Arrest made in case of slain soldier from Atlanta

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A Fort Eustis soldier was arrested Sunday and charged with last week&#39;s murder of a soldier who was found slain in his car, police said.<br> <br> Michael J. Cunnigham, 27, is charged with first degree murder and use of a firearm to commit a felony in the death of Joshua Bickford, a 19-year-old private from Atlanta, said Lou Thurston, spokesman for the Newport News Police Department.<br> <br> Thurston said the murder was drug related, and that investigators believe Bickford was responsible for at least two attempted robberies the evening before his murder.<br> <br> Police discovered Bickford early Wednesday lying on the passenger side floorboard of his 1998 Saturn. He had been shot twice in the back of the head and neck, according to a search warrant filed in the case.<br> <br> Bickford had been stationed at Fort Eustis since May 3, when he arrived for an 18-week course in aviation maintenance. However, he had been absent without leave since Aug. 13 and was declared AWOL, the Army has said.<br> <br>

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