LULAC to expand Vanessa Guillen mural in Killeen to include one honoring service member who took his own life

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - Turning a negative into a positive. That’s LULAC District 17′s mission after someone recently vandalized the Vanessa Guillen mural.

Last week someone tagged the back side of the mural and now LULAC District 17 plans to turn it into a mural for Brandon Caserta, who served in the Navy.

The Guillen side of the mural was not vandalized and will remain as is, despite the new addition.

”Brandon Caserta he was sexually harassed, he was humiliated and every time that he demanded and requested to have access to mental health care he was denied,” LULAC District 17 director Ana Luisa Carrillo-Tapia.

At just 21, Brandon died by suicide in 2018. His story paved the way for the Brandon Act, which requires commanding officers to connect soldiers with treatment within 24 hours if they report their mental health struggles.

”We want to make sure every service member has an outlet to be able to seek out mental health so that they can one day become our veterans,” Carrillo-Tapia said.

The side of the mural that was tagged has signatures from protestors who came to Killeen in 2020 to demand answers on Guillen’s whereabouts. However, those signatures have faded away over the years.

This isn’t the first time vandalism has happened. In 2020 candles set up in front of the mural were kicked over. Then in 2021 candles were broken again.

”The focus is no longer the message of we care for you, rest in peace Vanessa,” Carrillo-Tapia said. “It was taking the attention off of that and into something that is not even worth talking about.”

Now Fort Cavazos soldiers who pass by the new mural will know that there is help out there.

”This is a message and it needs to be a daily message to our service members and to the leadership that our service members’ rights are not ignored,” Carrillo-Tapia said.

LULAC District 17 also wants to add some new lighting around the two murals in case anyone else tries to vandalize them.

The district set up a GoFundMe to help pay for the Caserta mural and security enhancements.