Zodiac Role Model for NC Killer - Or Just a Distraction? Updated
Updates follow the original post.
23 year-old Army Specialist Megan Touma was 7 weeks pregnant when she was murdered in a room at the Fairfield Inn in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Her body was found in the bathtub of Room 143 on June 21. Her body was badly decomposed, impeding an immediate determination of the cause of death. Fayetteville Homicide Detective I.J. Carter noted in his application for a search warrant that the bed had been pushed away from the wall and the nightstand and lamp were “askew.”
Touma had returned from Germany only a few days prior to her death. Touma, who was from Cold Spring, KY, was a dental specialist with the 19th Replacement Company. She had been divorced from her husband, El Sayed Touma, since 2007. El Sayed Touma is upset about the apparent lack of protocol by the military concerning his ex-wife. Touma was not reported as AWOL and her hotel was not checked, even though the Army knew she was there. Touma failed to show for a required formation on Monday, June 16 but was no one reported her missing.
Police removed drywall from the motel room that appeared to be bloody. Police do have a suspect and have searched the home of that person, removing several items of evidence.
In a very strange incident related to this case, a man claiming the infamous Zodiac Killer as his role model has sent a letter to the Fayetteville Observer, who immediately turned the letter over to authorities. The letter states:
17 JUNE @))*
To whom it may concern. The following is to inform that I am
responsible for the dead body that was found on Saturday,
June 21 @ 1130 in room 143 at Fairfield INN by Marriott off
Skibo RD. It was a master piece. I confess, that I have
killed many times before in several states, but now i
will start using my role-model's signature. There will be many
more to come.
Fayetteville law enforcement are very incompetent. I basica-
llysat there and watch while investigators were on site.
I have been told by one of the posters on the ZodiacKiller Message Board that the characters after the date are the result of the shift key or caps key being held down as the author typed “2008.” That might be obvious to most people, but my mind isn’t that sharp sometimes. The author used a few “Zodiacisms,” jabbing at the police and using bad grammar, and signed the letter with the symbol that the Zodiac killer of San Francisco used to mark his correspondence.
So, here we have this eerie twist to the case –a sensational news story! But not so fast…
Let’s think about this for a minute. Could this be just another “blame it on the mystery man” incident. We have just seen a similar scenario play out with John Kastner. And remember –Megan Touma was pregnant! We have seen the phenomenon of pregnant women being killed by the would-be father’s of their babies all too often. Jessie Davis, Laci Peterson, Lori Hacking, Lauren Barnes –all pregnant, all murdered by their babies prospective fathers. In fact, an examination by The Washington Post of revealed the killings of 1,367 pregnant women and new mothers since 1990, not to mention those that weren’t identified as crimes of this type.
Touma’s body was found in her hotel room, suggesting she probably knew her killer. If the author of the letter was truly mimicking the Zodiac Killer, he would have targeted people in isolated and vulnerable locations. Something about this crime shows Touma to be vulnerable alright, but not necessarily to a stranger. It isn’t not unusual for those who kill the women carrying their seed to plan these crimes ahead of time. So, the lipstick Zodiac symbol found on the mirror could still be part of this ruse. We know that Fincher’s Zodiac movie and the resurgence in popularity of Robert Graysmith’s books on the killer have introduced many people to the story of the infamous killer the letter writer claims to emulate. I could be wrong, but I say this is just another load of bullshit by another selfish, narcissistic man who did not want to be a father.
Sources:
Pregnant Soldier Not Declared AWOL
Warrant reveals clues in soldier’s death
Police search home in Touma case
Update:
Here is a little bit more info on that person of interest the police are looking at. He’s a soldier at Ft. Bragg. He is a student at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, according to Army Special Operations Command spokesperson, Lt. Col. John Clearwater. As of this writing he has not been charged with anything. Authorities have not released the man’s name.
Perusing the site’s of other crime bloggers, many of whom can be found in the links to the right, has revealed a lot more information than what is currently in “official” circulation. For instance, a comment at Bonnie’s Blog of Crime, left by someone who claims to have known Megan Touma, names someone who might have known her. I won’t reveal that name here until I have more information, but I think the claim is very likely to be believable. Apparently, so does the press, as a reporter from the Fayetteville Observer has shown some interest in what the poster had to say.
I would also like to welcome Steve Huff back from hiatus, as this type of crime, and the man its perpetrator claims to emulate, are subjects that he knows quite well –also, he mentions CrimeShadows News in his post on the topic. Be sure to read that post’s updates and comments for developing information. I’m no expert, but I’ll bet we’ll see an arrest before by Monday morning.
Sources:
Bragg soldier is person of interest in Spc. Touma’s death
NC soldier eyed in probe of dead servicewoman
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