'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAMDAwMDAwQEBAQFBQUFBQcHBgYHBwsICQgJCAsRCwwLCwwLEQ8SDw4PEg8bFRMTFRsfGhkaHyYiIiYwLTA+PlQBAwMDAwMDBAQEBAUFBQUFBwcGBgcHCwgJCAkICxELDAsLDAsRDxIPDg8SDxsVExMVGx8aGRofJiIiJjAtMD4+VP/AABEIAAUACgMBIgACEQEDEQH/xABiAAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABwgQAAEEAQUBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQFAAcREhQhCAEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAYRAAIBAwUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwARIQQFBhJB/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDOdPqje19bAeXAp5kiAiD0nZMJDpQEqDBDnLcuApbGVdv7W1f4I3Yoj4PeljGF3FBEwZCVL5YgnNU/FiNU88c6RyrGo6B0VrXPlxX/2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
On November 3, 2001, US Army Pfc. Amanda Gonzales, 19, was murdered at Fliegerhorst Kaserne, a former US Army base in Hanau, Germany, where she was stationed as a cook at the time.
The FBI reported that her body was recovered on November 5, 2001, in her third-floor barracks room after she failed to show up for work, and her death was declared a homicide by asphyxiation.
At the time of her death, Gonzales was four months pregnant and was on her first assignment in the Army, stationed at the Headquarters Supply Company of the 127th Aviation Support Battalion.
FBI still investigating Amanda Gonzales' murder case
On February 23, 2023, 42-year-old Shannon L. Wilkerson was arrested in the Northern District of Florida in connection with the murder of Amanda Gonzales. He was a member of the Armed Forces at the time of the killing and was discharged from active duty in 2004 and from the Army Reserve in 2007.
According to a statement by the Department of Justice, Wilkerson was prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. This Act grants US federal courts jurisdiction over crimes perpetrated outside the country by former members of the Armed Forces who are no longer subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Shannon L. Wilkerson faces one count of first-degree murder. He risks a potential sentence of life in prison if convicted.
CID stated in a statement in 2008 that it was offering a $100,000 reward for information that results in the arrest and conviction of the individual or people responsible for Amanda Gonzales' murder.
In 2011, the reward was raised to $125,000.
The statement by the Department of Justice did not specify a possible motive, and any information regarding the alleged crime was not disclosed. The FBI is still investigating the case.
According to court filings, Wilkerson appeared in court for the first time on Thursday and pled not guilty. A detention hearing is set for March 3, 2023.
Amanda Gonzales was "an inspiration to her friends and family"
Stars and Stripes reported that a 2001 flyer offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Gonzales' murder mentioned that she was "an inspiration to her friends and family and loved by many." The report read:
"At the time of her murder, Amanda was pregnant and looking forward to sharing her life and love with her daughter, who would have been born on March 26, 2002."
Her father, Santos Gonzales, told Stars and Stripes in 2008 that he wanted some answers so he could get closure.
In 2008, Stars and Stripes reported that her mother, Gloria Bates, said that although the culprit(s) took away her daughter and her first grandchild, she has found it in her heart to forgive the perpetrator.
In the statement by the Department of Justice, it was mentioned that the agencies that were initially investigating the case included the FBI Jacksonville Field Office, the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations, and Army’s Criminal Investigative Division, and they provided valuable assistance with the arrest.
