Body found at motel ID'd as pregnant soldier

Fayetteville, N.C. — Authorities on Tuesday identified the body of a woman found Saturday in a Fayetteville motel as a Fort Bragg soldier.

Spc. Megan Touma, 23, who was assigned to the 19th Replacement Detachment, was seven months pregnant at the time of her death, police said.

Fort Bragg officials said Touma was assigned to the base earlier this month. A dental specialist from Cold Spring, Ky., who had been in the Army for five years, she previously was assigned to Army dental clinics in Germany and at Fort Drum, N.Y., officials said.

Touma's body was found Saturday morning in a room at the Fairfield Inn at 5000 Morganton Road. Police said she appeared to have been dead for about two days before she was found.

The cause of her death hasn't been determined.

Touma is the second pregnant service member to die in North Carolina this year. 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.

A private memorial service for Touma will be held Friday at Hope Chapel.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Fayetteville Police Department at 910-433-1856.

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Latest Comments

another heartbreaking story. so sad for the family and their loss. can't help but think we're going to find out baby's dad was involved.

cabswife
June 24, 2008 9:58 p.m.

fuquay resident, why a dumb remark. Who is to say if 1) she is determined to be dead 2 days, 2) maybe a simple DO NOT DISTURB sign stopped any kind of maid service. 3) I hope this is not some sick joke by you. It still has be made known if this is murder or another reason for her death. Is their a husband? Some of the other comments about another dead pregnant military person may be unfounded until the reason for the 2nd death by a pregnant military person in NC

Eduardo1
June 24, 2008 8:58 p.m.

angora? not their fault? that they RAPE? Um, way to dismiss criminals.

veekee
June 24, 2008 8:42 p.m.

Long ago there was a book that addressed war and women. The # 1 problem was rape because men were so stimulated (not their fault) by violence. As much as I favor equal rights between the sexes, is putting men and women in service together a good idea, given data from the past?

angora2
June 24, 2008 7:23 p.m.

Seriously... What is up with Fort Bragg and pregnant soldiers? I hope she was not murdered, as it is still possible (at least until the ME report) that she died of something less sinister, like a blood clot or pregnancy complication. Either way, it is sad for someone so young to lose their life.