The man who killed a Fort Hood soldier in May 2020 has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
Bell County Court records show Brandon Michael Olivares of Killeen was sentenced on March 24 for the murder of 28-year-old Pfc. Brandon Rosecrans.
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According to an affidavit, Olivares and Rosecrans were riding in Rosecrans’ Jeep on May 18 when Olivares shot the soldier and left his body on the side of the road in the 2100 block of Fuller Lane, which is a secluded area near Stillhouse Hollow Lake, roughly 11 miles from Fort Hood.
Rosecrans was found to have multiple gunshots to the head and neck, which were fired at close range, the affidavit states.
The Jeep Renegade was found four miles away, engulfed in flames.
Rosecrans was one of at least 28 soldiers who died at Fort Hood in 2020.
At least five homicides were reported at the U.S. Army post that year in addition to deaths related to accidents, suicides, illness, and at least one combat-related death, according to the Associated Press.
One of the most notable deaths at the Army post that year was the murder of U.S. Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen. She was killed on April 22, 2020, and her disappearance became the focus of a nationwide search before her remains were found on June 30, 2020, in a concrete-like substance buried along the Leon River.
A gruesome affidavit from the FBI details the investigation surrounding the death of specialist Guillen who was killed with a hammer before her body was dismembered.
At least 14 U.S. Army leaders, including commanders and other leaders at Fort Hood, were fired or suspended by December 2020 in an effort to correct a years-long culture of sexual assault and a pattern of violence at the base, according to a report from the Texas Tribune.
Fort Hood is being renamed this May after years of negative headlines that have marred the reputation of the U.S. Army post.
Fort Hood will officially be renamed Fort Cavazos on May 9 in honor of a Texas-born hero of the Korean and Vietnam wars — Gen. Richard Edward Cavazos.