Ex-Army soldier convicted of murdering pregnant 19-year-old in Germany 22 years ago

May 7 (UPI) -- A 42-year-old former U.S. Army soldier faces life in prison after being convicted this week of killing a pregnant 19-year-old fellow soldier on a U.S. Army base in Germany more than 22 years ago.

A federal jury on Monday in Pensacola, Fla., convicted Shannon Wilkerson of second-degree murder for the death of Pfc. Amanda Gonzales on Nov. 3, 2001, the Justice Department said.

Wilkerson is to be sentenced Aug. 8.

"His conviction yesterday, more than two decades later, is a testament to the Justice Department's unrelenting pursuit of justice," Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said in a statement .

Gonzales' 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.

Cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation. She had only been in Germany eight months when she was killed.

Though it remained open, the case ran cold and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command had offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and conviction of the person responsible.

The FBI is offering a reward for info leading to an arrest in the 2001 murder of U.S. Army Soldier Pfc. Amanda Gonzales in Hanau, Germany. Gonzales was 19 years old and four months pregnant when her body was found in her barracks room on November 5, 2001: https://t.co/uYrdMwswPR pic.twitter.com/7X96FEGXQK — FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) November 5, 2020

Wilkerson remained free until February of last year, when prosecutors announced that he had been arrested and charged in the Northern District of Florida for Gonzales' murder.

Executive Assistant Director Timothy Langan Jr. of the FBI's Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch said Tuesday that Wilkerson's motive was that he believed Gonzales was pregnant with his child.

According to court documents concerning pre-trial detention from last year, government evidence states Wilkerson was married to another soldier stationed in Hanua in 2001, and who was pregnant at the same time Gonzales was.

The document states that Gonzales was unsure of who the father of her unborn child was and had wanted to end her relationship with Wilkerson. She was last seen walking to the bathroom in her barracks the night of Nov. 2, 2001, about three days before her body was found.

Wilkerson was honorably discharged in 2004.

"Yesterday's conviction is a testament to our unwavering commitment of pursuing justice for victims of violent crime," Langan said. "Through the collaboration of law enforcement, the FBI and our partners will continue to seek justice for victims, no matter how long it takes."