with. Even that Pelican Case have a serial number on it; Pretty much everything especially equipment.

 

[MassGuy]

I think they likely knew it was foul play very early on.
Remember when CID issued a reward within the first week or so? We knew something was not right. JMO

That’s a great point. I remember saying “CID doesn’t issue rewards for AWOL soldiers.”

 

[Seattle1]

Robinson is not here to talk....It's as if he wasn't involved and just committed suicide out of the blue. It's odd he wasn't in custody. And like you said about the case, where would he be taking it if they were on a schedule and had no training going on? You can't just take stuff from the Arms Room for no reason, everything in it is basically considered a sensitive item, which the Company Commander is signed and responsible for. Why I said he had a lot of authority to just be an E4.

In layman's terms, what is an Arms Room? An E4? Thank you.

 

[LaborDayRN]

"not in my jurisdiction.." CID guy
no one is apparently responsible for investigating this.

Why isnt' the civilian agent there then?

Was this a military press conference?

 

[Rosyoutlook]

It’s an incredibly standard protocol, at least in the civilian world. Not only will authorities not call the case of a missing person “foul play,” but they maintain this up until an arrest is made.

This isn’t true for every case, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that. It allows law enforcement to investigate, while keeping people talking.

And sometimes, people never shut up... Like in the Gannon case. How much info did they get DIRECTLY from LS running her mouth?

 

[Gigi3]

Exactly. I'm not saying they had sufficient blood to act on, I'm saying it appears they never checked!

You would think if he truly bludgeoned VG, there would have to be blood somewhere? I can’t imagine AR being so thorough with a cleanup, especially on a time restraint. Something’s not right here, IMO.

 

[kaen]

It is hard for me to believe that at a base where they have had two mass shootings that there is not surveillance coverage all over areas where people work and live on a daily basis. The CID said there was no cameras in the area. It just seems so negligent on base that has had issues like shootings, prostitution rings and many disappearances/murders. Ugh. If they did, it may not have saved this woman's life but would have gotten her some faster justice. If she was indeed dismembered and disposed of under the concrete, surveillance would have pointed to this man faster and possibly aided in recovery of her remains sooner.

Fort Hood is a mess and a thorough review and action plan are needed. There is little confidence by many in the leadership, accountability and systems in place.

 

[MassGuy]

Was this a military press conference?

Yes. They explained the jurisdiction thing early on. The gravesite is the responsibility of the Texas Rangers.

CID’s purview mostly falls to what happened on the base.

 

[kaen]

In layman's terms, what is an Arms Room? An E4? Thank you.

Here is a great site where you can get succinct answer to the ranking. U.S. Army Ranks

 

[LaborDayRN]

Yes. They explained the jurisdiction thing early on. The gravesite is the responsibility of the Texas Rangers.

CID’s purview mostly falls to what happened on the base.

Thanks MassGuy! You caught my typo before I was able to fix it!

 

[MassGuy]

It is hard for me to believe that at a base where they have had two mass shootings that there is not surveillance coverage all over areas where people work and live on a daily basis. The CID said there was no cameras in the area. It just seems so negligent on base that has had issues like shootings, prostitution rings and many disappearances/murders. Ugh. If they did, it may not have saved this woman's life but would have gotten her some faster justice. If she was indeed dismembered and disposed of under the concrete, surveillance would have pointed to this man faster and possibly aided in recovery of her remains sooner.

Fort Hood is a mess and a thorough review and action plan are needed. There is little confidence by many in the leadership, accountability and systems in place.

What it comes down to is that a base is many people’s home, whether they live in barracks, or on base housing. I thank my lucky stars there weren’t cameras everywhere on the Marine base I was stationed (drunken shenanigans).

Where you do expect to see cameras, is at access control points and secure areas.

 

[Lillymac]

Apparently she got the information from the US Army Criminal Investigation Unit. At least that's what it says.

Thanks. I guess I'm wondering where anyone got this info. Was there video or a confession? That report contains pretty specific details. E g. his girl friend using a machete. Isn't she out on bail? Oh my goodness...either I've missed alot or they're are still many questions to answer. I think the Army is pretty po'd at social media.
If there isn't more to this and more people involved does it end with girlfriend and her aiding in disposal? Where is any justice going to be?

 

[Texas68W]

In layman's terms, what is an Arms Room? An E4? Thank you.

An arms room is a secure room within a building where an Army unit stores their weapons and other sensitive items (night vision goggles, scopes, etc.); an E4 is a pay grade in the military -- it's the fourth enlisted pay grade, and correlates to a rank of specialist or corporal.

Hopefully that helps. I served in the same regiment of VG and AR (3d Cavalry Regiment), and was there when the RES squadron was stood-up so I'm familiar with the area and building layouts for a few of the other squadrons.

 

[Boxer]

Gonna have to word this carefully... Could Robinson have been asked to silence Vanessa by whoever called her in to work? I know, i know... it's a stretch but...

Not a stretch. Robinson is an e4. VG is not going to mistake an e4 for a e5.

 

[RumorMonger]

Where is it that they give you the chance to join the military rather than jail time?

Game of Thrones? ;-)

 

[freeinformation]

An arms room is a secure room within a building where an Army unit stores their weapons and other sensitive items (night vision goggles, scopes, etc.); an E4 is a pay grade in the military -- it's the fourth enlisted pay grade, and correlates to a rank of specialist or corporal.

Hopefully that helps. I served in the same regiment of VG and AR (3d Cavalry Regiment), and was there when the RES squadron was stood-up so I'm familiar with the area and building layouts for a few of the other squadrons.

I read a post on another site that said the arms room is in the basement of the building, is this true? Also where would the arms room be for her unit? The motor pool area?

 

[MsBetsy]

You would think if he truly bludgeoned VG, there would have to be blood somewhere? I can’t imagine AR being so thorough with a cleanup, especially on a time restraint. Something’s not right here, IMO.

And where would he have dismembered the body? I wonder if he was a suspect early on and they already knew some of these things. I would think they would have treated the armory room as a potential crime scene from the beginning. Wasn't she last seen leaving and walking to her car in the parking lot? Never to be seen again? Or was that a different parking lot?

 

[Jsmustang61]

I agree. They said she saw pictures of her on his phone and got upset. How did she see them on his phone? Was she looking at his phone? Why was she even there on her day off to begin with?

the family’s attorney said today that she didn’t believe that. Her theory was Vanessa told him to stop harassing her, he said nobody will believe you, she said something about his married girlfriend and he went nuts.