Death of Second Pregnant Servicewoman at N.C. Base

[~Absynthe~]

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Authorities say they are investigating the "suspicious" death of a pregnant soldier, whose body was found at a Fayetteville motel.

Spc. Megan Lynn Touma was identified Tuesday, two days after her body was found in a motel room. The 23-year-old dental specialist with the 19th Replacement Company was from Cold Springs, Ky., and was originally born in Seoul, South Korea.

The Fayetteville Police Department called the death suspicious. Authorities said they do not know the cause of death but said Touma was seven months pregnant at the time.

http:///www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,371141,00.html

[Ruby]

A little bit more info here, but still not much:

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/3097941/

What is the deal with dead pregnant soldiers??

[ceisdsgil]

holy crap.. I used to live there.. ex was stationed at Ft Dragg.. North Cackalackee.. (I apologize to all the NC residents that ..read) Lived in Fatalville for awhile too.


I don't understand the sudden surge in deaths among the pregnant mommies in the service.. wonder if the gov't is behind it? :p the old saying 'If the ARMY wanted you to have a family, it would've been government issued' maybe coming into effect?

just pondering..

~ceisdsgil

[~Absynthe~]

Jun 26, 9:01 PM EDT

Warrant: Body of pregnant soldier found in tub

By KEVIN MAURER
Associated Press Writer
Advertisement

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- The body of a pregnant Fort Bragg soldier was found in a motel room bathtub after a maintenance supervisor smelled a foul odor coming from a room with a 'Do Not Disturb' sign, according to a search warrant released Thursday.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NC_PREGNANT_SOLDIER_DEAD_KYOL-?SITE=KYFRA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[w8ng4msrgt]

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a320/w8ng4msrgt/2008%20Pictures/crise/touma.jpg

Fellow GI is person of interest in pregnant soldier's death

(CNN) -- Authorities have identified a soldier in training as a person of interest in the death of a pregnant soldier who was found in a hotel, a military official said.

Authorities discovered the body of Spc. Megan Lynn Touma, 23, who was seven months pregnant, in a motel in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on June 21.

Lt. Col. John Clearwater said Saturday that authorities are investigating a soldier in training at nearby Fort Bragg as person of interest in the case.

Fayetteville police found Touma's body when they responded to a call of strong odor coming from one of the motel rooms.

Touma, a dental specialist from Cold Springs, Kentucky, arrived at Fort Bragg on June 12.

In five years with the Army, Touma had served with the U.S. Army Dental Activity Clinic in Bamberg, Germany, and in Fort Drum, New York, before her assignment to Fort Bragg.

Link (http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/28/pregnant.soldier/)

[Pete Bondurant]

What sort of Army has pregnant soldiers? These people should be given automatic medical discharges as soon as they are confirmed as being pregnant.

[Aelwynn]

5 years in the service, and ONLY an SPC? Hubby says this is weird...even with being pregnant, only two things can stop you from getting promoted. 1) Fucking up a lot, and 2) Having NCOs that hate you a lot and refuse to promote you..

Maybe this is part of why/how she died? Someone hated her enough to not promote her and then killed her? Nah...prolly a stretch.

What the hell was she doing in a motel room to begin with? Why (since formations are EVERYDAY, depending on schedules) did no one noticed she wasn't at work? If my hubby is 5 minutes late, I get phone calls at the house for him.

And just from reading the article...to be missing for so long that her body was decomposing/smelling, how come no one noticed she was missing?! I'm betting someone covered for her the first 24 hours she didn't show up for work, and then after they found the body...the military was like, wait wtf...wasn't she supposed to be here?

[~Absynthe~]

What sort of Army has pregnant soldiers? These people should be given automatic medical discharges as soon as they are confirmed as being pregnant.

I don't see the need for discharge, but I think that they should be put on medical leave.

[Aelwynn]

You do get a little bit of medical leave. Supposedly they are looking at giving HUSBANDS up to 21 days of medical leave after birth of the child. We can't really remember what the amount of time it is for females, since obviously my hubby isn't a female. (that would be funny though...lol...) But, I'd assume it's probably around the same figure. I know they get time off if they go into sick-call (go into the hospital with issues etc), and they get time off from work to go to their appointments.

They also can't serve in any dangerous situations...no PT, no out of country tours, no overnights...that kinda thing. Basically, they get reduced down to a desk job.

[~Absynthe~]

Monday, June 30, 2008

Authorities are treating the death of a pregnant Army servicewoman in North Carolina as a homicide, police said Monday.

Fayetteville Police Department officials said that their investigation into the death of Spc. Megan Lynn Touma led them to believe it was homicide. The Army dental specialist was found in a motel bathtub more than a week ago. She was seven months pregnant.

On Saturday, military officials said a soldier at Fort Bragg was considered a person of interest in the case. The soldier is training at a school where special operations ranging from raids to reconstruction projects are taught, said Lt. Col. John Clearwater, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. The soldier is studying psychological operations.

"We understand and are aware that a soldier assigned to the command as a student for training is a person of interest. We are not aware of any charges," Clearwater said.

Touma, 23, was found after a maintenance supervisor smelled a foul odor coming from a room with a "Do Not Disturb" sign.

She had recently arrived from a base in Germany and was temporarily assigned to Fort Bragg's 19th Replacement Company before reporting to a dental clinic at the fort.

Police also are investigating a letter sent to a newspaper purported to be written by a person claiming responsibility for Touma's death. Brian Tolley, executive editor of The Fayetteville Observer, said the paper turned the letter over to police.

Fayetteville police Lt. David Sportsman told the newspaper that authorities think the letter was written to mislead investigators and the media.

In the letter, the author confesses to being a serial killer. The author also put a symbol at the bottom of the letter similar to one used by the Zodiac killer, who was blamed for at least five slayings in California in 1968 and 1969, but never caught.

"I will start using my role-model's signature," the author says in the letter, which was posted on the newspaper's Web site.


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,373612,00.html

[Unamused Cat]

http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg107/snarkyphotos/edgarpatino.jpg

FAYETTEVILLE, NC (WTVD) -- Fayetteville police arrest man in connection with the death of Army Spc. Megan Touma.

Police arrested and charged Edgar Patino with first degree murder in the death of pregnant Army Spc. Megan Touma.

Patino, 27, was taken into custody without incident at his home located at 3704 Lairgate Lane in Hope Mills shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Sources tell Eyewitness News Patino was the father of Tourma's baby and has been a person of interest for Fayetteville Police since early on in the investigation.

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6295061