FORT HOOD, Texas – Senior leadership at Fort Hood will give statements Monday regarding the current status of the investigation into Specialist Vanessa Guillen’s death.
Fort Hood Senior Commander, Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt will make a statement around 6 p.m. at the Army post, according to a press release. Col. Ralph Overland, the 3rd Cavalry Regiment commander, is also expected to make a statement.
A live stream will be available to watch in this article around 6 p.m. If you do not see a video at that time, check again soon.
Guillen was last seen in the parking lot of her regimental engineer squadron headquarters, 3rd Cavalry Regiment on Fort Hood on April 22.
Natalie Khawam, Guillen’s family attorney, believes remains found Tuesday belong to the missing soldier.
Khawam told CNN during an interview on Sunday that Army investigators had positively identified Guillen’s remains but Army officials have yet to confirm the remains found belong to Guillen.
Cecily Aguilar, 22, is a suspect in Guillen’s murder case, along with 20-year-old Army Specialist Aaron Robinson who fatally shot himself in Killeen last Wednesday. A press release from Fort Hood identified Aguilar as the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier.
Aguilar appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Manske in Waco federal court Monday via video conference and is being represented by Lewis Gainor who was assigned to her as a public defender, according to CourtHouseNews.com.
She is charged with one count of conspiracy to tamper with evidence and faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.
In an interview with FBI investigator last Tuesday, Aguilar said she helped Robinson remove Guillen’s limbs and head using a “hatchet or ax” and a “machete type knife” after Robinson allegedly killed Guillen with a hammer on the Army post.
She also said the pair then attempted to burn the body but “the body would not burn completely” so they placed the remains in three separate holes and covered them up, according to an affidavit. Contractors working on a fence near the Leon River in Belton found human remains Tuesday “that appeared to have been placed into a concrete-like substance and buried.”
Guillen’s family is pushing for legislation that would provide unbiased investigations into harassment allegations in the military. They have also called publicly for a congressional investigation into her disappearance.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, who attended a vigil for Guillen in downtown San Antonio Sunday night, also called for a congressional investigation into her disappearance at Fort Hood.
More stories related to Vanessa Guillen’s disappearance:
Vanessa Guillen: A timeline of events and everything we know about her disappearance
Vanessa Guillen killed with hammer, body dismembered and burned, affidavit says
Body found believed to be Vanessa Guillen’s, suspect killed himself, family attorney says
Army suspects foul play in Fort Hood soldier’s disappearance, congresswoman says
Human remains found near Central Texas river during search for Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen