The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a bill requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to excavate and remove the remains of Fernando Cota, a Vietnam War veteran who was later accused of committing a series of brutal murders and convicted of rape. His remains are currently interred at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.
The legislation, pushed by U.S. Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, both Republicans who represent Texas, aims to make sure that Cota, who they say lived a life that betrayed the honor of military service, is no longer buried alongside men and women who sacrificed for the country.
“A convicted rapist should not be buried with honor among our nation’s heroes. I’m encouraged the Senate unanimously passed this legislation to exhume Fernando Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, and I urge the House to do the same to right this wrong,” Cruz said in an official statement after the bill’s senate passage.
Cornyn echoed Cruz’s message, describing Cota as a “prime murder suspect” linked to half a dozen killings after his military service.
“Fernando Cota faced multiple sexual assault and rape allegations and was the prime murder suspect for half a dozen women after his transition to civilian life. While current law prohibits such a disreputable person from receiving the high honor of being buried amongst those who valiantly served our nation, my legislation would correct this oversight and ensure Cota’s remains are no longer beside those who lived lives worthy of memorial at Fort Sam Houston.” Cornyn added.
Content Warning: This article contains descriptions of violence and abuse that may be distressing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.
Drafted into the Army during Vietnam, Cota returned to civilian life under a dark cloud of sexual assault allegations. In 1975, he was convicted of binding and raping a nurse, serving nearly a decade behind bars before his release. Additionally, law enforcement officials in California believed he was behind the murders of several women, most of them young, many of whom were students.
When police stopped him in 1984 for erratic driving, Cota took his own life with a gunshot.
Inside his van, officers discovered the body of 21-year-old Kim Marie Dunham, missing just a day earlier. Afterwards, a search of his apartment revealed a small “torture chamber,” women’s clothing, fake IDs, including a fake police badge, and other evidence of Cota’s evil criminal history.
Current federal law bars people convicted of certain heinous crimes from burial in national cemeteries, but that law didn’t exist until 1984, the same year Cota died.
The Texas senators said the loophole directly allowed a convicted rapist and an alleged serial killer to be buried in a place reserved for honor and sacrifice.
The push to exhume Cota’s remains began after the son of one of his alleged victims called for action on a Change.org petition that has over 630 verified signatures as of the time of publication.
With the Senate’s approval, the measure now heads to the House, where lawmakers will decide whether to send it to the President’s desk for approval.