Saner Wonggoun

Saner Wonggoun
Air Force photo
Nickname	Buck, Shorty
Born	January 22, 1947(1947-01-22)
Place of birth	Nakhon Nayok, Thailand
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1976–present (deserted in 1994)
Rank	Technical Sergeant

Technical Sergeant Saner Wonggoun (/ˈseɪnər wɒn.ɡuːn/; born January 22, 1947) is a Thai American who was the United States Air Force's top fugitive from 1994 to 2006 as the principal suspect in his wife's murder. After his November 2006 capture in a Thai market, Wonggoun unsuccessfully fought extradition and eventually pled guilty to—and was convicted of—voluntary manslaughter by court-martial.

As of July 2014, TSgt Wonggoun is imprisoned at Travis Air Force Base, California and awaiting review of his sentencing by Air Force officials.

Immigration and enlistment

Born in Nakhon Nayok, Thailand, Saner Wonggoun moved to the United States at the age of 21 and enlisted in the Air Force in 1976. He gained United States citizenship in 1978, having dual citizenship with his home nation of Thailand.

Desertion and capture

Assigned to and living on Travis Air Force Base as an air cargo supervisor in January 1994, Wonggoun fled the country on January 14 when wanted for questioning by the authorities of Marin County, California. The sergeant was the primary suspect in the murder of his wife of 12 years (conflicting reports give 13), 42-year old Sopha Wonggoun (née Yodpet).

His wife's body was found a week earlier on January 7, 1994 wrapped in a sleeping bag along a deserted road off State Route 1. At the time of the murder, the couple had two children already and Sopha was eight-months pregnant. An autopsy later determined Sopha died of "blunt force trauma to the head ... consistent with the shape of a hammer."

In the interim three to four days it took to identify the victim and to acquire a search warrant for the Wonggouns' mobile home, Saner had received emergency leave and had purchased tickets to Thailand—leaving his vehicle in the short-term parking at San Francisco International Airport.

Heading the investigation, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) named Sergeant Wonggoun their number one fugitive; and, in October 2006, offered age-progressed images and a US$25,000 reward to the public for information leading to the capture of their fugitive. On November 3, following a tip-off by a Thai woman that Wonggoun was selling charcoal at the Khoke Matoom Market, the Royal Thai Police arrested the erstwhile sergeant in Phitsanuloke province.

After his arrest, Wonggoun made several statements that were later published in the Phuket Gazette. He allegedly confessed to the murder of his wife, admitting to supposedly bludgeoning her with a hammer after learning she was eight months pregnant—despite living chaste with Saner for almost a year. Saner further claimed that his wife had an addiction to gambling and had wasted a lot of money in this fashion. After fleeing the United States in 1994, Saner never withdrew any of his US$81,700 for fear of being traced, nor was he aware that his son had made frequent trips to Thailand in search of his father. Summarizing his time as a fugitive, Wonggoun claimed to have attempted suicide several times: "I have been living in misery all along. I have been living on given time. No happiness or anything at all."

Extradition

Captain Christine Millette with the AFOSI said Wonggoun will be court-martialed on charges of premeditated murder; the Uniform Code of Military Justice dictates a potential sentence of death or life imprisonment should he be convicted for the murder of his wife.

After his arrest, Wonggoun insisted he be considered as a Thai citizen and subject to Thai court. However, in December 2007 Thailand's Appeals Court found that as the murder took place in the United States, and Wonggoun is legally a US citizen, he should fall subject to the US judicial system.

On February 15, 2008, Wonggoun was transferred to the custody of the AFOSI Detachment 303 at Travis AFB; as OSI investigators believe that Sopha was murdered on base, Marin County relinquished legal jurisdiction to the Air Force.

Trial

Article 32 hearing

On March 19, 2008, Air Force prosecutors convened an Article 32 hearing to determine if a crime occurred and if there is probable cause to go to court-martial based on the evidence provided. During the two-day hearing, the prosecution and defense counsels (Majors Tara Villena and Mark Etheridge, respectively) called upon and questioned the original Marin County investigator, Detective Steven Nash, and Wonggoun's 21-year-old daughter, Sophia Wonggoun Burtram.

Burtram emotionally testified to the prosecutor that she may have inadvertently informed her father about her mother's boyfriend shortly before her death. When questioned by the defense council, she bolstered his argument for voluntary manslaughter, testifying that she had never seen her father act violently or aggressively toward her mother.

The evidence, testimonies, and counselors' arguments are were reviewed by the proceeding's investigating officer, Colonel Steven Ehlenbeck.

Court-martial

Proceeding to court-martial, Wonggoun requested a court trial as opposed to a military jury panel. On July 28, 2008 the court martial of Saner Wonggoun in the murder of his wife began with an entered plea of voluntary manslaughter. Conditional to this plea, Wonggoun explained he understood the ramifications of his plea and detailed the killing upon questioning by the presiding Judge, Colonel William Burd.

Reiterating some of his November 2006 comments, Wonggoun explained the unplanned January 6, 1994 murder was the result of yet another argument with his wife, Sopha. According to Saner, not only had his wife accrued over US$20,000 in gambling debts over the years, but that on this day he learned that Sopha was pregnant and he was "100 percent" sure the child wasn't his. Retrieving a claw hammer from his storage room, "... I hit her one time and she fell on the floor, and after that I realized what I did, I lost control of myself ... everything was just dark." Wonggoun explained to Colonel Burd that it was never his intention to kill his wife, but that "I was mad. I wanted to teach her a lesson." Arguing for a ruling of voluntary manslaughter, defense attorneys showed that Wonggoun's own frank candidness about the killing, as well as his "[anger], being in the sudden heat of passion, [was] the only explanation."

Despite Wonggoun's plea, Air Force prosecutors proceeded with a charge of premeditated murder. TSgt Don Osborn explained that unlike a civilian trial, "it's not like a plea bargain. He doesn't get to choose." Major Villena argued that the couple's money problems were the impetus for premeditation, and that Saner had been taking issues with his wife's problems for some time beforehand: "He's not going from 0 to 100 in two seconds." Further, Sgt Wonggoun's methodical and systematic cleanup and disposal of his wife's body evidenced calculation beyond a sudden decision for murder.

Conviction and sentencing

On July 30, 2008, Colonel Burd ruled with the defense in that Wonggoun was guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the matter of his wife's death. Attorney advisor Greg Tarrott from the Travis AFB legal office spoke with reporters the same day to report that Col Burd recommended a sentence of 10 years military confinement, a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of pay and allowances, and a reduction in rank to Airman Basic (E-1). Tarrott also explained that even though Wonggoun will be immediately incarcerated, the sentencing will not go into effect as quickly; Col Burd's recommendations must first be reviewed by the Convening Authority, Maj Gen Winfield W. Scott III with the Eighteenth Air Force at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, and then may be brought before a military appellate court.