Lawyer for families of 2 deceased Fort Hood soldiers calls on Congress for investigation
TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa attorney representing the families of two soldiers who have died during their service at Fort Hood is calling on Congress for an independent investigation.
Authorities discovered the body believed to be that of 23-year-old Sgt. Elder Fernandes, who had been missing since last Wednesday. Attorney Natalie Khawam said Fernandes is the 13th Fort Hood soldier to go missing or die an untimely death this year.
Khawam also represents the family of murdered soldier Vanessa Guillen, who authorities believe was killed at Fort Hood by another enlisted soldier back in April.
Families of Fort Hood soldiers found dead are frustrated and believe the base and its leadership are to blame.
"She did not deserve anything. Not a single thing," Vanessa Guillen's sister 16-year-old Lupe Guillen said at a news conference Wednesday.
Guillen's case made national headlines after authorities say an enlisted male soldier murdered Guillen at base back in April. Before Guillen went missing, she told her family she was being sexually harassed by an unnamed Sergeant.
"I'm not going to be able to see my sister ever again. Why? Because they murdered my sister on a military base and they did nothing to prevent it. Nothing. They didn't nothing to prevent Fernandes' death," Lupe Guillen said.
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23-year-old Sgt. Elder Fernandes was also a soldier at Fort Hood and was reported missing last Wednesday. Tuesday, a body believed to be his was found near railroad tracks in Temple, Texas about 30 miles east of Fort Hood.
"They told us they found Elder hanging from a tree near a railroad. It was a railroad employee that was walking by and saw a man hanging," Khawam said.
Authorities are not yet saying if they believe it to be a suicide or something more. According to the U.S. Army, Fernandes had recently been transferred to another unit because he was the victim of "abusive sexual contact". His case is similar to that of Vanessa Guillen who told her family she was being sexually harassed.
The Guillen family along with Khawam are now asking for a change in policy when it comes to reporting sexual abuse within the U.S. military.
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"I'm here to help any way I can and if it's going to be legislation the bill has been drafted. We're waiting for it to come out of legislative counsel," Khawam.
Khawam and the Guillen family are working to introduce a bill into Congress known as the #IAmVanessaGuillan bill. If passed, it would change the way sexual harassment and abuse complaints are handled by the U.S. Military.
It would require a third party independent agency to handle any and all complaints of sexual harassment or abuse in the U.S. military.