Two people have been arrested in connection with the killing of Fort Hood soldier Brandon Rosecrans, whose bullet-riddled body was found on the side of a road three months ago. Brandon Olivares has been charged with murder, and is being held in lieu of $1 million bail, according to authorities.
Estrellita Falcon has been charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and hindering the arrest and prosecution of Rosencrans' killer, police said. She is being held on a $100,000 bond.
The embattled Fort Hood military base outside Killeen, Texas has been under fire since April, when 20-year-old soldier Vanessa Guillen disappeared from her post. Two months later, after facing intense criticism from Guillen's family and politicians, her dismembered and burned remains were found near a lake.
Her killing is one in a string of deaths involving the nation's third-largest Army base, which is now being reviewed by an outside panel of civilian military experts.
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy visited Fort Hood earlier this month, and acknowledged the post has a disturbing rate of violent crime, including murder.
“The numbers are high here,” McCarthy said. “They are the highest, in most cases, for sexual assault and harassment and murders for our entire formation — the U.S. Army.”
According to police, Olivares shot Rosecrans four times on May 17 at close range while he slept in his Jeep. His body was left in a ditch, authorities said.
The victim's vehicle was found the next morning, “completely engulfed in flames” in a wooded area near Fuller Lane in Harker Heights, police said. It was about three miles from the road where Rosecrans' body was found.
Cell phone records and statements from acquaintances of the suspects led detectives and military investigators to Olivares and Falcon, police said.
RELATED STORIES
2 Fort Hood Soldiers Among 9 Men Arrested in Teen Prostitution Sting: Police
Body of Fort Hood Soldier Discovered, Marking 3rd Body Located in the Past Month
Suspect in Vanessa Guillen's Sexual Harassment Case Takes His Own Life: Lawyer
