Remains of suspected serial killer finally booted from US military cemetery

The body of a man long suspected of being a serial killer has been removed from a military cemetery in Texas after new legislation eliminated a loophole that had allowed him to remain buried there for decades.

Fernando Cota’s remains were taken out of Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio last week. The action followed the passage of a federal law backed by Texas senators and signed by President Trump in December, as well as years of advocacy from the families of his victims, according to Military.com.

Cota had been drafted into the U.S. Army during the mid-1960s and served in Vietnam. In 1975, he was convicted of attacking, binding, and raping a nurse and received a 20-year prison sentence. While on parole in 1984, he died by suicide at age 38 after being stopped by police on a highway in California.

Authorities discovered the body of 21-year-old Kim Marie Dunham in the back of his van a day after she had been reported missing. Investigators later connected him to additional sexual assaults and named him the primary suspect in the killings of six young women in the San Jose area.

A search of his residence uncovered what investigators described as a torture space inside a small closet. Officers also recovered fake identification cards, a counterfeit police badge, women’s clothing, shoes, and rental advertisements he used near San Jose State University to attract potential victims. Officials believe the victims were killed through strangulation, stabbing, or blunt force.

Investigators concluded that Cota likely took his own life to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison or facing a possible death sentence.

Despite his criminal history and public backlash, Cota was originally buried at the military cemetery due to a legal technicality. However, a federal statute, 38 U.S. Code 2411, now bars the burial or commemoration of veterans who committed serious crimes. The law was not in place at the time of his death.

The updated measure, introduced by Senator John Cornyn and supported by Senator Ted Cruz, directed the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, to have Cota’s remains removed.

Cornyn said the removal was carried out under the authority of the law he authored, describing Cota as a convicted rapist and suspected serial killer. He thanked the Department of Veterans Affairs for acting quickly, saying the move helps bring closure to victims’ families and preserves the dignity of those buried at the cemetery.

It is unclear whether Cota’s remains have been returned to relatives or reburied elsewhere.