The family of Pfc. Katia Dueñas-Aguilar is pleading for help after she was found dead in Clarksville, Tennessee on May 18, the Clarksville Police Department reports. At this time, the Clarksville Police Department is investigating the case as a homicide.
According to police, Dueñas-Aguilar was found inside her apartment off-base. She leaves behind a four-year-old son. As investigations continue, her family is petitioning for police and officials to seek justice for her untimely death.
Dueñas-Aguilar enlisted in the army in 2018 and told her sister she “wasn’t happy” at Fort Campbell
Cecilia Ruiz-Aguilar, sister of Dueñas-Aguilar, told Noticias Telemundo that the soldier was unhappy at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. She enlisted in the army in 2018 and worked as an information technology specialist. In 2019, she was assigned a post at Fort Campbell.
“She would already tell me that she’s not happy over there and I wanted her to come back so we could make more memories,” Cecilia Ruiz-Aguilar said.
Her family added, “We want to know what happened, who did it and we want to make sure that person or people are brought to justice.”
According to her family, the 23-year-old was planning to leave the Army earlier this month and return to Texas. However, she changed her mind after speaking to an army counselor.
Dueñas-Aguilar’s family seeks justice for another Latina’s life cut short
Just four years after the death of Vanessa Guillen, another family grieves the death of a daughter in the armed forces. Katia Dueñas-Aguilar’s family hosted a press conference in Dallas on Saturday through the help of the League of United Latin American Citizens. They’ve put out a reward of $55,000 for information related to her arrest.
“I ask for justice. As everyone knows, this is not the first [case], there have been several others,” Dueñas-Aguilar’s mother said, referring to the other deaths of Latinas in the armed forces.
Last year, Pvt. Ana Basalda Ruiz was found dead at the same base where Vanessa Guillén was found murdered. Her death was ruled a suicide.