– Former U.S. Army soldier murder pregnant soldier
– U.S. Army soldier guilty murder pregnant soldier.
Accident – Death – Obituary News :
PENSACOLA, Fla. (WKRG) — In a shocking turn of events, a former U.S. Army soldier has been convicted of the murder of a pregnant soldier after 22 years. The United States Department of Justice described the crime as “a horrific act of violence.”
The convicted soldier, identified as 43-year-old Shannon L. Wilkerson, was found guilty by a Pensacola federal jury for the murder of 19-year-old Amanda Gonzales. The Department of Justice made the announcement on Tuesday.
According to a press release from the DOJ, evidence presented during a trial in November 2001 revealed that Wilkerson “beat and strangled Amanda Gonzales to death in her barracks room at Fliegerhorst Kaserne, a U.S. Army base in Hanau, Germany.”
Reports from previous investigations indicated that Gonzales was four months pregnant at the time of her tragic death.
Wilkerson was initially arrested and charged with first-degree murder in February 2023, as per official reports.
He faced charges under the “Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act,” which grants U.S. federal courts jurisdiction over crimes committed outside the country by former Armed Forces members no longer subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
After the trial, Wilkerson was convicted of second-degree murder. His sentencing is scheduled for August 8, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment looming over him.
U.S. Attorney Jason R. Coody for the Northern District of Florida expressed, “The murder of Amanda Gonzales and her unborn child was a horrific act of violence. This decades-long investigation and resulting prosecution demonstrate the unwavering resolve of our law enforcement partners and their commitment to use every tool available to protect Americans, especially those serving our country.”
The investigation into this heinous crime was conducted by the FBI New York Field Office and the Department of Army’s Criminal Investigative Division, as stated in the official release.
The prosecution of the case is being handled by Trial Attorney Patrick Jasperse of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, along with Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg for the Northern District of Florida.
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1. former U.S. Army soldier
2. pregnant soldier.
