Missing Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen IS dead, says her family, as man linked to her disappearance kills himself and two suspects are taken in custody
- Suspect connected to Fort Hood criminal case killed himself early Wednesday
- Killeen police said they tried to make contact with suspect in the 4700 block of East Rancier Avenue around 1.29am Wednesday morning
- As officers tried to make contact, the man 'displayed weapon and discharged it'
- Authorities said suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene
- Police have not released identity of the suspect; no other details were available
- Incident comes days after remains were found during search for Vanessa Guillen
- Guillen, 20, has been missing since April and had told her family that she was sexually harassed by a sergeant before her disappearance
- The remains found over the weekend were discovered near the area where the skeletal remains of Pvt Gregory Scott Morales, 24, were found on June 19
- Body was found in a field near the Fort Hood base, where he was stationed
- Foul play is suspected and an autopsy to determine cause of death is pending
- He disappeared August 19, 2019 driving his personal vehicle outside of Fort Hood days before he was due to be discharged
During an emotional press conference in Washington, DC, the family of missing Fort Hood solder Vanessa Guillen said they believe their loved one is dead and that the man who killed her is the same individual who turned a gun on himself when police tried to make contact with him early Wednesday morning.
'We have a dead person because of sexual harassment,' the family's attorney Natalie Kahwam said at the start of the press conference.
The medical examiner has yet to confirm if the remains found on Tuesday belong to Guillen. But the soldier's family said Wednesday that they believe the remains are hers.
'It’s not confirmed yet whether it’s my sister or not but everything points to it,' Guillen's sister, Mayra, told reporters in DC.
According to the family, one other suspect is in custody. Kahwam and Guillen's sisters said that the second suspect tied to the soldier's apparent death is the man who killed himself early Wednesday morning as police tried to make contact with him.
Mayra said she actually met the man who Guillen accused of sexual harassment and walking in on her while she was showering before she disappeared in April.
'When I first when up to that base that subject I met him not knowing that he had something to do with it. I felt something was telling me that he did something. He still had the nerve that same day to laugh in my face and apparently now he kills himself why I don’t know,' Mayra said.
During an emotional press conference in Washington, DC, the family of missing Fort Hood solder Vanessa Guillen said they believe their loved one is dead and that the man who killed her is the same man who turned a gun on himself when cops tried to make contact with him
'It’s not confirmed yet whether it’s my sister or not but everything points to it,' Guillen's sister, Mayra (pictured speaking), told reporters in DC. Mayra also said she met the suspect who killed himself when she went to the Fort Hood base
'We have a dead person because of sexual harassment,' the family's attorney Natalie Kahwam (pictured speaking) said at the start of the press conference. She then demanded a congressional investigation into Guillen's case
According to a statement from the Killeen Police Department, authorities located the suspect in the 4700 block of East Rancier Avenue around 1.29am Wednesday morning.
'As officers attempted to make contact with the suspect, the suspect displayed a weapon and discharged it towards himself,' police said in the statement.
Authorities said the suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.
Police said they tried to make contact with the suspect who is believed to have been connected to one of Fort Hood's criminal investigations.
The identity of the suspect has not been released and no other information about the man was revealed.
'We stand here for justice. We stand here for Vanessa,' Khawan said during the press conference as she slammed the Fort Hood base for the way Guillen's case has been handled.
'We stand here for every service member who suffered harassment and didn't feel safe reporting it.'
Guillen's (left and right) family says that she had accused an unnamed sergeant of sexually harassing her and claimed she felt unsafe before she disappeared
Guillen was last seen at the Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas, on April 22 wearing a black t-shirt, light purple leggings and black Nike sneakers
According to a statement from the Killeen Police Department, authorities located the suspect in the 4700 block of East Rancier Avenue (area pictured) around 1.29am Wednesday morning
Guillen's family says that she had accused an unnamed sergeant of sexually harassing her and claimed she felt unsafe before she disappeared.
Khawam said Guillen once claimed that a superior walked in on her showering and another verbally assaulted her with vulgar remarks in Spanish.
Last week the Fort Hood Army base launched an investigation into Guillen's allegations that a sergeant sexually harassed her.
Guillen was last seen at the Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas, on April 22 wearing a black t-shirt, light purple leggings and black Nike sneakers.
Her car keys, barracks room key, identification card and wallet were later found in the armory room where she was working earlier in the day.
Volunteer group Texas EquuSearch came across the remains in an undisclosed area in Coryell County, not too far from the site where the remains of missing soldier Gregory Wedel-Morales were found on June 19.
Morales, who was also known as Gregory Wedel, was last seen on August 19, 2019 driving his personal vehicle outside of Fort Hood. He was to be discharged within days after his disappearance, the Army said.
Morales joined the Army in June 2015 as a motor transport operator and had been assigned to the 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood since November 2016, according to the Army.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for information about his death. Morales disappeared about eight months before Guillen vanished from the base.
Volunteer group Texas EquuSearch came across the remains in an undisclosed area in Coryell County, not too far from the site where the remains of missing soldier Gregory Wedel-Morales (pictured) were found on June 19
Morales, who was also known as Gregory Wedel, was last seen on August 19, 2019 driving his personal vehicle outside of Fort Hood. He was to be discharged within days after his disappearance, the Army said
Soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment conduct ongoing searches of the training area at Fort Hood, Texas, for Guillen on June 18
Both Morales and Guillen were stationed at the Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas
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