37 Million Baht Reward Offered For Murderer

[sriracha john]

Linda Card, a spokeswoman for the Air Force Office of Investigations, said the 60-year-old suspect had an emotional reunion with his daughter at the air base before he was taken to Solano County Jail.

- Associated Press

Wonder why he confessed? With a good lawyer he would have a good chance of winning in court.

Perhaps he still had enough remorse that he wished to spare his daughter from the trauma of a long drawn-out trial for butchering their mother and abandoning his children. (he has 2)

[sriracha john]

$1 million reward

US authorities are offering a US$1-million (Bt37 million) reward for information leading to the arrest of a Thai-American man wanted for the murder of his pregnant wife nine years ago and who is believed to be in Thailand.

The man was identified as Saner Wongkuan, a former US Air Force first sergeant who is suspected of murdering his pregnant wife in the US in 1997. He is also wanted for abandoning his military service after the murder.

The US embassy will release detailed information about the suspect at a press conference today.

Thai police have tried to locate the suspect in coordination with US officials in Thailand but without success.

- The Nation

there was a very strange dude in foodland the other day, look like he had bought himself a new face ! and an awful one at that looked like michael jacksons brother ( was it him ? !

check the updates... unless this Foodland you describe was in the USA and he was being escorted by Federal agents while he shopped.

[sriracha john]

Deciding to try him in military court versus civilian court will be interesting and for Saner, I'm sure he'd prefer civilian court as it allows for parole eventually, which at his age might be a real concern if he wishes to avoid dying in prison... unfortunately for him, it doesn't appear it's going that way....

Former Sargeant facing court martial for murder charge

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.—A former sergeant who fled the country following charges that he killed his wife is back in Marin County to face a court martial.

Saner Wonggoun abandoned his two children when he fled to Thailand in 1994. His wife's battered body had been found wrapped in a sleeping bag in Marin County, and he escaped before he could be questioned.

Despite a $27,300 reward for his capture, he managed to avoid extradition for years. He was finally returned to the United States on Feb. 15.

He's being held in Solano County Jail, awaiting his court martial.

- Associated Press

[sriracha john]

Deciding to try him in military court versus civilian court will be interesting and for Saner, I'm sure he'd prefer civilian court as it allows for parole eventually, which at his age might be a real concern if he wishes to avoid dying in prison... unfortunately for him, it doesn't appear it's going that way....

UPDATE...the trial is underway (with gruesome descriptions of his horrendous acts) and is being conducted as a military court martial, which is bad news for Saner

Hearing at Travis in 1994 slaying

Testifying during a military inquiry Wednesday at Travis Air Force Base, law enforcement officers described how the discovery of an unidentified woman's body along a lonely stretch of California coastline 14 years ago eventually led to the arrest of a former Travis sergeant in Thailand.

The technical sergeant, 60-year-old Saner Wonggoun, faces a charge of premeditated murder in connection with the 1994 bludgeoning death of his pregnant wife, 42-year-old Sopha Wonggoun, in a trailer on the air base.

Accompanied by armed Air Force security personnel, Wonggoun was present in full uniform for Wednesday's Article 32 hearing. The proceeding is similar to a civilian court preliminary hearing in that evidence is presented and evaluated to determine if a crime occurred and if there is probable cause to go to trial or, in military justice, a court martial.

The hearing is conducted before an investigatory officer, with military defense and prosecution (government) attorneys presenting evidence and questioning witnesses.

During Wednesday's hearing, the first government witness called to testify was Marin County Sheriff's Office Detective Steven Nash, a veteran investigator who was one of the first officers called out after the body of a pregnant woman - later identified as Sopha Wonggoun - was found wrapped in a sleeping bag off Highway 1 south of Stinson Beach on Jan. 7, 1994.

Questioned by Capt. Amber Hirsch, Nash said the victim had no identification with her and an initial check of fingerprints was unsuccessful. The woman, he said, had her hands tied around her neck with rope, and she appeared to have suffered multiple head injuries.

A subsequent autopsy, he testified, indicated that the woman had died as a result of "blunt force trauma to the head ... consistent with the shape of a hammer."

Upon further questioning, Nash said the woman remained unidentified for three to four days until a press conference and request for information alerted friends of the slain woman in Fairfield.

Once the identification was confirmed, Nash said, officers went to the Wonggouns' Travis trailer home, but found nobody there and had to wait for a search warrant to enter the residence.

After obtaining search warrants, Nash related, officers going through the trailer reportedly found bloodstains in a master bedroom, a hallway and nearby bathroom. They recovered military Battle Dress Uniform pants that may have had bloodstains on them, Nash said, and also confiscated boots, a hammer and rope.

Further questioned by Hirsch, Nash said investigators learned that Saner Wonggoun had requested emergency leave from his duties at Travis and had purchased travel tickets for Thailand. His car later was found in short-term parking at the San Francisco Airport.

It wasn't until a dozen years later that authorities finally located Wonggoun in Thailand, testified Air Force Office of Special Investigations Special Agent Brett Irwin.

Questioned by Capt. Thomas Franzinger of the prosecution team, Irwin said Wonggoun was picked up Nov. 3, 2006, following a joint U.S.-Thailand surveillance operation. At the conclusion of lengthy extradition proceedings, Wonggoun was escorted back to California by U.S. Marshals. They landed at the Sacramento Airport on Feb. 15 and the veteran Air Force sergeant was turned over to OSI agents.

Irwin said Wonggoun seemed to be in good spirits.

"He appeared to be energetic and in a good mood," Irwin said. "He said he was happy about how he was being treated."

Testimony is scheduled to resume today at Travis. Wonggoun's son and daughter may be among the witnesses called to testify.

- The Reporter (Vacaville, California, USA) / 3-20-08

[sriracha john]

Airman's fate hinges on review

A two-day inquiry into possible murder charges against a Travis Air Force Base sergeant accused of killing his wife 14 years ago came to an end Thursday with tearful testimony from the man's daughter.

The 61-year-old defendant, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Saner Wonggoun, was returned to United States' custody from Thailand in February following a 14-year absence after his pregnant wife's battered body was found off Highway 1 south of Stinson Beach.

Air Force prosecutors have asked that a charge of premeditated murder be lodged against Wonggoun. His military defense attorneys, however, have argued that the case is more likely one of voluntary manslaughter, with Wonggoun flying into a rage after his wife revealed that she had been having an affair and might be pregnant with another man's child.

Testimony offered during the Article 32 hearing Wednesday and Thursday, along with physical and documentary evidence, now will be reviewed by the proceeding's investigating officer, Col. Steven Ehlenbeck.

Ehlenbeck will report his findings to an Air Force convening authority for determination of a charge and possible court martial in a review process could take three to four weeks. If a court martial is recommended, it could commence two to three months after that.

Thursday's proceedings included testimony from Wonggoun's 21-year-old daughter, Sophia Wonggoun Burtram.

Questioned by prosecuting attorney Maj. Tara Villena, Burtram said she was aware that her mother had had a boyfriend a short time before her death and that she had told her father about her mother's "friend."

Burtram, who was about seven years old at the time, said the revelation came about while she and her father were washing dishes.

"I think I told him ... we were washing dishes and he asked me," said Burtram, choking back tears. "He asked me if ... I don't know exactly what we said ... but I didn't say he was a boyfriend."

Questioned by defense counsel Maj. Mark Etheridge, Burtram said she had never seen her father act violently or aggressively toward her mother, although she felt the couple had been unhappy.

Although Burtram said she had been told that her mother was pregnant, she didn't think her father knew about the pregnancy.

At the end of the hearing, Mark Etheridge argued that no evidence had been presented to show that Wonggoun had planned the killing which - according to statements made by Wonggoun - occurred when his wife informed him that she was pregnant with another man's child.

According to previous testimony, Wonggoun's wife appeared to have been beaten to death with a hammer in the family's trailer housing on the air base.

"We do not believe there is a shred of evidence of premeditation," Etheridge said. "There was no planning whatsoever."

The killing, Etheridge said, most likely occurred "In the sudden heat of passion caused by adequate provocation."

- The Reporter (Vacaville, California, USA) / 3-21-08

[Dakhar]

Tragic & sad.

[sriracha john]

Sergeant Won't Face Death Penalty in Wife's Murder

FAIRFIELD, Calif.—Military officials have decided not to seek the death penalty against a former Travis Air Force Base sergeant who fled to Thailand after his wife was killed 14 years ago.

Saner Wonggoun (SANE-er WON-goon) has been charged in the slaying of his pregnant wife, whose body was found wrapped in a sleeping bag in Marin County.

Sgt. Matthew McGovern, an Air Force spokesman, says Wonggoun will face a general court martial alleging that he killed his wife without premeditation.

He is set to be arraigned May 22 at the Air Force base near Fairfield, east of San Francisco. McGovern said Friday that a commander from Scott Air Force Base in Illinois will come to Travis to preside over the court martial.

Wonggoun, now 60, was returned to California in February from Thailand.

He left his two children and fled to his native country after his wife was killed in 1994.

- Associated Press

[Peregrine]

Anyone seen this guy??? When they catch this guy, he will return to U.S. military status. Military Disciplinary Command Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

From the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations

Saner Wonggoun

Matter Investigated: Murder

Alias: Buck, Shorty

Race: Asian

Sex: Male

Height/Weight: 5'0" (150cm), 135 lbs (61kg)

Eyes/Hair: Black, Black

Scars/Distinguishing Features: 3.5cm scar on chin, scar on left wrist

Prior Occupation: Sergeant, U.S. Air Force, California

Last Known Location: Thailand

Hometowns: Nakon Nayok and Prachinburi, Thailand

Remarks: Wonggoun is wanted in connection with the murder of his wife who was 8 months pregnant. Wonggoun can speak English and has worked as an artist, gardener. May be residing / hiding in Thailand.

Age: 59 (as of Sept 2006)

Date of Birth: 22 Jan 1947

Place of Birth: Nakon Nayok, Thailand

Citizenship: Naturalized U.S. citizen

Last Base: Travis Air Force Base, Calif

Date of Desertion: 14 Jan 94

NCIC #: W786249308

You can help bring wanted fugitive Saner Wonggoun to justice. If you have any information on his whereabouts or activities, please contact the US Embassy Security Office at 02-205-4108, or Email [email protected]. Your identity will remain strictly confidential. Information leading to the apprehension and successful prosecution of Wonggoun may be worth up to US $25,000. Justice rewards everyone. *catchy phrase, eh?*

Age progression photographs of what Wonggoun may currently look like today at 59 years of age.

Looks like every Tuk-tuk driver I have ever had...and every tout on Patpong.

[zorro1]

Premeditated double homicide, international flight, AWOL, plus more.

IT's the "plus more" that's interesting.

Do they say whether he's wanted dead or alive?

It's weird looking to charge a man for AWOL after he's commited murder, like he should have turned up for duty.

[sriracha john]

Judge sets trial in 14 year old murder

A July trial date has been set at Travis Air Force Base for an enlistend man facing murder charges in connection with the bludgeoning death of his wife and unborn child more than 14 years ago.

Military Judge Col. William Burd scheduled July 28 to begin trial proceedings in the court martial of U.S. Air Force Sgt. Saner Wonggoun on charges of murdering his pregnant wife.

- The Reporter (Vacaville, California)

[sriracha john]

UPDATE...the trial begins...

Ex-Travis man details '94 slaying of his wife

A former Travis Air Force Base sergeant who eluded authorities for 14 years after the slaying of his wife pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Monday as his court martial began at Travis.

Tech. Sgt. Saner Wonggoun, facing charges of unpremeditated murder in the 1994 bludgeoning death of his wife, Sopha, made his plea and described the killing in detail Monday morning before military judge Col. William Burd.

Despite his plea, the three-member military prosecution team informed the judge they will begin presenting evidence in support of the unpremeditated murder charge today. The evidence and the plea will be weighed only by Col. Burd because the 60-year-old defendant requested a court trial rather than one presented to a military jury panel.

Slumping and looking frail with a cast on his right arm, Wonggoun stated that he understood the possible consequences of his plea and, questioned by the judge, detailed the events that led up to his wife's death, claiming that he was enraged by her constant gambling debts and her admission that she was pregnant with another man's child.

The attack occurred on Jan. 6, 1994, after Wonggoun said he became involved in another argument with his wife over her ongoing gambling debts, which may have totalled $20,000 over the years.

"I kept telling her no, but nothing worked," Wonggoun related.

Sopha Wonggoun, he said, was sometimes gone for two or three days at a time on gambling junkets and their relationship suffered.

"I'm just like a single man - go to work, come home, no wife," he said. "I cannot talk to her but two or three words and she starts throwing pots and pans."

At one point, he said, he entered the bathroom of their Travis mobilehome and discovered a pregnancy test kit. Sopha Wonggoun later admitted her pregnancy and Wonggoun said he "knew 100 percent" that it was not his child.

"I was so mad, so I walked back to the storage room. I really didn't know what to do," Wonggoun stated.

Once in the storage room, however, Wonggoun picked up a claw hammer and went back to confront his wife.

"So I hit her one time and she fell on the floor, and after that I realized what I did," Wonggoun said Monday. "I lost control of myself ... everything was just dark."

Wonggoun said he was "very scared" when he saw his wife on the floor and realized what he'd done.

"I thought 'Oh, no - why did I do that?' But it was too late," he testified.

Questioned by the judge, Wonggoun said he never intended to kill his wife that day.

"I was mad. I wanted to teach her a lesson," Wonggoun explained.

After the killing, Wonggoun reportedly moved his wife's body out of the mobile home and eventually dumped it off Highway 1 along the Marin County coastline. He later made arrangements for his children to be picked up by friends while he secured a flight from San Francisco to Thailand.

Wonggoun didn't surface again until November 2006 when he was arrested in Thailand and later turned over to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations for return to the United States.

Court martial proceedings resume at 9 today at Travis.

- The Reporter (Vacaville, California, USA) / 07-29-08

Edited July 29, 2008 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Air Force fugitive enters plea in wife's slaying

FAIRFIELD, Calif.—A former Travis Air Force Base sergeant has admitted killing his pregnant wife with a hammer in 1994.

Saner Wonggoun pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Monday, 14 years after he dumped his wife's body in Marin County and fled to his native Thailand.

Wonggoun says he exploded over his wife's gambling debts and after discovering she was pregnant with another man's child.

Military prosecutors are now trying to prove the crime was murder.

Air Force Technical Sgt. Don Osborn says that under military law, prosecutors are seeking a conviction for unpremeditated murder as Wonggoun's court martial continues Tuesday. They have ruled out the death penalty.

Wonggoun, now 60, eluded capture until 2006. He fought extradition until February.

- Associated Press

[sriracha john]

His rage led to wife's killing

An international fugitive for more than a decade, former Travis Air Force Base Tech. Sgt. Saner Wonggoun on Tuesday was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter for the 1994 slaying of his pregnant wife.

Following a day of testimony in a Travis courtroom, military judge Col. William Burd ruled that Wonggoun had committed voluntary manslaughter - to which he had already pleaded guilty - when he beat his wife, Sopha, to death with a hammer during an argument in their Travis mobilehome. The judge further ruled that Wonggoun was not guilty of unpremeditated murder, a charge that was pursued by the three-member military prosecution team in the case despite Wonggoun's manslaughter plea.

Wonggoun, 61, faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and benefits. A sentencing hearing is set for 9 today before Burd. Under military law, his sentencing ruling is viewed as a recommendation only. Final action is up to the Convening Authority with the 18th Air Force at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.

According to previous testimony, and his own statements, Wonggoun became involved in an argument with his wife over gambling debts and her admission that she was pregnant with another man's child the afternoon of Jan. 6, 1994.

Enraged, Wonggoun grabbed a claw hammer and struck her once in the head, shattering her skull. She died moments later and Wonggoun wrapped her body in trash bags and a sleeping bag and eventually drove to an isolated stretch of the Marin County coastline, where he pushed the body off the edge of Highway 1.

The woman's body was found the next day, but not immediately identified.

Wonggoun subsequently asked friends to watch his young son and daughter, requested leave from work and secured airline tickets for a flight from San Francisco to Thailand.

The longtime Air Force sergeant didn't turn up again until November 2006, when Thai authorities arrested him. He later was extradited back to the United States and subsequently confessed the killing to U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations agents.

During closing statements Tuesday, defense counsel Maj. Mark Etheridge argued that Wonggoun - who had not had marital relations with his wife for more than a year - was enraged by his wife's pregnancy and not able to control himself.

"He was clearly in an emotional state," Etheridge said. Wonggoun, he said, was candid and open about the slaying when he was interviewed by OSI agents. "What does he say? 'I was angry. I blacked out. I forget myself,' " Etheridge told the court. Wonggoun, the defense attorney said, described the kind of explosive anger that defines voluntary manslaughter.

"Being angry, being in the sudden heat of passion, is the only explanation," Etheridge said. "He was provoked beyond the point that he could control himself."

Prosecuting attorney Maj. Tara Villena strongly disagreed, arguing unsuccessfully for a verdict of unpremeditated murder.

The argument, and ultimately Sopha Wonggoun's death, wasn't about her pregnancy, but about her long-term gambling debts, Villena said. "It all comes back to money - every step," she told the court, charging that the husband's anger wasn't something that just exploded, but rather had been simmering for a long time. "He's not going from 0 to 100 in two seconds," Villena said.

Wonggoun came for lunch that afternoon expecting a fight about his wife's demands for money to pay her gambling debts, the prosecutor charged. "Simply put, your honor, it's murder - unpremeditated murder," Villena said, characterizing Wonggoun's clean-up of the mobile home and the disposal of his wife's body as cold and calculated.

"He dumped her by the road like a piece of trash," Villena said.

- The Reporter (Vacaville, California) / 30-07-08

[sriracha john]

Justice is swift in the American military legal system... he's been sentenced.... and he got the maximum.

AIRMAN SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR WIFE'S MURDER

Former Travis Air Force Base sergeant Saner Wonggoun was sentenced today to a 10-year prison term for fatally beating his pregnant wife with a hammer in 2004.

Wonggoun, 61, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Monday during a military trial at Travis Air Force Base. He was tried Tuesday for premeditated murder and military judge Col. William Burd found him guilty of voluntary manslaughter.

Burd sentenced Wonggoun today to 10 years' confinement in a military facility. Wonggoun was also given a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and allowances, and a reduction in rank from E-6, to E-1, said Greg Tarrott, attorney advisor at the Travis Air Force Base legal office.

The findings will be reviewed by Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott III at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, Tarrott said.

If they are upheld, Wonggoun has further appeal rights in a military appellate court. Wonggoun, however, will be confined immediately, Tarrott said.

According to testimony during the three-day trial, Wonggoun admitted hitting his wife Sopha in the head with a hammer during an argument on Jan. 6, 1994 in their Travis mobile home because he was angry about her gambling debts and because she was pregnant with another man's child.

Wonggoun wrapped the body in blankets and a sleeping bag and dumped it over the edge of state Highway 1 in Marin County. Wonggoun fled the country in January 1994 when Marin County authorities wanted to question him about the murder.

Thai authorities were tipped off to Wonggoun's location after authorities released age progression images of him and advertised a $25,000 reward for information that led to his capture, the Air Force said. He was arrested in Thailand in November 2006.

Capt. Christine Millette of the OSI's public affairs office said Wonggoun was born in Thailand, moved to the United States when he was 21 and joined the Air Force in the mid-1970s. He became a naturalized citizen in 1978 and married Sopha in August 1981, Millette said.

He was assigned to Travis Air Force Base in 1990 and worked in the 6th Aerial Port Squadron, Millette said.

Sopha Wonggoun died of blunt force trauma to the head, Millette said. A Thai woman provided the tip that led to Saner Wonggoun's arrest north of Bangkok, she said.

- Associated Press

Edited July 31, 2008 by sriracha john