American-Statesman Staff| Austin American-Statesman
A documentary following the family of U.S. Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen as they fought for justice in the wake of the 20-year-old soldier's slaying at Fort Hood will debut on Netflix next week, with coverage from the American-Statesman used to help tell the story of grief and triumph.
"I Am Vanessa Guillen," which will air Nov. 17, follows Mayra and Lupe, two of Vanessa's sisters, as they worked in the years after Vanessa's death to change the way the military justice system handled cases of sexual assault and sexual harassment among soldiers.
More:Fort Hood soldier might be linked to several sexual assaults, Army investigators say
"At the core, this is a story about overcoming the greatest odds imaginable in the name of family, love and justice," director Christy Wegener said in a statement Tuesday to the Statesman. "This is David vs. Goliath on steroids. Taking on the U.S. military, one of the largest, most powerful institutions in America is no easy feat."
Making an appearance in the Netflix documentary will be U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who both helped push through military reforms in Vanessa's honor. The legislation was included in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by President Joe Biden this year.
The program also features early advocates for the Guillen family, including attorney Natalie Khawam, who took on the Guillens as clients pro bono after Vanessa was first reported missing, and retired U.S. Air Force Col.Don Christensen, who served as chief prosecutor for the Air Force between 2010 and 2014 and now offers free legal services for military sexual assault victims throughhis nonprofit called Protect Our Defenders.
More:'I haven't found justice': Vanessa Guillen's family continues fight to reform Fort Hood
The Statesman's Heather Osbourne, who has covered the Guillen case since the soldier's disappearance in April 2020 and has investigated the toxic culture at Fort Hood that prompted a public outcry and calls for reforms from the highest ranks of government, will also appear in the documentary. Osbourne was a research consultant for the program.
"The film really captures an intimate look at a family, in the most tragic time of their lives, making the exceptional decision to fight to improve conditions in the military for the greater good," Netflix said in a statement Tuesday. "They’ve honored Vanessa’s legacy in the most beautiful way and are a prime example of what love, family, bravery and courage mean."
What happened to Vanessa?
In April 2020, Vanessa Guillen was a Houston-area nativeserving at Fort Hood, one of the nation's largest military training grounds.
At the time,Fort Hood was proudlyenvelopedin its decadeslong reputation of preparing troops for combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.The Army had nicknamed the Central Texas post "The Great Place" for the quality of life itoffered to those stationed there.
But Vanessa's initial disappearance on April 22, 2020, triggered a chain of events that would not only lead to more public scrutiny of the military but also galvanized a movement.
More:16-year-old cousin of Vanessa Guillen dies after shooting in Southeast Austin
Mayra wasthe first to reporther sister missing after her text messages went unanswered. She did not yet know that Vanessa had been killed that day.
With little to no information about Vanessa's whereabouts from the Army, Mayra and her family protested outside Fort Hood over the next several weeksas they called for congressional intervention into what they believed was a complete failure by the post's leadership to find Vanessa.
During one of the protests, Vanessa's motherrevealed that her daughter had confided in her that multiple soldiers had been sexually harassingher at Fort Hood.
More:'History in the making': Vanessa Guillen's family cheer as House OKs military sex assault reforms
The Guillen family's protests triggered a viral social media hashtag, #IAmVanessaGuillen, that hundreds of service members used online to sharetheir own experiences with sexual assault and harassment in the military.
Many of the stories were similar, often sayingthe military did little or nothing to investigate, charge and prosecute their offenders.In many of the social media posts, soldiers said they never reported their experiences because they feared retaliation.
Army officials in the months after Vanessa's body was eventually found, hadmaintained that no evidence backed upany allegations of her being sexual harassed on the post.
Later that summer, Vanessa's remains were discovered near the Leon River outside of Killeen. But the public scrutiny of the investigation into her slayingled to revelations at Fort Hood thatexposed ahidden culture of violence and misconduct among soldiers, particularly sexual assault and sexual harassment.
The #IAmVanessaGuillen movement caught the attention of lawmakers in Washington. Elements of a proposedI Am Vanessa Guillen Act eventuallywereincluded in the National Defense Authorization Act after failing to pass as a stand-alone bill.
It wasn't until more than a year after Vanessa's death that the Army publicly confirmed that she was sexually harassed and further retaliated againstat Fort Hood by a superior.
Spc. Aaron Robinson, the fellow Fort Hood soldier who investigators believe killedVanessa, fatally shot himself as authorities tried to detain him a day after her remains were found. Robinson's girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, who is accused of helping him dispose of the soldier's remains, is set to stand trial in January.
Visit netflix.com/iamvanessaguillen to learn more about the documentary.
