Jezebel: no country for young women

Anonymous Letter-Writer Takes Responsibility For Murder Of Pregnant North Carolina Soldier

Jessica — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:30:00 EDT

The case of Megan Lynn Touma, the Army dental specialist stationed at Fort Bragg who was found dead in a North Carolina motel bathtub on June 21st, is taking a turn for the creepy after a letter was sent to the local Fayetteville Observer by someone claiming to be Megan's killer. That's not all: the anonymous scribe also said he was modeling himself after the notorious killer Zodiac and even used the Zodiac's target symbol in his sign-off. Fayetteville Police Chief Tom Bergamine told CNN, "I do not believe there is a serial killer on the loose in Fayetteville." However, police do think that the letter was planted to confuse and misdirect the investigation for Touma's killer. They are currently investigating another solider who is studying psychological operations at Fort Bragg.

Until recently, Touma and the unnamed soldier had been stationed in Bamberg, Germany, and according to the Fayetteville Observer, a friend in Germany says that Touma was recently engaged, but that the friend had never known the fiance's name. Below is the letter published in the Observer, taking responsibility for Touma's killing. As the reader of too many true crime books, I agree with the Fayetteville police: I don't think it's the work of a serial killer, but it's certainly hinky.

[Image of letter via Fayetteville Observer]

Source: German Base Links Touma, Person Of Interest [Fayetteville Observer]
Letter, Soldier Probed In Pregnant GI's Death [CNN]

Earlier: Horrors

In rural Maury County, Tennessee, after...

Jessica — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:20:00 EST

In rural Maury County, Tennessee, after overhearing the screams of their neighbor Vivien Adcock, a group of women entered her home and found Vivien's husband, Herbert, beating her with a steel chair. And they went apeshit: According to Nashville NBC affiliate WSMV, Sherry Shed began hitting Herb with a stick and "her son Zach, and a number of others jumped in with fists, screams and a two-by-two piece of wood to help." Also involved in the fracas? 79-year-old Ada Pike. "He would've killed her the way he was banging on her," the grandma said. [WSMV]

Missing Marine Found Dead; Likely Murderer Missing

Jessica — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:30:00 EST

Brace yourself for this Monday morning tale of woe: the remains of 20-year-old Maria Lauterbach, the pregnant Marine who had been missing since before Christmas, have been found in the backyard of her accused rapist, fellow Marine Cesar Armando Laurean. The burnt body of Lauterbach and her unborn child were found in a makeshift grave on Saturday. (It is unclear if Lauterbach's pregnancy was a result of her alleged rape.) Laurean, who has since skipped Jacksonville, North Carolina, where he and Lauterbach both served at Camp Lejeune, admitted to burying Lauterbach, but claimed in a note that Lauterbach slit her own throat. Which would explain the blood splattered all over the walls of his house! Oh, by the way, this piece of shit was also married. His wife, reports CBS News, is said to be "heartbroken".

Lauterbach filed the rape charges against Laurean (pictured) in April, and according to the Washington Post, Maria was harassed so badly in the meantime by her fellow Marines that she had to move off-base. Neither Lauterbach nor Laurean was reassigned to a different base after these charges were filed, because, according to military authorities, they were on "friendly terms" and Maria was ostensibly protected by a military order issued in May and renewed three times since then.

As has been reported before 20% of female veterans who seek care from the VA hospital showed symptoms of military sexual trauma. CBS News notes that there have been "complaints from female service members that the male-dominated chain of command did not take their allegations seriously," and the reticence of the Department of Defense to get involved in the Jamie Leigh Jones rape case further implies that the U.S. military does not care about the safety of the women in its employ.

Laurean is currently still missing, and though there have been sightings of him in Louisiana, none have been confirmed. Doddering local sheriff, Ed Brown, who, when Maria first went missing, implied that she had simply run away, had this to say about Laurean when asked what the Marine was capable of: ""Based on what I saw in that grave, anything."

Urgency Of Search For Marine Questioned [Washington Post]
Possible Sighting Of Marine Murder Suspect [CBS News]
No 'Confirmed Sightings' Of Suspect In Marine's Killing [CNN]

Earlier:
Mom Of Missing, Pregnant Marine Says She Was Victim Of Sexual Assault By A Superior
What Did Missing Marine Maria Lauterbach Witness Before She Mysteriously Vanished?
DoD To Jamie Leigh Jones: You're On Your Own, Sweetie