The woman who helped hide Vanessa Guillén‘s body will spend 30 years in prison to think about her heinous actions.
Cecily Aguilar learned her sentence on Monday after pleading guilty in November 2022 to one count of accessory to murder for helping her boyfriend, Army Specialist Aaron Robinson, get rid of Guillén’s remains in April 2020. After Robinson told Aguilar he’d bludgeoned Guillén to death, she did not turn him in. Instead, she helped him mutilate Guillén before her body was placed near Leon River near Belton, Texas, People reports. Aguilar also pleaded guilty to three counts of false representation or making a false statement for lying to police during the investigation.
Robinson killed Guillén on April 22, 2020. Her desecrated body was not discovered until June 30, 2020. As police closed in on Robinson shortly after, he committed suicide, leaving only Aguilar to face charges for the murder. She also removed items from a Google Drive connected to Robinson in an effort to hide more evidence. Guillén had complained of sexual harassment to her family and superiors while stationed at Fort Hood. An April 2021 report confirmed that she had sought help but was ignored. Her family has sued the U.S. government for $35 million, holding them partially accountable for her death.
“Our hope is that today’s sentence brings 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 said after the sentence was handed down.
Guillén’s sister, Mayra Guillen, called the sentencing “a very hard day for my family.”
