TEXAS — Fort Hood came under fire after the death of SPC Vanessa Guillen last year, along with a number of other soldiers.
An independent review of the command climate and culture at Fort Hood found investigators were overwhelmed and inexperienced.
Army officials say changes are to come for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command.
Spectrum News 1 Texas met with a mom still longing for answers after her son’s 2019 death. She detailed her experience with Fort Hood CID.
Patty Troyan sits in her Ohio home reflecting on memories of her son PFC Logan Castello.
“He had the biggest brightest smile you'd ever want to see. I smile just thinking about it,” said Troyan.
On November 20, 2019, Troyan says her entire world stopped with one phone call from Castello's dad.
“He [Castello’s dad] just kept screaming his name and saying ‘no,’” said Troyan. “And I said ‘He's alive though, right?‘ and his dad said ‘ No, Logan's dead. He just hung himself,” explained Troyan.
The 21-year-old was stationed at Fort Hood when he was found dead in Killeen.
“He was struggling with suicidal thoughts and he reported it,” said Troyan. “And he sought help, but he didn't receive adequate treatment."
The grieving mother says many of her questions remain unanswered.
“We were told that we would receive a complete and thorough investigation packet within six months of his death,” said Troyan. “We did not receive anything until probably three months ago. We received the very brief line of duty report."
The Army recently announced it will restructure CID. The changes come following the deaths of a number of Fort Hood soldiers and after an independent review of the command climate and culture at Fort Hood found investigators were inexperienced and over assigned.
“We have not received the CID investigation,” said Troyan regarding her son’s case.
We received a statement from Army officials which said in part:
I can tell you we have embraced the findings of the Fort Hood report and have dedicated a tremendous of amount of time and energy considering numerous options and changes as we move forward, as well as how CID is resourced and organized. The Fort Hood CID office now has sufficient assets and experienced personnel as well as access to state-of-the-art software and digital-forensic-examination tools.
Jeffrey Castro, a CID public affairs specialist, says Castello’s death was investigated by local law enforcement, since they have primary jurisdiction, and were the lead investigative agency. However, he says under the new CID restructuring plan, updated policy requires a full investigation of all off-post suicide deaths. Troyan says this should have been the case all along.
“They need to actually do their job,” Troyan said. “They need to do a thorough investigation and then they need to provide the results of that to the families in a much more timely manner than 18 months."
The Crime Records Center has offered to reach out directly to the family to get them the report.
This is an ongoing story, updates may be expected.