An Army soldier who shot and killed his wife — a fellow soldier — during a February argument in their Killeen, Texas, home was sentenced to 26 years in prison this week.
Staff Sgt. John Gitau Mwangi, 43, pleaded guilty to the unpremeditated murder of Sgt. Esther N. Gitau, 37, at his Dec. 12 court-martial, the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel said in a statement released Monday.
He will serve his sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. He will also forfeit all pay and allowances, be reduced in rank and dishonorably discharged from the Army.
Mwangi repeatedly shot his wife on Feb. 21 before locking Gitau in the bedroom and leaving the couple’s home, according to Michelle McCaskill, the office’s director of communications. Mwangi then called his brother from his car and told him about the shooting. The brother informed authorities, who found Gitau at the couple’s home.
Killeen authorities also found two children inside of the home — unharmed and unaware of the violence, according to the police’s February press release.
Mwangi, an aircraft structural repairer assigned to the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, was taken into custody the following day when he tried to enter Fort Hood. He was charged with murder by the Army on April 2 after authorities found blood, DNA and other evidence of the crime.
The Army said its Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case with the Killeen, Texas, Police Department.
Lt. Col. William Wicks, a prosecutor for the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel, called the sentencing “the first step toward obtaining justice for Sgt. Gitau.”
“Though nothing we can do will bring Esther Gitau back, we can only hope that the family can begin to heal as a result of today’s proceedings,” he said.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.
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