Man charged with killing pregnant U.S. Army solider in Germany 21 years ago

Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors said a 42-year-old man has been arrested on charges of killing a U.S. Army solider in Germany more than two decades ago.

Shannon Wilkerson was arrested Thursday in the Northern District of Florida for killing 19-year-old Pfc. Amanda Gonzales in Hanau, Germany, where she was stationed in 2001.

The Justice Department said in a release that Wilkerson has been charged with one count of first-degree murder under the MIlitary Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which gives U.S. courts jurisdiction over crimes committed outside of the country by former members of the armed forces.

Circumstances surrounding his arrest were not released to the public, but prosecutors said if convicted, Wilkerson faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Gonzales was four months pregnant when she was killed by asphyxiation. Her body was found Nov. 5, 2001, in her third-floor barracks room on Fliegerhorst Kaserne near Hanau, Germany, after she failed to report to work, according to the FBI.

U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command said Gonzales had only been in Germany eight months at the time of her death.