A U.S. Soldier Was Stabbed 68 Times. Who Killed Her?

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The killing of a decorated U.S. Army soldier in May remains unsolved, and the mystery has deepened after an autopsy report revealed disturbing details about her death.
Private First Class Katia Dueñas Aguilar, a 23-year-old native of the Dallas suburb of Mesquite, Texas, was found dead just after 8:30 p.m. on May 18 in her apartment in Clarksville, Tennessee, about seven miles from Fort Campbell, the Army base where she was stationed. In the months since, no suspect has been named, no motive identified and no arrests made.
Her family and authorities have pleaded for anyone with information to come forward, and police have released few details publicly because of the active and ongoing investigation. But earlier this month, an autopsy report provided new insight into her brutal killing. The Montgomery County medical examiner determined that Dueñas Aguilar suffered 68 stab wounds to her neck and upper body, the Leaf Chronicle reported, and found her cause of death to be homicide due to sharp force injuries of the neck.
She had 55 stab wounds and 13 incised wounds, mostly on her neck, the autopsy found.
A toxicology report said that on the day she died, Dueñas Aguilar had a blood alcohol level of 0.161. Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, which can be used as a date rape drug or taken recreationally, was also found in her system.
Dueñas Aguilar was married to her second husband at the time of her death, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Tony Hoefler confirmed to HuffPost. She had a 4-year-old son.
Friends and family described Dueñas Aguilar as a devoted mother.
“She was just an amazing mother. She loved [her son] so much,” her friend Jae Mitchell, who had been stationed with her at Fort Campbell, told the Dallas-area Fox affiliate KDFW.
It was unclear whether Dueñas Aguilar was living with her husband at the time of her death, but Clarksville Police Department spokesperson Scott Beaubien told HuffPost she had custody of her son. The child is now in the custody of his biological father, Beaubien added, whom Hoefler said is Dueñas Aguilar’s first husband.
Dueñas Aguilar enlisted in the Army in 2018 as an information technology specialist, according to The Dallas Morning News and a LinkedIn account under her name. After completing basic training, she reported to Fort Campbell, which straddles the Kentucky-Tennessee state line, as a member of the 101st Airborne Division Combat Aviation Brigade.
While Dueñas Aguilar was a soldier who could be deployed at any time, her primary job was to provide technical support for computer and network issues in the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell, Hoefler explained.
She was taking steps to reenlist in the Army, he said.
Dueñas Aguilar earned two Army Achievement Medals, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon during her five years of service, according to Military.com.
She was buried with honors in Mesquite on May 31.
“Honoring the fallen is one of our most sacred responsibilities,” the 101st brigade said on its Facebook page before the funeral. “Pfc. Dueñas Aguilar served with honor and distinction and we wish to honor her in return.”
A female mariachi band performed the sorrowful ballad “Amor Eterno,” The Dallas Morning News reported.
“How I wish that you lived, that your eyes had never closed and to be looking at them. Eternal and unforgettable love,” the women sang in Spanish.
In the days following Dueñas Aguilar’s killing, her mother and her 19-year-old sister, Cecilia Ruiz Aguilar, spoke with local ABC affiliate WFAA about their shock and grief.
“We’re holding on because we’re her voice right now. She’s no longer here to tell us anything,” Ruiz Aguilar said.
“The truth will come out,” her mother said. “To the person who did this to my daughter, I say: My daughter wasn’t a bad person. Why?”
The League of United Latin American Citizens offered a reward of $25,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Her mother added $30,000 to the fund, for a combined reward of $55,000, the Latino civil rights organization announced on its website on May 25.
LULAC and Dueñas Aguilar’s family said her death is a grim reminder of the murder of 20-year-old Vanessa Guillén, who was killed by a fellow soldier at Fort Hood, the Texas Army base where she was stationed. (The base was renamed in May 2023 to Fort Cavazos.)
“The tragedy of Katia Duenas-Aguilar echoes the painful memories of other fallen soldiers, such as U.S. Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen, whose murder in 2020 at Fort Hood, Texas, sparked national outrage and led to significant policy changes aimed at protecting service members from violence and abuse while in the military,” LULAC said in a statement.
Guillén’s body was found in July 2020, three months after she was first declared missing. The soldier who was accused of bludgeoning her to death with a hammer killed himself after he was identified as a suspect. His girlfriend was sentenced to 30 years in prison after she admitted to helping him mutilate and dispose of Guillén’s body.
Guillén’s family accused her killer of sexually harassing her, sparking a national movement by women who shared their experiences of sexual harassment and assault on military bases under the hashtag #IamVanessaGuillen.
Twenty-one officers were disciplined in connection to Guillén’s death, and then-U.S. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said that patterns of violence against women in the military were a direct result of “leadership failures.”
Investigators have not said whether they believe Dueñas Aguilar was a victim of sexual harassment or sexual assault. Although she was not killed on the Army base, special agents from Fort Campbell’s Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division are working in conjunction with homicide detectives with the Clarksville Police Department.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Mitchell, Dueñas Aguilar’s friend and fellow soldier, told Fox 4. “I really and truthfully thought she was in a safe environment.”
Authorities are seeking the public’s help and have urged anyone with information or video footage to contact Detective Isabella Hofinga at (931) 648-0656, ext. 5720. To remain anonymous, people with tips can call the Clarksville Montgomery County Crime Stoppers Tipsline at (931) 645-8477, or submit them online at P3tips.com/591.
At a news conference on May 25, Dueñas Aguilar’s mother pleaded for more information about her daughter’s killing, the Leaf Chronicle reported.
“My daughter is dead, and no one is going to stop it,” Carmen Aguilar said. “Help me get justice for her and those who passed away. I never thought I’d be living this, and now I am.”
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.