A federal jury in Pensacola, Florida, on Monday convicted a former U.S. Army soldier in the murder of a pregnant soldier overseas decades ago.
Shannon Wilkerson, 43, was found guilty of second-degree murder in the beating and strangulation death of 19-year-old PFC. Department of Justice Amanda Gonzalez made the announcement Tuesday.
The crime took place in November 2001 in a barracks room at Fliegerhorst Kaserne, a former army base in Hanau, Germany.
Her body was discovered Nov. 5 after she failed to show up for her job as a cook for the 127th Air Support Battalion’s Headquarters Supply Company.
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Army Pfc. Amanda Gonzalez was four months pregnant when she was killed while stationed in Germany more than 20 years ago. (FBI)
Gonzalez was four months pregnant when she killed Wilkerson, believing it to be her child, said Timothy Langan Jr., deputy director of the FBI’s Detective, Cyber, Response and Services Division.
“Twenty-two years ago, Shannon Wilkerson brutally murdered Amanda Gonzalez, who he believed was pregnant with his child,” Langan said in a statement. “Yesterday’s guilty verdicts are a testament to our unwavering commitment to pursuing justice for victims of violent crimes. We will continue to pursue justice for the victims.”
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Wilkerson was a military officer at the time of Gonzalez’s murder, but retired from active duty in 2004, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Wilkerson was arrested on February 23, 2023, for the first time in decades, in connection with the death of a fellow noncommissioned officer. Amanda Gonzalez was four months pregnant when she was murdered. (Escambia County Jail)
He was arrested on February 23, 2023, and charged under the Military Extraterritoriality Act, which gives U.S. federal courts jurisdiction over crimes committed overseas by former military personnel who are no longer subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Justice Department said. announced. .
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Wilkerson is scheduled to be sentenced on August 8th and could face life in prison.
