U.S. Army Teams Up With Police in Megan Lynn Touma Murder Investigation

The Fayetteville Police Department issued a news release yesterday, which stated that the Army's criminal investigations unit has joined the effort to catch the person responsible for the murder of 23-year-old Megan Lynn Touma, an Army Specialist who was found dead in her motel room on June 21.

"U.S. Army CID (Criminal Investigation Command) joined the investigation at the request of the Fayetteville Police Department and were already conducting a collateral investigation into the death upon the initial notification. The Fayetteville Police Department was and still is the lead investigative agency, because the death occurred in our jurisdiction," police said in the statement.

The news release also stated that the U.S. Army had taken possession of Megan's body and transported it to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C., for a second autopsy. The state medical examiner's office has yet to release a copy of the autopsy they conducted last week.

"The purpose for this is simply because this Institute provides supplementary advanced technology to deal with cases of this degree," read the news release.

The news release did not mention the taunting letter that was sent to authorities or the "person of interest" (POI) that the military has in custody.

During an interview with WRAL.com, Lt. Col. John Clearwater, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, said that the POI the military has in custody is a training student at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Clearwater would not comment on the status of the investigation and would only say that the individual has not been charged.

According to CNN, the POI had been at the same Army post in Bamberg, Germany, where Megan, a dental specialist, had been assigned. It remains unclear what if any contact they had there and whether they jointly transferred to Fort Bragg. The Fayetteville Observer is reporting that Megan's fiancé recently transferred to Fort Bragg, but the details surrounding his reassignment – where he transferred from – remain unclear.

The investigation continues…

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