Ex-soldier is sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing a pregnant soldier in Germany two decades ago

Pfc. Amanda Gonzales, 19, was four months pregnant when she was murdered in Germany in 2001. On Thursday, Shannon L. Wilkerson, 44, who was convicted of killing Gonzales, was sentenced to prison. Photo courtesy FBI/Release

“While there is nothing we can do to reunite Amanda with her family, we hope that today's sentencing brings some measure of peace and comfort to Amanda's loved ones,” Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, said in a statement Explanation .

Gonzales' body was found in her barracks room on the third floor of the Fliegerhorst barracks near Hanau, Germany, on November 5, 2001, after she failed to report for work.

The cause of death was determined to be asphyxia. She had only been in Germany eight months when she was killed.

According to court documents, Wilkerson was married to another soldier stationed in Hanau who was pregnant with Gonzales at the same time.

Gonzales, unsure about the paternity of her unborn child, wanted to end her relationship with Wilkerson, according to prosecutors, who also said Wilkerson feared the child was his.

The 19-year-old was last seen heading to the toilet in her barracks on the night of November 2, 2001, about three days before her body was found.

After her body was found three days later, the case was dropped and in 2020 the FBI announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.

Details of Wilkerson's arrest were unclear, but he was arrested and charged in February and sentenced in May.

Evidence presented by federal prosecutors at trial said Wilkerson killed Gonzales out of fear that her unborn child was his and that it would interfere with his marriage and military career.

Wilkerson was honorably discharged in 2004.

“This sentencing comes just as the family of Amanda Gonzales will mark the 23rd anniversary of her brutal murder by Shannon Wilkerson on November 3, 2001 with her unborn child. While the lengthy prison sentence won't bring the young Army soldier back, we hope it will close another chapter in the Gonzales family's grieving process,” said FBI Criminal Investigation Division Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough.