>> i would love to hear her voice again. i would love to hear her laugh. >> i tell people i won the kid lottery. >> she was such a part of our lives. i would talk to her at least every day. >> she was a genuine person. she was super fun. she lived to be with people and engage. it was amazing. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. thank you for watching. woman: vanessa was a good soldier. andrea canning: did she go into the army to help people? i am andrea canning and this is dateline. >> vanessa was a good soldier. >> dicicco in the army to help people? >> yes. >> they notified she was missing. >> they are searching the company areas in the installation.

>> it's like she vanished into thin air. >> i want her back. >> this takes a turn, this story. >> her family said she was being sexually harassed by a superior officer. >> women are coming forward saying they too were sexually harassed in the army. >> enough is enough. we need to change this. >> the trends are going the wrong way that terry at us as an institution. >> a man out digging holes sees what he thinks is human hair. >> i kept praying. don't let it be. >> hello, and welcome to dateline. vanessa guillen was living her dream, serving in the military

while keeping close to her family. then she disappeared. as investigators searched for the missing soldier, her loved ones went public with a go accusation that sparked a movement. their quest for answers which shine a spotlight on an ugly truth but would it lead them to vanessa. here is voices for vanessa. >> i couldn't believe it was happening to me. it was the scariest part of my life because i was alone. >> so many were quiet for so long. >> i was harassed, sexually assaulted, and physically threatened. >> this man i trust it, felt violated. i felt stupid. >> now they want to be heard. >> the men who sexually assaulted the are still serving in uniform. >> there is no excuse for harassment. it has to stop. >> all these voices inspired by one that suddenly went silent.

april 22, 2020 should've been an easy wednesday for private first class vanessa guillen . she was heading to her station at fort hood since renamed. she completed a few tasks her boss texted her about the night before. even in this regimented army road, pfc. vanessa guillen texted a lot with her boyfriend, her girlfriends, and according to her sister, vanessa constantly texted with her mother gloria. >> my mom text her every other hour. what are you eating? are you okay? >> it was strange then by midday their mom stopped hearing from vanessa. that's when her sister tried to reach her. >> the call went to voicemail. i texted her the message, i tried calling again and it went to voicemail. that's when i started getting really scared. >> her life story was a typically american one. the daughter of immigrants, one

of six children. she was a mix of many things. ambition, generosity, humor. when no one was watching, she was with her family. what was her personality like? >> she was goofy. she would laugh at herself and her laugh was contagious. >> according to gloria, even as a child she was laser focus. is a true she wanted to be in the army as young as 10 years old? >> mommy, i'm going to enlist in the army. >> by high school, it looked like vanessa would have plenty of options in life. she excelled in school and her friend said sports were her thing. >> working out. she was always exercising. >> why she the whole package in high school? as graduation neared, she told her family she changed her mind.

she still planned to enlist in the army. >> she wanted to help others. she wanted better opportunities. >> after basic training, she was assigned to the third cavalry division at fort hood. she specialized in artillery repair and small arms. things went well and she made friends and received great feedback from superiors on the weekends she would make the drive down to visit her family in houston. a few months in, her family noticed a change. >> [ speaking in a global language ] >> gloria asked her daughter what was wrong? >> [ speaking in a global language ] >> one year later, vanessa had gone off the family radar. as the day passed, her silent night that myra. she could've been occupied with work. still, it was not like vanessa

to disappear in the problem was where to look for her. >> fort hood is one of the largest army installations in the world. >> she reports for an nbc affiliate. >> it has a about 214,000 acres. there's about 65,000 soldiers roughly. it's a very large place. >> myra agonized. the place was so large her sister could be forgotten. she did not like what she was hearing when she said she spoke with one of her staff sergeants. >> he wouldn't tell me anything. that made me even more upset. >> too upset to sit home and wait. you headed to fort hood? you needed answers. myra said she was surprised by the reception she got at the gate. what did they tell you? >> they tried to ask me if i knew anything. i'm like, if i

knew anything i would not be standing here. >> this is a mystery what happened to your sister. no one knows anything? >> everyone claims they didn't know. >> army investigators did tell the family one terrifying thing . >> everything was there. her car, her keys, credit and debit card. or military i.d. she would never leave without it. >> that is extremely bizarre that she is gone but these critical items that of course any soldier would have, especially the i.d. is there. what did that tell you? >> something really bad happened to her. >> how did she disappear? >> exactly. >> coming up. how does someone disappear from a military base? >> my first thought, she must've went awol. >> the last images of vanessa

before she went missing, picking up food at a local restaurant. >> the owner said she seemed like she was worried about something. ut something. pronamel active shied because it actively shields the enamel to defend against erosion and cavities. i think that this product is a game changer for my patients. it really works. this charmin ultra soft smooth tear is soooo soft and soo smooth. charmin ultra soft smooth tear has wavy perforations that tear so much better for a smooth more enjoyable go. charmin, enjoy the go. (ethan) i smoked and have had multiple strokes. now, it's hard for me to remember things. my tip is, if you need to remember something,

write it down quickly. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now.

a slow network is no network for business. (announcer) you can quit. that's why more choose comcast business. and now we're introducing ultimate speed for business, our fastest plans yet. we're up to 12 times faster than verizon, at&t, and t-mobile. and existing customers could even get up to triple the speeds at no additional cost. from the company with 99.9% network reliability and advanced cyber security, it's ultimate speed for ultimate business. and it's all from comcast business.

on april 24, two days after vanessa guillen's disappearance, the army released april 24, two days after vanessa guillen's disappearance, the armillary release a load be on the lookout notice. at first jasmine did not pay

much attention. >> it happens often. my first thought, she must've went awol. swept it under the rug. but then, the next day, it wouldn't go away. you are like, let's look into this. >> vanessa's family and friends are determined to find her. >> what caught her eye right away was the determination of vanessa's family. you did not leave the area. you state. >> i told her, we are not going to leave until i know something more until i find her. >> i know she will be with us soon. >> fort hood dispatched soldiers to search for vanessa. local state and federal law enforcement help. as the days grew, her family wandered if it lacked urgency. they kept pressure on investigators and searchers, looking for her themselves. >> it's a matter of time before somebody actually confesses

something or we find a way to find her. >> we were searching anywhere. we kept printing posters and pulling them everywhere. calling and texting people. >> dateline posted an article about vanessa reaching hundreds of thousands of people online. the family did not let up but they say the army was not much help. they got very little information from fort hood. >> they tried, we can't help you anymore because there's no information. there's no tips. that your job. do your job. >> the family said the conversations at fort hood disturbed them. the army was not sharing enough details and the search was still moving too slowly. >> we started protesting at the east gate telling them we are not going to leave. we are going to stay here until we find vanessa. >> i want her back.

>> even with weekly rallies, local tv coverage, and intensified searches, there was no sign of vanessa. a reward were posted in hundreds of people were searching. weeks had gone by and nothing. >> i still had faith. i had faith we were going to find her. >> then jasmin caldwell found what she thought was a clue. >> the owner of this restaurant gave me surveillance footage. >> it was video of vanessa from the week before she went missing. >> you can see her going to get food inside. >> the last images of vanessa before she disappeared. >> the owner says he knew her well and the last time he saw her she did not seem like her normal cheerful self. he said she seemed like she was worried about something. >> our partner network telemundo went to the

restaurant as she tried to find which he could. >> [ speaking in a global language ] >> for weeks, the family had been trying everything to find vanessa including a push on social media. >> we started a facebook page. >> the page was exploding. >> every day we would get 10,000 followers. >> and now jasmin's station had company. >> it's getting national attention. we lived, we eat and sleep and breathe vanessa guillen. >> it was getting traction. >> we kept pressure as a family because we wanted answers. >> this shows how much people do care. >> lupe began reading about fort hood. she discovered investigations into problems there. >> from fort hood army base. i read two mass shootings.

gang members. drug use. violence. i was like, what's happening in fort hood? >> in addition fort hood has some of the highest murder, sexual harassment and sexual assault in the u.s. army. knowing that only made the family doubt the army officials more. nearly two months after vanessa disappeared, her family took a dramatic step. vanessa's mother said vanessa told her a secret. she said she had been sexually harassed by a superior. the family went public on telemundo. >> [ speaking in a global language ] >> finesses family was certain her disappearance was connected to sexual harassment. >> i don't know what they think

gives them the right to harass my sister. >> they demanded investigators get to the bottom of it. >> they all have a grandma, sister, mother, daughter. would you like them to be sexually harassed? >> they revealed finesses secret in the hopes of solving a secret. what they did not realize was they just started a movement. one-family's tragedy unites a sea of strangers and more secrets spill out. coming up. outrage and then an outpouring. >> this kicked off #iamvanessaguillen . the stories these women were posted, it was flooding social media. >> stories of one call the man's world of the military. >> i told them, you need to cut that out. he said what are you going to do about it? in my mind, i realize they are

not going to do anything about it. that was the lowest point for me. me. breathing claritin clear is like... (♪♪) is he? claritin clear? yeah. fast relief of allergies with nasal congestion, so you can breathe better. claritin plus decongestant.

live claritin clear®. smile! you found it. the feeling of finding psoriasis can't filter out the real you. so go ahead, live unfiltered with the one and only sotyktu, a once-daily pill for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and the chance at clear or almost clear skin. it's like the feeling of finding you're so ready for your close-up. or finding you don't have to hide your skin just your background. once-daily sotyktu was proven better, getting more people clearer skin than the leading pill. don't take if you're allergic to sotyktu; serious reactions can occur. sotyktu can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. serious infections, cancers including lymphoma, muscle problems, and changes in certain labs have occurred. tell your doctor if you have an infection, liver or kidney problems, high triglycerides, or had a vaccine or plan to. sotyktu is a tyk2 inhibitor. tyk2 is part of the jak family. it's not known if sotyktu has the same risks as jak inhibitors. find what plaque psoriasis has been hiding. there's only one sotyktu, so ask for it by name. so clearly you. sotyktu.

so clearly you. the two-month search to find private first class vanessa guillen had suddenly taken on a new dimension. w the two month search to find private first class vanessa guillen had suddenly taken on a new dimension. it was becoming a movement to fight sexual harassment in the military. >> when her family said she

told them she was being sexually harassed, that news, i remember reading it and thinking this is something bigger than just a missing soldier. >> haley reports on the army for task and purpose, magazine that covers a military. we start hearing a lot of noise, a lot of people were not happy. this message was getting out with finesses name at the center. >> this kicked off #iamvanessaguillen . the stories these women were posting, it was flooding social media channels. >> these are the voices of active service members and veterans who posted harrowing accounts of sexual harassment and assault. they said they endured it while serving the country. >> a leader sexually assaulted me and i did not say anything because i was one nothing would happen in my career would end. >> i was sexually harassed during my time in the navy. >> i have gone through so many therapy sessions and medications. >> i lost faith in the

military. >> i was harassed verbally and sexually. their answer was you can never do anything about it. >> melissa said sexual harassment was common threat to military career. the former army captain works as an advocate for veterans. >> sometimes it was slick and sometimes it was a graciously disgusting that they would laugh it off. >> she said she's part of her service for suffered verbal sexual harassment during her time through the army. >> i usually got comments about my breasts a lot. >> really? >> a lot. how do you manage to do push- ups with those? >> were any comments hitting on you? >> they would say no offense. you are one of the good looking ones. >> melissa had to be careful how she reacted, especially with superiors. what if it was your superior making the comment and you snapped back, what would happen? >> there would probably be a

reprimand at that point. there is a very real fear of retaliation. >> it was not just her superiors. >> i was in company command and i had a soldier make comments toward me. i told him, you really need to cut that out. he said what are you going to do about it? and, in my mind, i realize not going to do anything about it. that was the lowest point for me. >> when you have that realization that he is right, i'm not going to. that's a horrible realization. >> it was a horrible realization. this is someone reporting to me who is taking away my authority and agency as a woman and an officer and saying you're not going to do anything about it. >> for bryant, the message was clear. taking on harassers could damage her career. is it fair to say the military is mostly a man's world?

>> it very much so is. it is steen changing. >> while the military set of programs like sharp, the army sexual harassment and response program, reports of sexual harassment still rose by 10% between 2018 and 2019. higher numbers can partly be attributed to some servicemembers feeling more comfortable reporting harassment and abuse. >> where is vanessa? >> as finesses disappeared turned into a cause, family brought on board a firebrand attorney named natalie khawam to get to the bottom of their claims vanessa was sexually harassed. >> she said how much are you going to charge us? i'm not going to charge you anything. you lost your sister. >> she said the army was reluctant to share details with her too. as a possible they were doing this investigation but they were holding it because that's how they operate and they are not going to share critical details in an investigation? >> with a missing person case,

you share information with a family. i feel they did not want to share because they did not want to be critiqued. they don't want to be questioned. >> major general donna martin, the criminal investigation division which investigated finesses disappearance. >> i think is a misperception by many that because we watch all of these crime shows on tv that they unfold that easily and dna turns around and the evidence turns up. it does not happen like that in real life. >> how important was at investigation? she said behind-the-scenes it was much more intense than anyone realized. she will take us inside it, next. next. vanessa. they are searching the company areas. they are searching the installation. they are looking everywhere for vanessa. >> a frustrating hunt for clues.

>> there is no signs of blood. ava: i was just feeling sick. and it was the worst day. mom was crying. i was sad. colton: i was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma. brett: once we got the first initial hit, it was just straight tears, sickness in your stomach, just don't want to get up out of bed. joe: there's always that saying, well, you've got to look on the bright side of things. tell me what the bright side of childhood cancer is. lakesha: it's a long road. it's hard. but saint jude has gotten us through it. narrator: saint jude children's research hospital works day after day to find cures and save the lives of children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. thanks to generous donors like you, families never receive a bill from saint jude for treatment, travel, housing,

or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. ashley: without all of those donations, saint jude would not be able to do all of the exceptional work that they do. narrator: for just $19 a month, you'll help us continue the life-saving research and treatment these kids need. tiffany: no matter if it's a big business or just the grandmother that donates once a month, they are changing people's lives. and that's a big deal. narrator: join with your debit or credit card right now, and we'll send you this saint jude t-shirt that you can proudly wear to show your support. nicole: our family is forever grateful for donations big and small because it's completely changed our lives and it's given us a second chance. elizabeth stewart: saint jude's not going to stop until every single kid gets that chance to walk out of the doors of this hospital cancer-free. narrator: please, don't wait. call, go online, or scan the qr code below right now.

[music playing] - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid.

good morning. israel's military said it will pause fighting during the daytime hours along the route in southern gaza debt-free a backlog of humanitarian aid deliveries. the pause applies to 7.5 miles of road in the rafah area. stereophonic took home five awards including best new play. it earned 13 tony nominations. that's the most a play has ever received. i'm andrea canning. vanessa guillen's family said she was sexually harassed before vanishing from her army base. welcome back to dateline. i am andrea canning. vanessa guillen's family said she was sexually harassed before vanishing from her army base. their claim inspired other

servicemembers to share similar stories on social media. vanessa's loved ones worry the missing person case was going nowhere. it turns out a breakthrough was just around the corner. continuing now with voices for vanessa. >> i want my sister back and i want her alive. >> vanessa guillen's family and supporters were convinced the army had been negligent in its response to her disappearance. >> this investigation was absolutely the number 1 priority. >> general donna martin said the army was doing everything possible to find vanessa and a lot of soldiers were helping. >> over 500 soldiers turnout at this point. they are searching the company areas in the installation. they are looking everywhere for vanessa. >> in the weeks that followed, they said her investigators chase down every lead. >> we conducted over 300 interviews with members from the unit and from soldiers from fort hood.

>> she said investigators started by narrowing down a time line of finesses day, where she was and who she was with. >> every person who had an encounter with vanessa that day was a person of interest. >> finesses first encounter was 10:00 a.m. any weapons storage and repair room known as arms room. she left personal items there with a soldier whose rank was specialist. >> we learned that he had spent some time with her and because she had left those items in the first arms room, had an expectation that she would return. >> investigators learned when vanessa of the room, she walked 75 yards to a second arms room. she met another specialist there sometime after 10:20. >> specialist told us vanessa arrived at his arms room and she had contacted her task, and

then she left. >> was there any reason to suspect he had done anything wrong? >> no. >> she texted her platoon leader she completed her task in the arms room and three eyewitnesses said they saw her at 11:15. >> those soldiers told us in an interview that they saw vanessa move toward the parking lot. because we knew her car was in the parking lot, we absolutely searched her car. >> was anything found in the car? >> no. >> they brought in a forensic unit to look for evidence. and a blood evidence? smell of cleaning supplies that would suggest something happened in one of those rooms? >> there is no signs of blood. >> no signs of a struggle? >> no. >> it's like she vanished and the air? did you see red flags? >> not at all. >> this is a responsible soldier. >> absolutely.

nothing that would suggest she would walk away of her own volition. >> weeks went by then investigators learned the soldier they thought they had seen vanessa at 11:15 had been mistaken. they saw her in our earlier around the time she met with the two soldiers in the arms rooms. did either soldiers have a reason to kill her that you could gather? >> we have no information that would they would have a reason to kill vanessa. >> the specialist vanessa was within the second arms room could've been the last person to see her alive. his name was aaron robinson, a 20-year-old combat engineer. what was his alibi that day? >> specialist robinson said once he met with vanessa that he pretty much was done for the day. and so, he actually locked the arms room and he left for the day. >> robinson's personal i.d.

was entered into the security system indicating he had left the arms room when he said he did. did he go home? >> that was his story. >> who was a with? >> cecily aguilar. >> cecily aguilar was robinson's girlfriend. a civilian estranged from her husband. she worked at a local gas station but had a side business on social media hosting received pictures of herself for quick cash. reporter jasmin caldwell learned that aguilar told investigators the same story as robinsons. >> april 22, she was at her home with aaron robinson. didn't know anything about the disappearance of vanessa guillen. >> that was not adding up for investigators. in court documents, they laid out a scenario finesses disappearance using cell phone analysis. military reporter haley said the documents reveal the night vanessa went missing there were

multiple calls between aguilar and robinson. that seemed odd because they said they were together at home. the phones were both there. his and hers? >> yes. >> aguilar told investigators she could explain those calls. >> the reason he called her multiple times is because she could not find her phone and he was helping her find it. investigators knew that wasn't quite the full story because the calls were longer than you would expect for someone quickly calling to help you find yourself on. >> in a later interview, they confronted cecily aguilar with location data the place to phone 20 miles from her home near a river. >> at first she did confirm the story that she had been at home the entire night but she backtracked and said they had taken a drive to look at the stars. >> if cecily aguilar's story seemed shaky, they became more suspicious when search teams arrived at the river and made a disturbing discovery. >> they found what they

described as a burn site. >> among the scorched trees were remnants of a burned-out plastic box. investigators had stumbled upon a huge clue. weeks earlier, two witnesses had seen robinson wheeling a box out of the arms room the day vanessa went missing. what did it mean and was it enough to arrest him? you really have to debt your eyes and cross ortiz. >> that is right and that burned box in and of itself was not a real connection to specialist robinson at this point. >> investigators feared the worst but they still could not prove anything. they had no evidence robinson harmed vanessa. nine days later, everything changed. >> coming up. miles from the base, a heart stopping discovery. >> a man out digging holes hits cement and sees what he thinks

is human hair. this is the view i had of my baby in the nicu. my tip is: speak into the opening so your baby can hear you better. (announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. -we're done. -what about these? looks right. nooo... nooo... quick, the quicker picker upper! bounty absorbs spills like a sponge. and is 2x more absorbent so you can use less. bounty, the quicker picker upper.

i still love to surf, snowboard, and is 2x more absorbent so you can use less. and, of course, skate. so, i take qunol magnesium to support my muscle and bone health. qunol's extra strength, high absorption magnesium helps me get the full benefits of magnesium. qunol, the brand i trust.

on june 30, more than a week after investigators searching for vanessa guillen found a suspicious burn site rs i june 30, more than a we after investigators searching for vanessa guillen found a suspicious burn site in the remnants of a black box. contractors installing a fence in the same location stumbled upon something even more

sinister. >> investigators have found partial human remains south of fort hood. >> most of the work has been happening that way. >> it was 69 days after vanessa disappeared. >> a man who was out digging holes in this area hits cement. when he hits cement, he sees what he thinks is human hair. >> that is such a disturbing discovery. >> tragic. >> cid calls you and tells you what? >> that they discovered human remains. >> do you and your heart believe it is vanessa? >> i did. >> i kept praying. miracles can happen. please don't let it be. >> investigator confirm the worst with a single detail. >> he told me about her hair. >> how did he describe it? >> her long black hair.

>> you are the first and your family to learn this. how do you share the news? >> i could not tell them. >> the body of vanessa guillen, the missing fort hood soldier has been discovered. >> [ speaking in a global language ] but she was dead. at just 20 years old, vanessa guillen had been murdered. >> she was dead. at just 20 years old, vanessa guillen had been murdered. >> vanessa was one of us. it was heartbreaking for all of us. >> hours after finesses body was discovered, cecily aguilar was called in for questioning and her story went to pieces. >> them, this rafted together is when cecily aguilar,

robinson's girlfriend confesses this to authorities. >> kcen 10 said her involvement began hours after vanessa went missing. according to a criminal complaint, the nighttime trip she said she made with robinson to gaze at the stars was just another lie. >> aguilar said robinson victor up at work and went with him to the river. she tells them that robinson told her that he killed a female soldier, and he put her in a box and drove her to the river. >> aguilar said robinson led her to the box. >> when he opened it she saw vanessa guillen inside and she told investigators that they went forward to dispose of the body. they tried to burn her body but it was not burning completely and that's when they buried her remains in three separate graves in the area. >> as for the murder itself, investigators said happened

april 22 in the arms room where robinson worked. where there were no security cameras. did she say how he killed her? >> she told authorities that robinson said he hit her several times in the head with a hammer. >> it must tear you apart when you think about her in that room. >> taking a human life that way is disgusting. >> i hate to think of it. i can feel more or less the panic she was in. >> her sisters find comfort in the heartfelt murals honoring vanessa and they can only imagine why she was killed. >> i felt that he sexually assaulted her, and that arms room. >> they believe he silenced vanessa by killing her. >> no one was there to help her or take care of her. >> cecily aguilar's interview

was enough to take robinson into custody but there was a problem. even though robinson had been confined to the barracks due to covid rules and placed under observation, he was not under armed guard. he made his move. >> robinson got out of the barracks and left the base. >> investigators called on cecily aguilar to help. you are with aguilar and she is reaching out to robinson. this is trying to get him to come out of hiding? >> that is correct. >> investigators told aguilar to call robinson and the lessons as they discussed vanessa's death. soon after, maybe feeling the walls closing in, robinson texted aguilar links to news reports about vanessa's remains being found earlier. >> he began mentioning the news articles that were covering that some human remains had been found. they had not been identified yes

as vanessa guillen. and a phone call, he told aguilar, baby, they found pieces . >> by pieces, investigators were convinced robinson meant the remains of vanessa down by the river. they had the evidence they needed and they had a fix on robinson's phone and they moved in to arrest him but they would not get the chance. >> coming up. after finesses story and all the others, some tough questions for the army. would you say there's a problem with sexual harassment, sexual assault, military? >> the trends are going the wrong way and that staring at us as an institution. >> what will they do about it? ? andrea canning (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. ( ♪♪ ) my name is jaxon, and i have spastic cerebral palsy.

it's a mouthful. one of the harder things is the little things that i need help with: getting dressed, brushing your teeth, being able to go out with your friends by yourself. those are hard because you don't want help, but you need it. children like jaxon need continued support for the rest of their lives. whoa, whoa, whoa. and you can help. please join easterseals right now, with your monthly gift. i'm almost there. the kids that you are helping, their goal is to be as independent as they can. these therapies help my son to achieve that goal. easterseals offers important disability and community services that can change a life forever. please, go online, call or scan the qr code right now

with your gift of just $19 a month. it really does make a difference. strengthening with easterseals helped me realize i can get through hard things. don't give up. keep trying. even better! please visit helpeasterseals.com, call or scan the qr code on your screen with your gift of $19 a month and we'll send you this t-shirt as a thank you. mother: your help and your support, the need for it is endless. jaxon: thank you, 'cause there's a lot of people with disabilities out there. people like me. please join easterseals with your monthly gift right now. ( ♪♪ )

with your monthly gift right now. andrea canning: army investigators were sure aaron robinson murdered vanessa guillen. and now they were closing in on him. army investigators were sure erin robinson murder vanessa guillen and now they were closing in on him. >> he is seen by an off-duty police officer and they radio to the local police department. >> when the officer moved in on robinson he started to run and the officer gave chase. >> there is a confrontation and

when he goes to apprehend him, robinson takes a gun and shoots himself. >> right there in the street, robinson was suddenly dead. what's it like when you get that call? our prime suspect has killed himself? i mean a dramatic conclusion. >> it means maybe we will never find out why he killed vanessa. it so open and it doesn't give us closure and it does not give the family any closure because they do not know why. >> robinson never had to face a judge but cecily aguilar did. >> she is barbaric. a savage that does that to a human being? >> she was arrested and later pleaded guilty to four felony charges including accessory after the fact. she was sentenced to 30 years. meanwhile, vanessa's story became so big, her family was

invited to the white house in july 2020. >> we need a change. >> trump said he would look into the case, quote, very powerfully. >> this is a wake-up call and it captivated the attention of the entire army leadership. >> ryan mccarthy was secretary of the army at the time and a former army ranger with combat experience in afghanistan. >> i am a soldier and a father of a daughter. i cannot begin to understand the pain the guillen's is under. >> what would you say to the guillen family right now if they are watching? >> i am her broken. i am sorry. i'm disappointed and to know we will do everything we can to make the changes necessary so things like this ever happen again. >> investigators believe robinson claimed the crime scene 45 minutes but experts conducted tests in the arms room two months later after finesses remains were found.

after robinson had killed himself. there has been criticism that you had a clear idea that specialist robinson was the killer and you let him get away. >> looking at how law enforcement comes forward to put a warrant on an individual takes a lot of facts. how they come to that conclusion. >> people sassy army and they could not keep an eye on him? we asked if the then secretary had looked at the army's communication with her family. they said they were treated with disrespect. >> there are things we can and cannot say due to the nature of where you are in the investigation. that creates frustration. >> and yet they still feel this way. where was the breakdown? >> they are upset, andrea. they want answers. we will be frequent in our communication every time we have information, the first to know. >> a big part of the family's

belief was that vanessa had been sexually harassed. do you think sexual harassment played a role in her murder? >> there is no evidence to suggest that vanessa guillen was sexually harassed by specialist robinson. >> while her family said she didn't report being sexually harassed, secretary mccarthy said her higher-ups were aware she was having a problem. >> allegations were brought to her chain of command of being sexually harassed. >> by her superior? in april 2021, an army investigation found vanessa guillen spoke to her chain of command twice about's being sexually harassed by sapir and no formal action was taken. investigators found no evidence that aaron robinson harassed vanessa but they determined he had harassed a different female soldier. the report concluded that his

escape while being detained after the discovery of vanessa's remains were the result of poor communication and other lapses by army personnel. the army has discipline 19 soldiers and officers in connection with vanessa guillen's case and two others were disciplined in the permissive culture found to exist at fort hood. it department of defense report said over 24% of active-duty women had been sexually harassed and dover 6% of active- duty men. would you say there's a problem with sexual harassment, sexual assault in the military? >> the trends are going the wrong way. it's tearing at us as an institution. >> how do you change the culture? >> leaders sitting down and saying the type of behavior is intolerable and we do not accept it. if it continues, we will hold people accountable. >> alyssa said words need to become actions. >> it needs to be complete

enforcement and you police are on. >> what do you say to women when they ask your advice for going in the army? >> i don't know if i could tell my daughter to go in the military. i'm not sure my father would tell me to go in the military and my father was a vietnam veteran. >> fort hood seamster epitomize the deeply entrenched in long- term problems. in november 2020, an independent review fort hood by outside experts found a toxic culture, permissive of sexual harassment and assault at the army base. >> we have a problem and we have to recognize we have a problem and we have to fix it. >> it pains me -- >> california congresswoman, charlie house subcommittee and military personnel has been trying to pull the military into line for about a decade. >> the military brass would say we have zero tolerance for sexual assault and sexual

harassment. they were given a pass. not anymore. >> she said in a military survey, 120,000 servicemembers said they had been sexually harassed. less than 1% filed a complaint. when it comes to sexual assault of the 20 plus thousand cases, only about 1% resulted in convictions. >> we are introducing the i am vanessa guillen legislation today. >> it had strong bipartisan support. it requires sexual harassment and assault complaints be investigated by an independent military prosecutor. why will things be different this time around? >> this legislation creates accountability. independent investigations will take place and i guarantee that action is taken by the military by making sure that legislation gets passed. >> her hard work paid off when a key part of the act was

signed into law. legal decisions and military sexual assault cases have shifted from commanders to independent prosecutors. also enacted, provision establishing sexual harassment as a standalone offense under military law. would you say this is the me too movement of the military? >> i think there is no question. vanessa will go down in history in saving so many other servicemembers lives. >> in august 2020, vanessa's casket was taken by horse drawn carriage to a memorial service at her former high school. her family chose a private burial although a military general was an option. >> we declined. my mom didn't want the military casket or anything. >> because of how the military handled this? >> [ speaking in a global language ]

>> vanessa's family hopes her legacy will be about bringing change to the army. giving a voice to so many men and women who have suffered in silence. >> [ speaking in a global language ] i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. >> that is all for this edition of dateline. i am andrea canning. thank you for watching. for wat thank you for watching. ♪♪ this sunday, conviction campaign. former president trump returns to capitol hill for the first time since the january 6th attack. >> we agree just about on everything, and if there isn't, we work it out. >> he returned to the scene of the crime like a lot of convicted felons do. >> mr. trump pushing to unite republicans and urging them to overturn his manhattan