Autopsy shows pregnant soldier strangled

FAYETTEVILLE They show 23-year-old Spc. Megan L. Touma of Cold Spring, Kentucky died from "asphyxiation, strangling, drowning, or a combination of both."

Her decomposing body was found June 15 in the bathtub of a motel room. A cleaning person found the body and reported a towel had been shoved under the bathroom door from the outside. A Do Not Disturb sign was hung on the door of the hotel room.

The father of her child, 27-year-old Sgt. Edgar Patino of Hope Mills, is charged with her murder.

Investigators have said Touma and the married Patino began a relationship while both were stationed in Germany. Police said they believe the pair met in her motel room the day after she arrived at Fort Bragg.

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