Two people charged in connection with Army soldier homicide

Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Two people, including the victim's husband, have been charged in connection to the 2024 death of a 23-year old Army soldier, police announced over the weekend.

Katia Dueñas Aguilar, a private first class who was stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, was found dead the night of May 18 inside her Clarksville, Tenn., residence, according to the Clarksville Police Department.

Aguilar, from Mesquite, Texas, was found by police with 68 stab wounds to the neck and upper body, according to local Nashville ABC TV affiliate WKRN, which obtained an autopsy report. She enlisted in the Army in 2018.

She became an information technology specialist in the Army's 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, the 101st Airborne Division reported.

Sofia Rodas, 35, was charged with first-degree murder and with tampering with evidence, the Clarksville Police Department said Saturday in a statement. Aguilar's husband, Reynaldo Salinas Cruz, 40, was charged with tampering with evidence in the death of his wife.

Both were charged by a grand jury.

Rodas and Salinas Cruz were already in federal custody on unrelated charges when they were indicted for their role in the Aguilar murder, police said.

Rojas and Salina Cruz were extradited to Clarksville and taken to the Montgomery County Jail on Friday.

Police did not release a motive in the killing and said the investigation, which included the Army Criminal Investigation Division, is ongoing.

"This case remains an open and active investigation and is now awaiting prosecution," the Clarksville Police Department said in a statement.