Slain soldier remembered

About a dozen residents of Sneads Ferry gathered Monday night to honor 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc, a Fort Bragg soldier whose body was found in the small fishing community last week.

"Holley's death brings to light valid questions about violence in relationships, and hopefully all of us will learn to deal with domestic violence so that it does not have to end this way," First United Methodist Church pastor Keith Miller said before the service.

Wimunc was reported missing July 10 when her Fayetteville apartment was found burned.

On July 13, a Sunday, a burned and dismembered body - later positively identified as Wimunc - was discovered in a shallow grave off a dirt road in Sneads Ferry.

Organizers of the memorial service said they did not expect a large turnout in the auditorium of Dixon High School since Wimunc did not live or work in the area, but they still wanted to give the community a chance to show its respect.

Marine wife and Sneads Ferry resident Rachel Pelletier came up with the idea for the vigil.

Pelletier said she had a child in January at about the time the news media began to report the disappearance of a pregnant Camp Lejeune Marine.

That search came to an end on Jan. 11 when authorities found the charred remains of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach and her unborn child in the Half Moon community backyard of a colleague she had previously accused of rape.

Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean fled Onslow County earlier that day and was on the run for three months before he was arrested in Mexico. He has been charged by the Onslow County Sheriff's Department with first-degree murder in Lauterbach's death.

Pelletier said the news that Lauterbach and her unborn child were found dead was heart-breaking. As a Marine wife, Pelletier said the tragic deaths of Wimunc and Lauterbach have affected her deeply. She also said she would like to see the passage of a state law to allow prosecutors to charge a suspect with murder in the death of an unborn child.

She said that while the spotlight has been focused on the military recently, domestic violence can happen anywhere.

"Domestic violence spans all communities," she said. "People need to come together to stop the violence."

Joe Samples, pastor of Salem Baptist Church, said the ceremony was about finding healing for the community and honoring Wimunc.

During the service, a statement from the family was read in which Wimunc's father said she always wanted to be a nurse and joined the U.S. Army to treat wounded soldiers returning from war. The statement said Wimunc was the life of the party, and one of her father's fondest memories of her was watching her dance with several elderly men at a community Buddy Holly dance.

Her father knew she was dead after the apartment fire and that knowledge helped him deal with the gruesome details when her body was found, according to the statement.

Her estranged husband, Camp Lejeune Marine Cpl. John Wimunc, was questioned by Fayetteville police and held on base by the Marine Corps over the July 12 weekend. John Wimunc and another Marine, Lance Cpl. Kyle Alden, were charged Jan. 14 by the Fayetteville Police Department in connection to her death.

Her father said he is trying not to hold any animosity.

"Everything I do now must be for the living," her father said in his statement.

A candlelight vigil was held after the service. Area pastors prayed for Holley Wimunc's family, God's justice, community healing and God's help in martial relationships.

Contact crime reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. Read Lindell's blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.