The Army has charged a fellow soldier with the murder of Sgt. Sarah Roque after she was found dead at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri last week.
On Wednesday, the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel charged Spc. Wooster Rancy, 21, with murder and obstructing justice under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Army officials said in a release.
Rancy, originally from Miami, Florida, is being held in pretrial confinement and is awaiting a preliminary hearing.
He currently 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 the Missouri base.
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Roque’s body was discovered Oct. 21 in a dumpster adjacent to the single soldier’s quarters on the installation, Maj. Gen. Christopher Beck, commanding general of the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood said at a press conference last week.
Roque had been reported missing earlier in the day after she missed her morning formation. The unit started searching for her and base officials put out a “be on the look out” notice, or BOLO, asking for help locating the sergeant. Later that week, Army investigators said they were investigating her death as a homicide.
“The charges are allegations and Specialist Rancy is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” officials said in the release.
Rancy’s battalion commander ordered him into pretrial confinement on Oct. 24. He was then transferred to the Midwest Joint Regional Confinement Facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on Oct. 30, Michelle McCaskill, spokesperson for the special trial counsel office said in a statement.
Officials will assign a neutral officer to the case and schedule the preliminary hearing. After the preliminary hearing, the officer will recommend “the appropriate disposition of the case,” McCaskill said.
A preliminary hearing is required before charges may be referred for a court-martial under the UCMJ.