Documentary on Slain Army Soldier Vanessa Guillén Coming to Netflix

Vanessa Guillen (Credit: U.S. Army)

A new documentary about U.S. Army soldier Vanessa Guillén, who was brutally murdered in 2020, will premiere on Netflix in November.

I Am Vanessa Guillén tells the story of the slain soldier’s life, death, and her family’s fight for military reform, per Netflix.

Army Pfc. Guillén always dreamed of joining the military, her family has said. But after telling her mother she was being sexually harassed on base, Guillén disappeared from Fort Hood, Texas, in April 2020.

Her dismembered remains were found in a shallow grave two months later. Authorities said Guillén was beaten to death with a hammer by fellow soldier, Spc. Aaron Robinson, who fatally shot himself when law enforcement tried to arrest him. A woman named Cecily Aguilar is scheduled to go on trial in January 2023, for her alleged role in the crime.

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Guillén would have turned 23 in September. According to CNN, her family continues to fight for justice and filed a $35 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Department of the Army earlier this year.

“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,” I Am Vanessa Guillén director Christy Wegener said in a recent statement. “In making the film, it was incredible to witness a family, in the most tragic moment of their lives, put their grief aside, step out into the public arena and fight for the greater good.”

The film is produced by Wegener, Isabel Castro, Lindsey Cordero, Armando Croda. The documentary comes from Story Syndicate productions. Executive producers are Dan Cogan, Liz Garbus, Jon Bardin, Nell Constantinople. Andrea Berman is co-executive producer.

I Am Vanessa Guillén debuts Nov. 17, 2022 on Netflix.