Jury selection now in second week for airman charged with murder of pregnant fiancee

Jan. 17--Jury selection in the trial of a Robins airman charged with the murder of his pregnant fiancee has moved into its second week.

Charles Amos Wilson, 30, a support member of the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is charged with premeditated murder and death of an unborn child.

The alleged motive is $1 million in insurance money.

Tameda Ferguson, 30, was found shot to death in her Dawson home the morning of Aug. 29, 2013. She was more than 8 months pregnant.

The court-martial is being held at the Houston County Courthouse in Perry.

The start of the selection of a court-martial panel, which is a military jury, was delayed last week by severe weather that created traveling difficulties for potential jurors.

If convicted of premeditated murder, Wilson faces the death penalty.

Once the jury is selected, opening statements from prosecution and defense attorneys are expected.

Col. Vance H. Spath, chief trial judge for the Air Force, has indicated from the bench that opening statements are not anticipated until next week.

Wilson was arrested Sept. 3, 2013, after an investigation by the GBI and the Terrell County Sheriff's Office. He was charged with murder and feticide.

The case was turned over to the Air Force on Nov. 12, 2013 at its request. Wilson's military charges include premeditated murder and death of an unborn child.

The last death sentence carried out by the Air Force was in 1954 when two airmen were executed for the rape and murder of a woman in Guam.

Former Senior Airman Andrew Witt is the only Air Force member currently on death row. Witt, who was also stationed at Robins Air Force Base, was convicted of murdering a fellow airman and his wife and attempting to kill another airman in an incident on base in 2004.

The trial will mark the third court-martial proceeding against Wilson.

In the first court-martial proceeding, Wilson was found not guilty June 2 of felony murder, aggravated arson and related charges in in the death of a friend in an October 2011 house fire in an alleged insurance fraud scheme.

In the second court-martial proceeding, jurors convicted Wilson on June 10 of striking a retired technical sergeant, who was his girlfriend at the time of the 2012 incident.

Becky Purser: 478-256-9559, @BecPurser

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