An Army soldier in Hawaii is accused of murdering his wife, who was found dead on Jan. 13 in the trash.
Specialist Raul Hernandez Perez, 25, was charged Thursday with murder, according to Hawaii News Now. The body of victim Selena Roth, 25, had been discovered in what the news organization originally described as a “trash receptacle.” Authorities say that the defendant killed his spouse at Schofield Barracks northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii, where the 25th Infantry Division is stationed.
Spc. Raul Hernandez Perez was charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice with murder and failure to follow a lawful order following the death of his wife, Selena Roth, 25, the @USArmy said. A trial date has not been set.https://t.co/ZlyYVYpzBy
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) February 8, 2021
Roth also used to serve in the Army. Her sister Aubrey told WINK News that she called in a welfare check after Roth’s phone uncharacteristically went silent.
“The worst, devastating,” Aubrey said. “I can’t even put into words. She was our baby sister. She was only 25. This was completely a senseless murder.” She described her sister in glowing terms, saying Roth was “spunky and sassy.”
“She was very kindhearted,” she said, describing her sister as an animal lover who saved and rescued animals. She even crocheted “blankets for chickens.”
Court records showed Hernandez Perez filed on Oct. 8 to divorce Selena Roth, according to The Honolulu Star-Advertiser. He sought an order of protection against her on Nov. 4, claiming she threw a computer tower and other electronics at him. He also claimed she released the air from his car tires. Roth’s ex-husband, the father of her 1-year-old daughter, had also wanted a protective order, claiming she would throw objects and curse from her anxiety. Roth reportedly posted on Facebook after Spc. Vanessa Guillen was brutally killed last year in Fort Hood, saying, “I know you’re tired of all of this, but don’t let her death go without consequence.”
Guillen’s family said she told them about being sexually harassed, and that she was afraid to report it.
A GoFundMe campaign to support Roth’s family has raised more than $5,600 of a $20,000 goal as of Monday.
The GoFundMe said Roth was “an army veteran who fought for the rights of female active duty members” and who “fought against domestic violence and military sexual trauma (MST) in the military.”
Col. Theodore Travis, commander of the 500th Military Intelligence Brigade, said in a news release obtained by Stars and Stripes that “Our brigade and the Army community are heartbroken by Selena’s death.”
“We have extended our condolences to Selena’s family, friends and loved ones. We ask that you please respect the highly sensitive nature of this tragedy out of respect for the families. We will ensure that Spc. Hernandez Perez is treated fairly throughout the judicial process,” Col. Travis said.
[Screengrab via Jorhay Vingua]
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