Robins airman could face death penalty in killing of woman, unborn child

A senior airman at Robins Air Force Base accused of killing his fiancee and their unborn child is now facing the death penalty.

Charges against Charles “Charlie” Amos Wilson III, 27, were sent to a general court-martial as a capital referral, according to a base news release Tuesday.

Wilson faces charges of premeditated murder and death of an unborn child in the August 2013 killing of 30-year-old Tameda Ferguson, who was 8 1/2 months pregnant.

“That means that, if the accused is convicted of premeditated murder, a death sentence would be a potential punishment that the members would consider,” the release stated.

Lt. Gen. Bruce Litchfield, the general court-martial convening authority, made the referral Thursday.

In addition, Wilson faces several charges from a July 2012 assault of a female airman in Byron and the October 2011 fire death of Demetrius Hardy in Warner Robins. Authorities suspect that Wilson asked Hardy to set fire to Wilson’s rental home to collect insurance money, but something went wrong, and Hardy died from injuries sustained in the fire.

All three cases were turned over to the U.S. Air Force at its request.

Arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 22 at the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, South Carolina.

Wilson’s civilian attorney, Albany-based Pete Donaldson, said at an Article 32 hearing in May that Wilson was expected to plead not guilty. An Article 32 hearing is similar to that of a preliminary hearing in civilian law. The hearings help determine whether cases are sent to courts-martial.

Donaldson could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Wilson’s defense counsel also includes three military attorneys.

A trial date has not been set, but Col. Vance H. Spath, the chief trial judge of the Air Force, has been assigned to the case as the military judge.

Wilson is a senior airman in the 461st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

Information from Telegraph archives was used in this report.

This story was originally published October 14, 2014 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Robins airman could face death penalty in killing of woman, unborn child ."