Shannon Wilkerson biography: 13 things about US Army veteran from Andalusia, Alabama

Who is Shannon Wilkerson?

Shannon Lamar Wilkerson is an American born and raised in Andalusia, Alabama, United States. A former U.S. Army soldier, he spent most of his life in Brewton, Andalusia and Crestview, Mobile, Alabama.

In 2001, Wilkerson married his fellow soldier A. Martinez. While they were on a U.S. Army base in Hanau, Germany, he allegedly impregnated their fellow soldier Amanda Gonzales.

While Wilkerson was a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, he allegedly killed Gonzales. She was 19.

At the time, both Martinez and Gonzales were pregnant. Wilkerson allegedly feared he was the father of Gonzales’s unborn child and that her pregnancy would interfere with his military career and his marriage.

Wilkerson previously lived in New York City, New York, USA and New Johnsonville, Tennessee, USA. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. He and his two brothers own a house in Andalusia.
2. From 1999 to 2004, he was in the U.S. Army.
3. In 2002, Martinez gave birth to their daughter.
4. In 2004, he was honorably discharged from active duty and was found guilty of public intoxication and resisting arrest relating to an altercation between him and one of his brothers.
5. He was charged in 2004 with third degree-domestic violence in an incident involving Martinez but it was dismissed in 2005.
6. In 2005, he was found guilty of public intoxication.
7. In 2007, he was discharged from the U.S. Army Reserve.
8. In 2009, Martinez gave birth to their son.
9. In 2011, he and Martinez divorced.
10. In 2012, he was interviewed by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division about the death of Gonzales.
11. In 2016, he received a traffic citation for having an open container and spent three days in an inpatient treatment program at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
12. In 2018, he got a job as an equipment operator on the Eglin Air Force Base, a U.S. Air Force base in Florida, USA. 
13. In June 2024, he turned 44.

Man Convicted in Cold Case Murder on Military Base in Germany Shannon L. Wilkerson, 43, beat and strangled Amanda Gonzales to death in her barracks room at Fliegerhorst Kaserne, then a U.S. Army base in Hanau, Germany. Forces at the time of the offense but was later discharged. pic.twitter.com/qx5HRJhSF4

— Carlos Perez (@CarlosP95095856) May 8, 2024

TIMELINE

2001

• On November 2, 2001, he attended a party in a fellow soldier’s room at Fliegerhorst Kaserne, then a U.S. Army base in Hanau.
• On November 3, 2001, he allegedly beat and strangled Gonzales to death in her barracks room at Fliegerhorst Kaserne.

2023

• On February 23, 2023, he was arrested at the Eglin Air Force Base and he pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the strangulation of Gonzales.

2024

• On May 7, 2024, a jury in Pensacola, Florida found him guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Gonzales.
• On October 24, 2024, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.