Federal charges were filed Wednesday against a Florida man accused in the 2005 slaying of a Junction City woman whose body was discovered this past spring n a submerged car in Moon Lake on the Fort Riley military installation.
In a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Topeka, Christopher Anthony Wilaby, 26, of Pensacola, Fla., was charged with five counts alleging he committed crimes on a federal military installation including:
— Concealing the body of Echo May Wiles in a car he sunk in Moon Lake.
— Obtaining control of Wiles' body.
— Entering a military installation for an unlawful purpose.
— Failing to report the theft of Wiles' car to authorities.
— Stealing Wiles' 1997 Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting only the federal charges, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said in a news release. Wilaby likely also faces state charges in Wiles' death.
Prosecutors allege Wilaby strangled Wiles, with whom he had an ongoing relationship, in August 2005 at a Junction City trailer court. They say Wilaby then loaded the body into Wiles' car, which he drove onto the Fort Riley military base before submerging it into the lake.
The car and the body were found this past April when a construction worker saw the car's antenna after the lake was partially drained for a construction project. The body was found in the back seat.
Upon conviction on the federal counts alone, Wilaby could face a maximum penalty of 18 years in prison.
The FBI and the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigative Division assisted Geary County authorities and Junction City police in the investigation.
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