TIMELINE: From Vanessa Guillen's disappearance to Fort Hood review findings
Nearly eight months after the disappearance of Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen, U.S. Army officials announced the findings of an independent investigation into Fort Hood. The results led to the firing and suspension of more than a dozen officers and enlisted soldiers at the base, along with policy changes.
Below we take a look at the timeline between Guillen's disappearance and the review findings.
April 22
Army Pfc. Vanessa Guillen is pronounced missing after she was last seen on the morning of April 22 in the parking lot of her Regimental Engineer Squadron Headquarters, 3rd Cavalry Regiment on Fort Hood, Texas, and has not been heard from since.
Her car keys, barracks room key, identification card, and wallet were later found in the armory room where she was working earlier in the day. She was last seen in the parking lot wearing a black t-shirt and purple fitness-type pants.
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Houston family waiting and hoping as search continues for missing Ft. Hood soldier
It's been almost 2 weeks since Private First Class Vanessa Guillen was last seen. Her family has been traveling from Houston to Killeen to help in the search for her, Chelsea Edwards reports.
June 30
Partial human remains were found close to the Leon River in Bell County, an area of interest in the search for missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen.
July 1
A suspect in Guillen's disappearance, later identified as Spc. Aaron David Robinson, her superior, took his own life when law enforcement attempted to make contact with him after he fled from Fort Hood.
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Police: Suspect in Vanessa Guillen disappearance dies from self-inflicted wound
Authorities say a suspect in the disappearance of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during an encounter with officers in Killeen.
Meanwhile, Cecily Aguilar was arrested and charged for assisting Robinson with disposing of Vanessa’s body.
Aguilar faces up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to tamper with evidence and five years of supervised release if she is found guilty. The charge carries a $250,000 fine.
Cecily Anne Aguilar
DETAILS: One suspect in custody for disappearance of Pfc. Vanessa Guillen, other is dead
Aguilar was previously scheduled to appear in court, but the hearing has been postponed to January.
Also on July 1, Guillen's rank was posthumously advanced to Specialist.
July 6
Officials confirmed on July 6 the remains found near the Leon River belong to Guillen.
The family’s attorney Natalie Khawam says Guillen was murdered, bludgeoned to death by her superior Spc. Robinson.
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Attorney: Missing Texas solider was killed at Fort Hood
Lawyer Natalie Khawam said the U.S. Army Criminal Investigations Division told her that the other soldier bludgeoned 20-year-old soldier Vanessa Guillen with a hammer at Fort Hood and later dismembered her and buried the remains in the woods.
Her family said Guillen claimed Robinson had sexually assaulted her but army officials said they found no such evidence.
The claims sparked widespread concerns about sexual abuse in the military.
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Mayor proclaims July 11, 2020 as Vanessa Guillen Day in Houston
He proclaimed July 11, 2020, as ‘Vanessa Guillen Day’ in the City of Houston.
July 30
Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy ordered an independent review of the command climate at Fort Hood following Guillen’s slaying.
The purpose of the independent review is to determine whether the command climate and culture at Fort Hood, and the surrounding military community, reflects the Army's values, including safety, respect, inclusiveness, and a commitment to diversity, and workplaces and communities free from sexual harassment.
ARMY: Fort Hood has some of the "highest numbers" of violent acts, sexual harassment cases
August 14
Public memorial set in Houston for slain Spc. Vanessa Guillen.
August 15
Family, friends say goodbye to Spc. Vanessa Guillen in private ceremony and funeral.
September 1
The commander of the U.S. Army's Fort Hood is removed from his post as part of a previously-scheduled change in leadership and will no longer be transferred to Fort Bliss.
Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt will remain at Fort Hood and continue to serve as deputy commanding general for support. Due to this, the Army will name a new commander for the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss in El Paso.
September 8
Congress announced it was launching an investigation into sexual assault, disappearances, deaths and the leadership’s response at Fort Hood after 28 soldiers stationed at the U.S. Army base in Texas died this year.
Congressional delegation holds press conference at Fort Hood
The delegation of eight U.S. Representatives visited Fort Hood Friday to perform their oversight role in the wake of a number of concerning events involving the military installation, including the murder of Spc. Vanessa Guillen.
September 16
Legislation honoring Vanessa Guillen introduced on Capitol Hill. The ' I Am Vanessa Guillen Act of 2020' has bipartisan support. The lead sponsors are U.S. Representatives Jackie Speier (D-CA) and Markwayne Mullin (R-OK). Houston-area Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia (TX-29) and Congressman Pete Olson (TX-22), a Democrat and Republican, are co-sponsors.
RELATED: Advocates push for “I am Vanessa Guillen” bill to assist soldiers and military families
The bill seeks to change how reports of sexual assault and harassment are dealt with in the military and how the military deals with missing service members. It would allow service members to file sexual assault claims to a third party, instead of their chain of command.
An independent prosecutor would be allowed to investigate cases of sexual violence and make sexual harassment and sexual assault a crime with the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Currently, sexual harassment is typically addressed through administrative sanctions.
December 8
The Army announced the findings of an independent panel’s investigation into Fort Hood.
They fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at the base and ordered policy changes to address chronic leadership failures at the base that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence including murder, sexual assaults and harassment.
Two general officers were among those being removed from their jobs, as top Army leaders announced the findings of an independent panel’s investigation into problems at the Texas base.
DETAILS: Officials fire or suspend 14 Fort Hood officers, enlisted soldiers after investigation
The firings and suspensions include Army Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, who was left in charge of the base earlier this year when Guillen was killed, as well as Maj. Gen. Jeffery Broadwater, commander of the 1st Cavalry Divisions. The administrative actions are expected to trigger investigations that could lead to a wide range of punishments. Those punishments could go from a simple letter of reprimand to a military discharge.
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"She will not die in vain": Family of Vanessa Guillen reacts to Fort Hood firings, suspensions
Houston Police Chief Art Acevado said that the family's strength since Vanessa Guillen's disappearance moved the United States Army to act.
The base commander, Army Lt. Gen. Pat White, will not face any administrative action. He was deployed to Iraq as the commander there for much of the year.
McCarthy also ordered a new Army policy that changes how commanders deal with missing soldiers, requiring them to list service members as absent-unknown for up to 48 hours and to do everything they can to locate the service members to determine if their absence is voluntary or not before declaring anyone AWOL, or absent without leave.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.