FROM CNN NEWS


Man charged in slaying of pregnant soldier



Fellow soldier Edgar Patino arrested at his home in Hope Mills, North Carolina

He is accused of killing Megan Lynn Touma, 23

She was found dead on June 21 in a hotel near Fort Bragg, North Carolina


(CNN) -- A North Carolina man has been charged with murdering a pregnant Fort Bragg soldier, police said Tuesday.

Spc. Megan Lynn Touma, 23, was found dead in a hotel near her Army base.

Fayetteville detectives arrested Edgar Patino, a fellow soldier, at his home in Hope Mills, North Carolina, about 15 miles south of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

He is accused of killing Spc. Megan Lynn Touma, 23, found dead on June 21 in a hotel near Fort Bragg.

She was seven-months pregnant at the time of her death, authorities said.

Touma, a five-year veteran of the Army, had served with the U.S. Army Dental Activity Clinic in Bamberg, Germany, and in Fort Drum, New York, before her stint at Fort Bragg.

Two of Touma's friends told CNN that Touma and Patino had been stationed together in Germany and dated in the past.

Touma's friends said Patino proposed to her in Germany before Touma learned, on her return to North Carolina, that Patino was still married.

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The two friends, female soldiers who said they were stationed with Touma in Germany, asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the case.

Touma is is the second female soldier from Fort Bragg to die under suspicious circumstances since June.

Army 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc was killed in early July. Her Fayetteville, North Carolina, apartment was torched July 10 and her charred body was found nearby a few days later.

Her husband, Marine Cpl. John Wimunc was charged with arson and first degree murder in connection with the death. Another Marine, Lance Cpl. Kyle Alden, was charged with arson and felony accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.

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END of CNN Release