Vanessa Guillen was born in Houston, TX, at the Ben Taub Hospital on September 30, 1999. It’s important where she was born because that makes her an American citizen, even though her parents came from Zacatecas State in Mexico. Vanessa attended Hartman Middle School and graduated from César E. Chávez High School in 2018 in the top 15% of her class. She enjoyed playing soccer and jogging. After graduation, she joined the U.S. Army, fulfilling a lifetime goal. Stationed at Fort Hood, she trained as a Small Arms and Artillery Repairer.
Guillen found herself being sexually harassed by a superior on the base and twice informally reported it. What do you do when the person you’re supposed to report things to is the problem? The Army is all about following the chain of command, but in this case, the chain was broken.
Vanessa was discovered missing on April 23, 2020. Prior to her disappearance, she’d told her mother an unnamed sergeant at Fort Hood was sexually harassing her and that officials had dismissed complaints made by other female soldiers against the sergeant. Vanessa’s mother suggested she report it, but Vanessa feared possible retribution as her mother was undocumented, which might turn up in an investigation.
Vanessa’s disappearance was investigated by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID). and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with local law enforcement agencies in Bell County, Killeen, and Belton; the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; the United States Marshals Service; and the Texas Ranger Division in support. Multiple Fort Hood units began searching the area within two weeks of her disappearance. Her car keys, identification card, bank card, and barracks key were found inside the armory where she worked. Her family believed that she would not have left these items behind voluntarily.
On June 13, 2020, hundreds of people assembled at the gates of Fort Hood to protest what the family and supporters believed was a lack of information on the case. On June 17, the League of United Latin American Citizens added a $25,000 reward to the existing $25,000 reward announced by the Army for finding Guillén. , Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (D-TX) met with Fort Hood officials to discuss the ongoing search. Authorities said that more than 300 interviews had been conducted, and they spent more than 10,000 hours investigating Guillén’s disappearance. On July 27, 2020, Guillén’s mother, who had previously been detained for illegal immigration, was granted parole in place by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through the assistance of Garcia and immigration attorney Luis Gomez Alfaro.
On June 30, 2020, private contractors discovered partial human remains along the Leon River in Belton. The area had been searched previously by Texas Rangers, detectives, and cadaver dogs on June 20 after a burn mound was discovered nearby.
That evening, at around 8:30 p.m., authorities re-interviewed Cecily Anne Aguilar, a local woman. She was estranged from her husband, a soldier at Fort Hood. Aguilar was reportedly the girlfriend of Aaron David Robinson, a specialist-ranked enlisted soldier who was one of the last people known to have seen Guillén on the day of her disappearance.
Aguilar told police that Robinson had confessed to her that he had killed a female soldier at Fort Hood. At the request of law enforcement, Aguilar placed a controlled telephone call to Robinson, who said, “Baby, they found pieces”, and texted Robinson multiple news articles. He did not deny any facts of the articles. Aguilar allegedly helped Robinson dismember and dispose of Guillén’s body on April 22, 2020, after Robinson told her he had bludgeoned the soldier to death with a hammer inside the armory.
During the course of the search for Vanessa Guillén, the remains of two other soldiers were discovered. Private Mejhor Morta, 26, of Pensacola, Florida, was pronounced dead shortly after the discovery of his body near Stillhouse Hollow Lake on July 17—the body of Private Gregory Wedel-Morales, 23, was discovered June 19 buried in a field at the end of a Killeen cul-de-sac.
On June 30, Robinson escaped the custody of an unarmed guard from his unit. He fled Fort Hood after having learned of the discovery of remains. His unit had detained Robinson at the request of a CID agent under the pretense of violating COVID-19 quarantine rules. In the early hours of July 1, Killeen police located and attempted to make contact with Robinson, who pulled out a handgun and killed himself before he could be taken into custody.
The case garnered national publicity, and President Donald Trump invited the family to meet with him in the White House. While there, Trump told the family he’d help with the funeral costs, asking them to “send me the bill.” The 20-year-old Guillen was buried in Houston, her hometown.
“If I can help you out with the funeral, I’ll help," said Donald Trump according to The Atlantic. "I’ll help you with that, I’ll help you out. Financially, I’ll help you.”
Months later, Trump inquired whether the family had ever sent a bill for the funeral. According to the report, an aide responded “yes” and announced the funeral cost, which was $60,000. Trump flew into a rage.
“It doesn’t cost 60,000 bucks to bury a f — -ing Mexican,” allegedly said Trump.
The report goes on to say that Trump turned to his Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, and told him not to pay.
Meadows allegedly ensured the bill wasn’t paid, and the family never received a cent from the Trump White House. The family seemed unaware of Trump’s broken promise, and Guillen’s sister Mayra released the following statement:
“I am beyond grateful for all the support President Donald Trump showed our family during a trying time. I witnessed firsthand how President Trump honors our nation’s heroes’ service. We are grateful for everything he has done and continues to do to support our troops.”
Trump's two sentences reveal him to be the racist he constantly denies being and that his word means nothing. He’s totally devoid of character, which should come as a surprise to no one. Trump has never shown respect for the military, calling them “suckers and losers.” Now we know he has a special place in his heart for those of Mexican heritage, even American citizens born in the United States.
True to form, a Trump spokesman denies Trump used the words “fucking Mexican,” though he didn’t deny that the bill was never paid (The victim's family attorney confirmed to The Atlantic that no one money was received.) Of course, Trump denies everything and always has. There are other important parts of the story, including the passage of the I Am Vanessa Guillen Act, which ensures that reports of sexual harassment in the military are taken more seriously. I chose to focus on the Commander in Chief who didn’t give a damn about a soldier whose parents were from South of the border.
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of William Spivey's work on Medium. And if you dig his words, buy the man a coffee.