New developments in the murder of Megan Touma (aka the "pregnant soldier)

[Kriselda Jarnsaxa]

There's been a real interesting development in Megan Touma's murder case: Someone has sent a letter to The Fayetteville Observer, in Fayetteville, North Caroline, not only claiming to be the killer, but using the signature symbol of the Zodiac killer, referring to the Zodiac as his "role model." Worse, the letter claims that he's killed "many" before.

It's not uncommon for police or newspapers to get letters like this from attention seekers, but one difference in this case is that apparently, the same symbol was left in the hotel room where Megan's body was found - written on the mirror with lipstick. This was a detail that the police had held back. Currently, it appears that the police are considering the letter to be an important piece of evidence - and an attempt at misdirecting the police - rather than an outright hoax.

The Observer has had the letter for a few days, but the police had requested that they refrain from publishing it immediately out of concerns that it might compromise the case. The Observer's editor has written a column explaining why he agreed to do so, and why he decided now was the time to go ahead and publish it (which was largely because they learned from an anonymous source about the symbol having been written in lipstick on the mirror of the hotel room.)

The have also posted an editorial about some of the questions raised by the case:

Touma’s case is additionally unsettling because it seems like one of those where society completely broke down. For instance, did the “Do Not Disturb” sign dangling from her door handle at the Fairfield excuse employees for not bothering to check on her for four days? Hotel patrons are “guests” by definition, which I take it to mean that they should not be completely ignored.
The Army, too, seemed unaware of the presence of one of its own.

After a softball game I went to last week, a woman asked me if I knew why the Army had not gone looking for Touma when she would have been listed as AWOL. Touma had not reported for her company’s morning formation on June 16.

I didn’t know the answer then, but have since learned that the Army failed to even report her as AWOL at the time. It is investigating how she fell through the cracks.

Even if her unit had flagged her absence, there is no guarantee the discovery would have saved her. First, we don’t know what caused her death.

Second, the Army does not immediately dispatch military police to go looking for AWOL soldiers.

AWOL soldiers are usually picked up for traffic or other violations or turn themselves in, says Sgt. Jessica Fimbres, a spokeswoman for the 82nd Airborne Division.

[...]

A woman who says she befriended Touma in Germany is saying that Touma told her she had a fiance stationed here at Fort Bragg.

Neither post officials nor law officers could confirm this.

The claim douses with gasoline the already simmering speculation around the city.

If Touma indeed has a fiance or even a boyfriend here, then where has he been? Wouldn’t he have rushed to the authorities upon learning what happened to his intended?

Why would he lay low and invite further suspicion in a case the cops have already labeled, “suspicious?”

Amid the many questions surrounding Touma’s death, what we do know about her life is that she seemed to be a good person, by all accounts.

She was “ecstatic at the prospect of becoming a mom,” a co-worker and friend of Touma’s said in a news release.

They also published an image of the letter they received:

Additionally, the police have also said they have identified a "person of interest" in this case:

Lt. Col. John Clearwater, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, told CNN affiliiate WRAL that the person of interest is a training student at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Clearwater told The Associated Press the male soldier is training at a school where special operations ranging from raids to reconstruction projects are taught.

From a criminal justice perspective, this is likely to be a very interesting case. From a human perspective, I can only hope that the police are able to find the person responsible - and quickly. With this letter that's been sent, the story is going to get a lot more coverage, and I can only imagine what that kind of publicity that will have on those who knew and loved Megan. I wish them nothing but the best.