Norfolk, Va. (WTKR) - The family of a sailor who committed suicide while deployed with the USS James E. Williams last summer is now breaking their silence.
Seaman Yeshabell Villot-Carrasco took a lethal overdose of sleeping pills on the Williams on June 19, 2014.
The Navy opened an investigation into her death that concluded the command climate on the USS James E Williams was "toxic" and Commanding Officer Curtis Calloway "owned the culture that, I believe, contributed to the suicide."
You can read NewsChannel 3's report on the Navy's investigation here: Navy report: "She reached out for help on the day she died but was rebuffed in her efforts."
Former commanding officer Cmdr. Curtis Calloway, former James E. Williams Executive Officer and prospective commanding officer Cmdr. Ed Handley, and Command Master Chief Travis Biswell were found in violation of various articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice in October.
In an open letter sent to NewsChannel 3's Todd Corillo, Villot-Carrasco's aunt, Ivelisse Carrasco opened up for the first time about her niece's death.
The letter, written in her native Spanish, was also translated into English.
Carrasco wrote "this was for our family a blow from which it never will be able to overcome."
About her niece's death, she wrote "Yeshabel is not the only one; they clean their hands like nothing has happened here, and where we can only wait who will be the next victim."
She goes on to say that Villot-Carrasco enlisted in the Navy in 2013.
At the time, her family celebrated and "her happy face was worth a million," but they never imagined that a short time later they would be "crying because of unscrupulous, inept people."
About the command triad on the Williams, Carrasco said the ship was "led by three Vikings."
She expressed her dismay that she was not able to welcome her niece home on the pier and wrote that she hoped her death would prevent other sailors from dying.
The USS James E Williams returned to Naval Station Norfolk on Saturday with new leadership following an 8-month deployment.
