5 most brutal murder cases in 2020: Vanessa Guillén to Jennifer Gail Paxton, these killings shook the US
The year has seen a rise in homicide rates in the US. According to the Council on Criminal Justice, “homicide rates between June and August of 2020 increased by 53% over the same period in 2019. Aggravated assaults went up by 14%.” Here is a list of five most gruesome murder cases that took place in 2020:
Vanessa Guillén
20-year-old Vanessa Guillen was born and raised in Houston along with her five siblings. She had an interest to join the military since childhood and at the age of 18, she got enlisted in the military. She had a special interest in athletics and enjoyed lifting weights, playing soccer, and running on track and cross-country teams. In an interview, her mother revealed that she enjoyed attending church with her daughter. Vanessa later became a soldier in Fort Hood and was referred to as Specialist Guillen.
Guillen was reported missing on April 23, 2020. Her car keys, room key, ID and wallet were found in the depot room where she had been repairing small arms and artillery. On April 24, the US Army Criminal Investigation Command posted a news release where they asked for the public’s help in finding Guillen. Thousands of soldiers searched for Specialist Guillen in buildings, barracks, fields, training areas, lakes and trails at Fort Hood and were not able to find a clue about her.
After almost two months on June 30, 2020, human remains were found near the Leon River in Bell County, Texas. Then, on July 3, the Army confirmed that the remains were of Guillen’s. On July 2, prosecutors announced a charge in the case, detailing for the first time, that she was killed by another soldier, Specialist Aaron Robinson who then tried to dispose of her remains. A few days before the charge was announced against Specialist Robinson, he killed himself with a pistol as the police approached.
According to an NPR report, "Guillen's family believes her death was linked to the sexual harassment she said she was enduring on the base. Now they are pushing for congressional legislation to create an independent agency for soldiers who are victims of sexual harassment and assault."
The authorities also caught Robinson's girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, in Texas. Justice Department officials said in court documents that Robinson told Aguilar that he repeatedly struck Guillen on the head with a hammer, killing her, and hid her body in a large box. The couple then tried to dismember and burn the remains, according to the complaint. Aguilar told investigators that Robinson had picked her up late on April 22 or early on April 23 at the gas station where she worked and after that, she helped him in the deed by dismembering her body with an axe or hatchet and a machete style knife and they later buried the remains near the Leon River.
Patricia Alatorre
13-year-old Patricia Alatorre disappeared on July 1, 2020, and after a few days she was found dead. Reports say she was last seen on Crescent Ridge Street near Hosking Avenue & Wible Road in Bakersfield. On July 5, 2020, detectives found and seized a vehicle that matched the description of a white pick-up truck that was seen in the area at the time of Patricia's disappearance.
It was that truck that allegedly led them to the main suspect of the case, Armando Cruz. The 24-year-old got arrested on July 6, 2020, for his alleged involvement in Alatorre’s disappearance. The charges include first-degree murder, kidnap to commit rape, rape by force, oral copulation with a person under the age of 14, and sexual assault of a juvenile. “Any investigation involving a child as a victim and particularly when there is a death involved, it is especially horrific not just as police officers, but also as people that have families,” Robert Pair, spokesman for Bakersfield Police said.
Christopher Stokes killed his 5 family members
43-year-old Christopher Stokes was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon on April 27, 2020. Strokes brutally killed his five family members in his house. In April 2017, prosecutors claimed that they received two 911 calls from Stokes, who said "Um, I just massacred my whole family. The gun is still upstairs with the bodies," and "I just killed my whole family with my Mossberg." Investigators later discovered a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun on the floor of a bedroom on the upper floor, along with a 25-count box of shells, with 12 unfired shells remaining. Twelve spent shotgun shells were located in the house, according to prosecutors.
19-year-old Marcus Stokes was found in the living room. The bodies of the other four victims, Demetrius Thomas (14), Tera Agee (16), Lakeitha Stokes (17), and Teresa Thomas (41), were found in a bedroom. According to a Fox 6 report, "family members learned the shooting inside the house started in the early hours. Thomas' 2-year-old grandchild was spared in the shooting. But they say he was found covered in blood."
There was no specific reason that came in light for the murders, but it was reported that Stokes has a history of domestic violence convictions dating to 2002 and was arrested under suspicion of child abuse in 1997, according to online court records and a criminal history report from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. No charges were filed in the child abuse case.
Larry Don Ray
North Carolina local Larry Don Ray was found dead, along with several other members of his family, who he allegedly executed before killing himself. 66-year-old Ray allegedly shot his wife 67-year-old Jeanie Ray, Jeanie's 93-year-old mother Helen Mason, her guests including Lisa Mansfield, 54, and her husband Ellis Mansfield, 73, as well as John Paul Sanderford, 41, and Nicole Sanderford, 39. The massacre took place on March 15, 2020, after police responded to multiple "shots fired".
The Sanderfords’ 16-year-old son reportedly called 911 while hiding in the closet as Ray started to fire. The family's other 13-year-old son wasn’t home at the time of the shooting. There was no reason or intention listed behind the mass murder.
Jennifer Gail Paxton
36-year-old homeless woman Jennifer Gail Paxton was murdered by a Tennessee couple. According to a report, she was raped, starved, tortured and had her nose and breast sliced off by the couple, who got arrested in August 2020.
52-year-old Sean Finnegan and his 22-year-old girlfriend Rebecca Dishman were arrested in August 2020, at their Oak Ridge home. According to a report, "Dishman and Finnegan, who are said to have confessed their crimes, allegedly lured Paxton to their home in December 2019 with the promise of a place to stay." After she moved in with the couple, the alleged killers started torturing her with a dog collar, chains and cable ties. The couple reportedly starved her before torturing her with a baseball bat and dismembering her body parts.
The exact date of the crime was not reported but Finnegan said to have removed her from the freezer recently and moved her corpse under his bed in a bid to clear up forensic evidence of her brutal murder.