Slain soldier's husband charged with arson

FAYETTEVILLE -The husband of a Fort Bragg Army nurse whose remains were found in a brush fire three days after she went missing was being held Monday on a charge of first-degree arson over a fire in her apartment building.

Marine Cpl. John Wimunc, 23, was in the Cumberland County jail on a $500,000 bond. His wife is Army 2nd Lt. Holley Wimunc, a nurse from Dubuque, Iowa, who was missing since Thursday, when a fire burned through her apartment in Fayetteville.

Holley Wimunc's father said Monday that authorities have told him that remains found late Sunday in a brush fire near Camp Lejeune are those of his daughter. John Wimunc is stationed at Camp Lejeune, about 130 miles southeast of Fayetteville.

Alden, 22, was being held on $250,000 bond. Both are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

The warrants say John Wimunc and Alden are charged with burning a house "inhabited by Daniel and Dena Babcock" located at 146 Wayah Creek. Holley Wimunc lived at 146-C Wayah Creek, and it wasn't immediately clear how the Babcocks were involved. Fayetteville police did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.

Holley Wimunc's father, Jesse James, said the family has lost its "thread of hope" since authorities told them the remains of a woman found in the brush fire were those of his daughter.

District Attorney Dewey Hudson had said Sunday that the remains might be those of Wimunc.

Division of Forest Resources personnel found the remains when they responded to a fire in the Sneads Ferry area near the southern border of Camp Lejeune late Sunday afternoon. Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said the fire appeared to have been set in an effort to cover up a crime.

Brown said officers guarded the brush fire site overnight Sunday and forensic experts with the FBI planned to remove the remains Monday.

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