Amanda Gonzales biography: 13 things about US Army cook born in Hearne, Texas

Who was Amanda Gonzales?

Amanda Gonzales was an American woman from Texas, United States. She died at the Fliegerhorst Kaserne, a U.S. Army base from 1945 to 2007 near Hanau, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, Hesse, Germany.

Fliegerhorst Kaserne was initially built for Hermann Goering’s German Air Force in 1937. The US Army occupied the base in 1945 and used it as a signal depot, consisting of a maintenance division and a storage division.

Gonzales was a U.S. Army cook. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. Her paternal grandparents are Joe Gonzales and Mary Alvarado Gonzales.
2. Mary Gonzales and Ana Melendez JoAnn Torres are her paternal aunts and Joe-Joe Gonzales and Chris Castilleja are her paternal uncles.
3. She was born in Hearne, Robertson County, Texas to Santos “Top Cat / T.C.” Gonzales and Glorida Bates.
4. She grew up in Madisonville, Madison County, Texas.
5. Her father lived in Hearne before moving to Bryan, Brazos County, Texas.
6. Her mother and her stepfather Michael Bates live in Wylie, Collin County, Texas.
7. She has three brothers namely Jeremy Gonzales, Coleman Naranjo and Diego Gonzales.
8. She was a U.S. Army cook when she was impregnated in Germany allegedly by U.S. Armed Forces member Shannon L. Wilkerson, who was married to his fellow soldier A. Martinez. 
9. She was 19 years old and four months pregnant when she was found dead in 2001.
10. Following her death in 2001, Wilkerson attended a memorial for her at Fliegerhorst Kaserne. 
11. In 2021, her father died without knowing who killed her.
12. In 2023, Wilkerson was arrested for her murder.
13. In 2024, Wilkerson was found guilty of murdering her and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The FBI is offering a reward for info leading to an arrest in the 2001 murder of U.S. Army Soldier Pfc. Amanda Gonzales in Hanau, Germany. Gonzales was 19 years old and four months pregnant when her body was found in her barracks room on November 5, 2001: https://t.co/uYrdMwswPR pic.twitter.com/7X96FEGXQK

— FBI Most Wanted (@FBIMostWanted) November 5, 2020

TIMELINE

2001

• On November 3, 2001, Wilkerson allegedly beat and strangled her to death in her barracks room at Fliegerhorst Kaserne.
• On November 5, 2001, she was found dead in her room on the third floor of Fliegerhorst Kaserne.

2021

• On March 20, 2021, her father died at age 59.

2023

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

2024

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