Houston Chronicle by Cayla Harris 8/14/2023
A federal judge on Monday sentenced Cecily Ann Aguilar to 30 years in prison for helping to dispose of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillén's body in the murder that triggered an overhaul in how the U.S. Army responds to sexual harassment allegations.
Aguilar, the girlfriend of the man accused of killing Guillén, pleaded guilty late last year to one count of helping a suspect after the crime and three of making false statements to authorities.
She's the only living suspect tied to the 2020 slaying of Guillén, a Houston native who authorities believe was murdered by Army Spc. Aaron David Robinson while stationed at Fort Cavazos, formerly known as Fort Hood. He fatally shot himself as police closed in on him.
In an all-day hearing Monday, U.S. District Judge Alan Albright sentenced Aguilar to the maximum time allowed after Guillén’s family members read emotional statements in the Waco courtroom. Albright said he was unconvinced by Aguilar’s defense team, who invoked her troubled childhood and mental health struggles in asking for a lesser sentence.
Prosecutors said they hope the outcome will bring a “sense of relief and justice to the Guillén family, who have endured such pain throughout these past few years.”
“Ms. Aguilar’s actions were indefensible, and she will now face the maximum penalty for the choices she made,” U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas said in a news release after the sentencing.
Aguilar admitted to helping Robinson dismember, burn and bury Guillén’s body in the hours after he is believed to have bludgeoned her with a hammer on April 22, 2020. She at first lied to authorities about her involvement in the crime, changing her story repeatedly as law enforcement investigated further.
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