Mystery as Texas soldier is found murdered in locked bedroom in her off-base apartment

A female Fort Campbell soldier has been found dead in her off-base residence, triggering a murder investigation. 

Private First Class Katia Duenas-Aguilar, 23, was found around 8:30pm in a locked bedroom at the Tennessee residence on May 18. Detectives believe that the young mother had been killed.

An investigation is now underway, with a $55,000 reward being offered by the private's family. Her killer remains at large.

On Saturday, officials with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), said the organization is standing in solidarity with the woman's grieving mother, who hinted that someone within the military may have been responsible.

She joined the Army in 2018, completing basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Eisenhower. She was then assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's (Air Assault) Combat Aviation Brigade, stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky for the past five years

Private First Class Katia Duenas-Aguilar, 23, was found around 8:30pm in a locked bedroom at the Tennessee residence on May 18, after which detectives discerned she had been killed

'The problem is inside! The problem is inside and you [the reporter she had been speaking to] know too!' an emotional Carmen Aguilar shouted when asked is she thought someone within the Army could have killed her daughter.

'We're not all good. We want to believe that it's a nightmare, that we can wake up and she will still be there,' added Duenas-Aguilar's younger sister, Cecilia Ruiz-Aguilar, as she and other members of the family addressed the crowd in the victim's hometown in Texas.

'We're not okay right now.' 

The family added in an additional statement: 'We want to know what happened, who did it and we want to make sure that person or people are brought to justice.'

Ruiz-Aguilar, meanwhile, hinted her sister - a mom-of-one - was not so happy while stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky right across the border, telling her local CBS affiliate in Texas: 'She would already tell me that she's not happy over there.

'I wanted her to come back so we could make more memories.'

Not offering any more detail, she asked for help in finding the person who killed Duenas-Aguilar at her Clarksville apartment a few miles from her base.

She joined the Army in 2018, completing basic training and advanced individual training at Fort Eisenhower. 

She was then assigned to the 101st Airborne Division's (Air Assault) Combat Aviation Brigade, whose Lt. Col. Tony Hoefler issued a statement to Military.com in the wake of the discovery.

Pictured, the Clarksville apartment complex where the mom-of-one lived and was found, a 14 minutes' drive from Fort Campbell across the border

'We're not all good. We want to believe that it's a nightmare, that we can wake up and she will still be there,' said Duenas-Aguilar's sister Cecilia Ruiz-Aguilar (left), as she and other members of the family addressed a crowd in the victim's hometown in Texas. 'We're not okay right now' 

'We are stunned by the death of Pfc. Duenas-Aguilar,' the brigade spokesperson said. 'In the meantime, we will continue to cooperate with Army and local investigative authorities on this matter.'

The website with which he spoke reported that Duenas-Aguilar was awarded 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 six years of service.

During that span, she also fathered a four-year-old son, but as her sister mentioned, had also may have been planning to leave the Army.

Reports indicate she gave birth while still stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky - located a 14 minute's drive from Duenas-Aguilar's apartment on Tiny Town Road in Clarksville, Tennessee.

As of writing, it remains unclear who the father is. Police have yet to issue a statement as to a suspect.

Carmen, meanwhile, issued a plea to both the Clarksville and Fort Campbell communities to help with the investigation, as she and others crowded around a podium for the press conference in Dallas, pleading for the public to provide any information that may lead to an arrest and conviction.

'We are destroyed,' the tearful mom said, nearly crying at points. 'My heart breaks.'

'I ask for justice. As everyone knows, this is not the first [case], there have been several others,' Carmen said Saturday in reference to other high-profile cases of Latina soldiers who've lost their lives, like Vanessa Guillén, who was killed at Fort Cavazos, formerly known as Fort Hood, near Killeen, Texas, in 2020.

There, in addition to her post in the brigade, she worked as an information technology specialist, positions she had held for the past five years, the family said.

Reports indicate she gave birth while still stationed  in Kentucky - at base six miles from the apartment where she was found. The boy's father has not been named, nor has a suspect. The boy was not a victim in the killing, cops confirmed

'She is not the first one.' 

Her daughter, meanwhile, was originally from Mesquite, Texas, she revealed - stating how she had been stationed at Fort Campbell in Kentucky since 2019. 

There, in addition to her post in the brigade, she worked as an information technology specialist, positions she had held for the past five years, the family said.

She was found by a friend at her apartment six miles away, with very little other information offered by local cops.

The girl's younger sister added how after the victim told her she was thinking about retirement, she suddenly changed her mind - citing a meeting with a counselor at the base.

The family did not go into detail about why she was unhappy and considering leaving, nor did they say whether these feelings were somehow tied to the case.

Cops, meanwhile, confirmed her son was not a victim in the crime, nor did they offer any insight as to where he was at the time of his mother's killing.

They ruled the death a homicide, but have declined to say how she was killed.

A $55,000 reward from the family and LULAC was subsequently announced for any information that may help the Clarksville Police Department solve the case, as military law enforcement helps as well.

Analuisa Carrillo-Tapia of the LULAC National Military and Veterans Committee on Saturday said: 'This is a human being. This is a Latina. This is a young lady that signed on the dotted line to serve our country. 

 'We want to know what happened, who did it and we want the person or people who did it brought to justice.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Clarksville Police Department for comment.