The Killeen Police Department (KPD) has said that a suspect wanted in connection with the disappearance of Vanessa Guillen, a Fort Hood soldier who disappeared from the military base over 60 days ago, has committed suicide.
What We Know:
- In the early morning of Wednesday, July 1, 2020, the KDP attempted to make contact with a suspect in Gullien’s case. As the officers tried to approach, the suspect revealed a weapon and discharged it on himself. The suspect, whose name has not been released, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- The local police, U.S. Marshals-Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, and the Fort Hood Criminal Investigation Division (CID) combined forces to find the suspect, according to a KPD press release.
- Later that morning, Vanessa Guillen’s family attorney, Natalie Khawam, had a press conference.
“They should be ashamed of themselves. Protocol was breached in every manner,”Khawam said. “We lost one of our own on our own base. This is unacceptable and should never happen, ever.”
- The situation occurred after human remains were found over the weekend not far from Fort Hood. The remains have been sent out for forensic testing, but the family believes they belong to Guillen.
- Sources say that the suspect who committed suicide was also a soldier at the fort and is the same one who sexually harassed Guillen before she disappeared. The estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier has also been arrested.
- Vanessa Guillen was last seen at Fort Hood in Texas on April 22, where she reported for work and later disappeared, leaving her car keys, ID, and cell phone behind.
- Another set of human remains was found ten days earlier, belonging to Pvt. Gregory Morales, who also disappeared from Fort Hood. The young man was reported as missing in August 2019 with the army listing him as AWOL.
- The circumstances related to Guillen’s disappearance, Morales’ body, and the base’s history of known prostitution rings are drawing national attention. Fort Hood is also accused of “covering up” a more significant issue at the base.
The KPD and CID have not released the suspect’s name and have not said why they were searching for the suspect or how he was connected to Vanessa Guillen’s disappearance.
