Arrest In Ft. Bragg Pregnant Soldier Slay

(CBS/AP)  A Fort Bragg soldier was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday in the death of a pregnant colleague whose partially decomposed body was found in a motel bathtub more than a month ago, police said.

Edgar Patino, 27, of nearby Hope Mills, was arrested at his home without incident just after 8 p.m. in the death of Army Spc. Megan L. Touma, said Fayetteville police watch commander Lt. Lars Paul. Paul said Patino was stationed at Fort Bragg but couldn't provide his rank or unit.

Patino is being held without bail and is scheduled to appear in the Cumberland County Courthouse Wednesday, July 30 at 2:30, CBS News has learned.

No further details were immediately available, but police have scheduled a 11 a.m. news conference Wednesday.

Touma, 23, was found dead June 21 at a Fayetteville motel after a maintenance supervisor smelled a foul odor coming from a room with a "Do Not Disturb" sign. A dental specialist from Cold Spring, Ky., Touma was seven months pregnant and had recently arrived from a base in Germany.

She was temporarily assigned to Fort Bragg's 19th Replacement Company, and would have eventually been assigned to work at a base dental clinic.

The Army and the state medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill have completed autopsies, but the cause of death has not been disclosed, reports CBS affiliate WRAL in Raleigh, N.C. A spokeswoman for the Fayetteville Police Department said last week that toxicology results were pending.

Police have said a Fort Bragg soldier studying psychological operations was a person of interest in the case. They said the person was training at a school where special operations ranging from raids to reconstruction projects are taught. It wasn't immediately clear if police were referring to Patino.

Police also investigated a letter sent to The Fayetteville Observer from a person who claimed to be a serial killer responsible for Touma's death. The letter featured a circle-and-cross drawing that had also been drawn in lipstick on the motel room mirror and was the same as one used a generation ago by San Francisco's infamous Zodiac Killer.

(CBS)

Left: Edgar Patino, 27, is accused of murdering fellow soldier, Army Spc. Megan L. Touma.

Police have said they believed the letter was written to mislead investigators and the media.

Investigators seized two section of drywall containing a red substance suspected to be blood from Touma's room, according to search warrants. Swabbings of DNA and other items also were taken from the hotel room and a rented Chevrolet Trailblazer parked outside, reports WRAL.

Touma was the second pregnant service member to die under suspicious circumstances in North Carolina in recent months. Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was found dead near Camp Lejeune in January. A fellow Marine, Cpl. Cesar Laurean, has been charged in her death and is awaiting extradition from Mexico.

[godofredo29]

So, you''re saying you would rather these women die in sensational murders than be saved by a little intervention before the fact? I mean, if so, you''re right in line with all the viewers of CourtTV, Fox News, etc. You''ll pardon me if I don''t get it.

[u2canb1]

The condition is known as Pre-Natal Psychosis and it is...blah blah blah
Posted by godofredo29

OHG, it is so hilarious to see some people post these "facts", thinking they sound sooooo smart and everyone will just suck up your BS and take it as truth. Maybe you could wander outside and see if there are any 5 years olds you can fool, but in here? Forget it loser.

[godofredo29]

The condition is known as Pre-Natal Psychosis and it is seen in guys whose partners have recently become pregnant. The sooner they recognize this, the sooner we can end this parade of sensational murders that the public seems to enjoy so much. Better a little intervention before hand than a dead woman after the fact.

[morganbarber]

Some fellas have some determination about not paying child support.

[newsnut123]

hey patriot, maybe your marvelous daughter can teach you how to spell now! hahaha

[shazam112]

far removed
I also have a warped sense of humor. When my divorce was final i sent the bf a thank you card. He didn''''t realize for years what a favor he had done me.


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Posted by patriot12436

you mean s-ick sense of humor....old f-a-r-t.

[shazam112]

My oldest sonwas hurt with army rangers, got out went to school and graduated second in his class from law school, my oldest daughter graduated college with honors and is an executive with world bank, my youngest daughter is awaiting medical discaharge frombeing in Iraq, she is taking online courses and plans to attend college full time when discharged. She taught her self Russian in six moths, paswsed the laguage test for the army, turned down a 63k enlistment bonis because she wanted to be a cop liek her daddy, my youngest son enlisted in army two days ago against my wishes. He will be 22 in November, told him he is a man now and has to make his own decisions.


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Posted by patriot12436 at 09:46 AM : Jul 30, 2008
+ report abuse
you mean Thrall of a p-iiiii-ggggggdaddddddyyyyyyylol.

[credibility2]

Whatever the sentence this piece of human debris receives will never be sufficient justice for his taking the woman and her unborn child''s life.

[patriot12436]

t

[patriot12436]

far removed
I also have a warped sense of humor. When my divorce was final i sent the bf a thank you card. He didn''t realize for years what a favor he had done me.