The U.S. Army has charged a soldier in last week’s death of a Fort Leonard Wood sergeant.
The charges against U.S. Army Spc. Wooster Rancy, 21, are related to the October 20th murder of Sgt. Sarah Roque. Rancy is also accused of obstructing justice.
The body of the 23-year-old Roque was found in a dumpster at the southern Missouri military base after she failed to report for duty.
Michelle McCaskill, with the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel, told Missourinet now that charges have been preferred, the next step is for a neutral officer to be assigned and a date scheduled to hold a preliminary hearing. After the preliminary hearing, the officer will make recommendations about the appropriate disposition of the case. The preliminary hearing is required before charges can be referred for a military court trial.
In military law, preferring charges is the process of formally bringing charges against an accused. The referring of charges is the decision to prosecute the charges against the accused at a court martial, otherwise known as a military court.
Rancy is being held in jail while he awaits a preliminary court hearing.
Sgt. Roque was from Indiana and served as a Mine Dog Handler with the Army’s K9 Detachment 5th Engineer Battalion. She joined the Army in 2020 and completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood.
Spc. Rancy is originally from Florida, and serves as a combat engineer with the 509th Clearance Company, 5th Engineer Battalion. He joined the Army in 2022 and attended Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood.
The Department of Army Criminal Investigation Division continues to investigate the case.
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