A Texas woman behind bars for allegedly helping her boyfriend dispose of soldier Vanessa Guillen’s remains, now claims that her rights were violated when authorities questioned her.
On Wednesday, Cecily Aguilar’s defense attorney, Lewis Gainor, filed a motion in court, claiming that the investigators who interrogated Aguilar did not read her the Miranda Rights. The lawyer also accused the investigators of taking Aguilar’s phone away from her while interviewing her in a windowless room at the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command Office in Killeen, Texas.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Aguilar, 22, is facing three conspiracy to tamper with evidence charges after she allegedly helped her boyfriend, soldier Aaron Robinson, dismember 20-year-old Vanessa Guillen after Robinson beat her to death with a hammer in April 2020.
According to court documents, Robinson hid Guillen’s body in a Pelican case, stored it to the side of the armory room on the base, then left the base to buy supplies. He returned that evening and took the case to the Leon River area, the Guillen family lawyer, Natalie Kwaham previously told CrimeOnline.
Kwaham said Robinson needed help with disposing of Guillen’s body, and in turn, contacted Aguilar. Both Robinson and Aguilar allegedly drove to Leon River, then used a machete to hack Guillen’s body apart.
On April 26, 2020, the suspects returned to Leon River wearing hairnets and gloves. They used cement to encase Guillen’s body parts and lime and rocks to get rid of the evidence. They buried the hairnets and gloves at the crime scene, according to the criminal complaint, then drove home and burned the clothes they were wearing that day.
“Vanessa’s sister Mayra was arriving at the base; while was looking for her sister, they were dismembering her body,” Kwaham said during a previous “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” episode.
Aguilar was arrested last June, but Robinson took his own life while authorities were closing in on him.
Now, Gainor says Texas Ranger Travis Dendy shut the interrogation room door and began questioning Aguilar before following proper procedure.
Cecily Aguilar Motion to Su… by Leigh Egan
Aguilar sobbed throughout the interrogation, according to the motion, while trying to help police locate Robinson. Police later surrounded Robinson near Fort Hood, but he turned a gun on himself before they could detain him.
Gainor said that authorities initially told Aguilar she was not under arrest and was free to leave. However, it wasn’t until after she confessed that authorities read her rights to her. Aguilar reportedly thought she would be released after she helped investigators track Robinson down.
Gainor is now pushing for an evidentiary hearing and the release of any footage from police interactions with Aguilar when they initially stopped her during a traffic stop. They also want the prosecution to provide them with a list of witnesses.
Check back for updates.
Read all of our Vanessa Guillen coverage here.
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[Feature Photo: Cecily Aguilar; Bell County SO/Vanessa Aguilar; Family Handout]
