Two more female murders? A dark day for the U.S. military

Today, the death of pregnant U.S. Army soldier Megan Lynn Touma (pictured) was ruled a homicide, and the mysterious and tragic tale involving the death of female soldier LaVena Johnson, which the Army ruled a "suicide," has resurfaced once again as the family continues to demand further investigation after autopsy results revealed loose teeth, burned hands, and mutilated genitals.

According to Salon.com, Johnson, of Florissant, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, was "found with a broken nose, black eye and loose teeth, acid burns on her genitals, presumably to eliminate DNA evidence of rape, a trail of blood leading away from her tent and a bullet hole in her head." The Army claimed she used a rifle, an  M-16, to shoot herself in the head. As Jezebel.com notes, this is a long rifle, and thus hard to point at your own head.

Since Johnson’s death three years ago, her father has been pressuring lawmakers to pay attention to what he believes is a large-scale cover-up by the U.S. Army. Most recently, he’s petitioned the House Armed Services Committee to further investigate his daughter’s death. However, earlier this month, Lara Battles, spokesperson for the House Armed Services Committee, told a St. Louis news station that the Committee would not conduct a formal investigation into the Missouri soldier’s strange death. "At this time the House Armed Services Committee is looking into Private Johnson’s case," she said, "but no decisions have been made for a formal investigation."

Touma was found dead in her North Carolina hotel room on June 21. Today, the police there ruled her death a homicide, and officials say they have a "person of interest" in the case, a male trainee at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, near where Touma was stationed in North Carolina.

According to the latest numbers from the Pentagon, sex crime reports by service members increased by 40 percent in 2005 and again by 24 percent in 2006, when nearly 3,000 members of the U.S. armed forces were involved in reported sex crimes, before declining slightly in 2007. However, of the 2,974 cases of sex crimes reported in 2006, the military investigated only 2,277. Of the cases investigated, nearly 1,200 involved service members allegedly assaulting fellow service members.