Cecily Aguilar pleads guilty to felony charges for involvement in Vanessa Guillen’s murder

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - BREAKING: Cecily Aguilar on Tuesday, Nov. 29, waived her right to a trial in the murder of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen and pleaded guilty to a single count of accessory after the fact and three counts of making a false statement.

Aguilar is facing a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, a $1-million fine, and the possibility of 12 years supervised release after serving her sentence.

Aguilar was the only person charged in connection with Guillen’s murder. She was indicted on 11 counts for her involvement with Army Specialist Aaron Robinson in dismembering Guillen’s body before burying her remains in shallow graves along the Leon River.

Aguilar’s guilty plea is “another step on the long path toward justice for Vanessa, my client, and her courageous family,” Guillen Family Attorney Natalie Khawam told KWTX, " I will never stop fighting for my clients and will continue to seek and demand justice for victims and their families until it’s achieved.”

Guillen was last seen on the night of April 22, 2020, in the parking lot of her 3rd Cavalry Regiment Engineer Squadron Headquarters. Keys to her car and her barracks room and her ID card and wallet were later found in the armory room where she had worked earlier in the day.

More than two months later, on June 30, 2020, contractors working on a fence along the Leon River discovered the slain soldier’s remains.

Had she pleaded not guilty, Aguilar’s trial was scheduled to begin on Jan. 23, 2023.

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