Spc. Megan Touma
FAYETTEVILLE -- The 23-year-old soldier who was found dead in a Fayetteville hotel room on Saturday was seven months pregnant. She is the second pregnant soldier to die in North Carolina in the past year.
The decomposing body Spc. Megan Touma was found at the Farifield Inn on Morganton Road in Room 143, according to a search warrant. Touma was a dental specialist assigned to the 19th Replacement Detachment at Fort Bragg. Authorities said she just arrived about two weeks ago to start an assignment there after being stationed in Germany for three years.
Officials said she was still being processed for housing on post. That's why she was staying at the Fairfield Inn.
Touma was divorced in 2007, and police are calling her death suspicious.
The 23-year-old soldier who was found dead in a Fayetteville hotel room on Saturday was seven months pregnant.
Search warrants revealed that the bed in Touma’s room had been pushed slightly away from the wall, and both the lamp and nightstand in the room were out of place.
Hotel officials told police that no employees had been in the room since June 17 because there was a “Do Not Disturb” sign posted on the door.
Hotel assistant maintenance supervisor Jim Cameron found the body. He told police that when he entered the room, he smelled a foul odor and then saw Touma’s body in the bathtub. That’s when Fayetteville police were called to the scene.
The search warrant also showed that authorities found a set of keys with an Enterprise Rent-A-Car key ring on the dresser in the room. A 2008 Chevrolet Trailblazer registered to Enterprise was parked outside the hotel room.
Police have continued to investigate the case with assistance from Fort Bragg. Authorities said they are currently awaiting results from Touma’s autopsy. They are not sure when those results will be available.
Meanwhile, officials said this has been a difficult time for everyone at the base.
"It's always sad when you lose a soldier and on top of that, here's a young woman, she was seven months pregnant. It's just sad and deeply troubling,” Maj. Angela Funaro said.
A private memorial service will be held Friday at Fort Bragg.
A Marine was charged with murder in the death of the first pregnant soldier last December. Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach was eight months pregnant when she was killed. Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean was arrested in Mexico for her murder. He is currently awaiting extradition back to the United States for trial.