ANOTHER MP TOLD INVESTIGATORS HE HAD STOPPED A SOLDIER IN A CAR LEAVING THE SAME AREA SHORTLY AFTER THE SHOOTING. HE SAID HE LET HIM GO AFTER THE SOLDIER SAID HE WAS OUT TO “COOL OFF” AFTER A FIGHT WITH HIS WIFE.
THE MP SAID HE TOOK THE SOLDIER’S ID CARD AND LEFT IT AT A BASE MP STATION. BUT THE SOLDIER WAS ALLOWED TO RETRIEVE THE ID CARD THE NEXT DAY WITHOUT ANYONE MAKING A RECORD OF HIS NAME, ACCORDING TO THE CID REPORT.
“I CAN’T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE ARE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT,” JIM LANGFORD SAID.
LANGFORD SAID HIS SON HAD TOLD HIM “I’M A DEAD MAN” IF THE PEOPLE HE WAS INVESTIGATING DURING AN UNDERCOVER DRUG ASSIGNMENT FOUND OUT WHO HE WAS.
A GIRLFRIEND OF LANGFORD’S TOLD THE CID THAT HE HAD SHOWN HER A THREATENING NOTE THAT HAD “SOME KIND OF GANG-RELATED SYMBOLS ON IT.” THE CID REPORT SAID NO SUCH NOTES WERE FOUND IN LANGFORD’S BARRACKS ROOM.
THE REPORT ALSO SAID INVESTIGATORS CHECKED WITH MILITARY AND CIVILIAN POLICE AND FOUND NO RECORD THAT LANGFORD WAS INVOLVED IN UNDERCOVER DRUG WORK.
THE REPORT DID QUOTE THREE FELLOW SOLDIERS AS SAYING LANGFORD HAD TRIED AND FAILED TO ENLIST THEM IN A SCHEME TO ROB A PX PAYROLL ESCORT. THE SOLDIERS SAID THE PLAN, WHICH THEY SAID THEY TOLD LANGFORD WAS “A STUPID IDEA,” NEVER GOT PAST THE TALKING STAGE.
THEY SAID LANGFORD PROPOSED HAVING ONE OF THEM SHOOT HIM WHILE HE WAS WEARING A BULLET PROOF VEST–TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT HE HAD PUT UP RESISTANCE.
UNSATISFIED WITH THE CID INVESTIGATION , JIM LANGFORD SAID , HE WENT TO ALABAMA IN NOVEMBER 1992 AND POSTED A $25,000 REWARD FOR INFORMATION LEADING TO A MURDER CONVICTION.
HE SAID A HUNTSVILLE ALABAMA MAN TOLD HIM THAT A LOCAL DRUG DEALER HAD PAID TO HAVE A MILITARY MAN KILLED.
WHEN HE PASSED ON THE MAN’S CLAIM TO THE CID, LANGFORD SAID, THE AGENCY REOPENED THE CASE. BUT IN MAY, HE SAID, THE CID TOLD HIM THE NEW PROBE HAD COME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION: SUICIDE.
MILLER, THE CID SPOKESMAN, SAID THE AGENCY COULD NOT DISCUSS SPECIFIC CASES. HE SAID ALL CID DEATH INVESTIGATIONS ARE THOROUGH AND PROFESSIONAL, AND UNDERGO RIGOROUS REVIEW WITHIN THE ARMY.
LANGFORD SAID HE WILL CONTINUE TO PRESS FOR ANSWERS, BUT HOLDS OUT LITTLE HOPE.
“I’D HAVE BETTER LUCK BEATING MY HEAD AGAINST A WALL,” HE SAID.
TWO MONTHS AFTER THE INQUIRER REPORT ON THE FIRST 14 CASES, 36 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ASKED THE PENTAGON’S INSPECTOR GENERAL TO SET UP A SPECIAL BOARD TO REVIEW THEM. THE INSPECTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE IS REVIEWING FOUR OF THE CASES, AN AGENCY OFFICIAL SAID, BUT HAS DECLINED TO SET UP A BOARD OF INQUIRY.
“THE STRONG EVIDENCE COMPILED BY FAMILIES OF THE DECEASED SHOWS A PATTERN OF EITHER BLATANT NEGLECT OR APATHY BY MILITARY INVESTIGATORS,” SAID U.S. REP. FRANK PALLONE, JR. (D.,NEW JERSEY), WHO REPRESENTS TWO OF THE FORTY FAMILIES.
IN NOVEMBER, CONGRESS PASSED A BILL, CO-SPONSORED BY PALLONE, REQUIRING THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT TO REVIEW ITS PROCEDURES FOR INVESTIGATING SELF-INFLICTED DEATHS OF SERVICEMEN AND TO REPORT TO CONGRESS BY NEXT JULY.
THE MEASURE ALSO CREATED A MECHANISM FOR FAMILIES TO PRESENT THE INSPECTOR GENERAL WITH EVIDENCE OF A “MATERIAL DEFICIENCY” IN A DEATH INVESTIGATION. REGULATIONS OUTLINING THE PROCEDURE HAVE NOT YET BEEN WRITTEN.
“THE CONCERNS OF THESE CONSTITUENTS SIMPLY CANNOT BE DISMISSED AS DELUSIONS STEMMING FROM ‘DENIAL’ ABOUT THEIR SONS’ DEATHS,” SAID A LETTER TO THE PENTAGON SIGNED IN AUGUST BY A PARTISAN GROUP OF 11 SENATORS. “THERE ARE HARD QUESTIONS WITH EACH CASE THAT SHOULD BE
ANSWERED IN AN ORGANIZED AND THOROUGH MANNER THROUGH A BOARD OF SPECIAL INQUIRY.”
IN 13 OF THE 40 CASES REVIEWED BY THE INQUIRER, THE SERVICEMEN DIED WITHIN WEEKS OF COMPLAINING ABOUT CONDITIONS IN THE MILITARY, ARGUING OR FIGHTING WITH FELLOW SERVICEMEN, OR AFTER THEY HAD BEEN INVESTIGATED FOR CRIMES OR VIOLATIONS OF MILITARY POLICY.
IN 10 OF THE CASES, FAMILY MEMBERS SAID THE VICTIM HAD TOLD THEM OF STUMBLING ACROSS DRUG TRAFFICKING OR WEAPONS SMUGGLING ABOARD SHIPS OR ON BASES. SIX OTHERS ACCORDING TO THE MILITARY, ACCIDENTALLY OR INTENTIONALLY SHOT THEMSELVES WHILE PLAYING RUSSIAN ROULETTE OR TOYING WITH THEIR GUNS.
THE DEATHS IN THE REMAINING CASES CAME DURING SEEMINGLY ROUTINE PERIODS IN THE VICTIMS’ LIVES. MOST OCCURRED SINCE 1990.
THE MILITARY’S REFUSAL TO RE-OPEN THE CASES HAS RESULTED IN ANGUISH FOR SCORES OF ORDINARY AMERICANS, MANY FROM FAMILIES WITH LONG HISTORIES OF MILITARY SERVICE. FOR THEM, THE DEATHS OF THEIR LOVED ONES HAVE BORNE OUT THE OBSERVATION OF FRENCH PREMIER GEORGES CLEMENCEAU THAT MILITARY JUSTICE IS TO JUSTICE WHAT MILITARY MUSIC IS
TO MUSIC.
“THESE PEOPLE EXIST WITHIN A CULT OF ARROGANCE,” SAID JOHN SABOW, BROTHER OF THE LATE COL. SABOW. “THEY ARE INSENSITIVE TO HUMAN SUFFERING. THEY FIGHT ANYTHING THAT COULD DAMAGE THE REPUTATION OF THEIR CULT.”
THROUGH IT ALL, THE FAMILIES SAY, THEIR GRIEF HAS BEEN COMPOUNDED BY WHAT THEY DESCRIBE AS THE MILITARY’S CALLOUS TREATMENT AND PENCHANT FOR SECRECY. SOME SAY THEY PRESSURED THE MILITARY FOR UP TO A YEAR BEFORE RECEIVING INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS. MOST FILED FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUESTS, ONLY TO RECEIVE REPORTS WITH SECTIONS BLACKED OUT.
“IT’S REALLY PATHETIC WHAT THEY THINK YOU’LL BELIEVE,” LINDA SHULTS, A SCHOOLTEACHER IN ATCHISON, KANSAS, SAID OF THE AIR FORCE REPORT ON THE DEATH OF HER SON, ALLEN. “THEY THINK YOU’LL SWALLOW ANYTHING JUST BECAUSE THE MILITARY SAYS IT’S SO.”
AFTER HER SON’S DEATH LAST YEAR, LINDA HALLIGAN SAID, SHE FLEW FROM HER HOME IN MIDDLETOWN, NEW JERSEY TO CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA TO INSPECT THE BUILDING WHERE MARINE SGT. MARC REPETTI DIED. MARINE COMMANDERS THERE REFUSED TO DISCUSS THE CASE, SHE SAID, TELLING HER ONLY THAT IT WAS “UNDER INVESTIGATION”.
“PEOPLE WHO ARE GRIEVING DON’T NEED MORE GRIEF FROM THE MILITARY,” HALLIGAN SAID. “YOU GET A CALL ABOUT THE WORST THING THAT COULD EVER HAPPEN TO A MOTHER — AND THEY DON’T TELL YOU A THING. I HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW. I’M HIS MOTHER.”
ON THE DAY HE DIED, STAFF SGT. MARC REPETTI BEGAN HIS MORNING THE WAY HE USUALLY DID. ACCORDING TO HIS FAMILY, HE BROUGHT HIS WIFE , STACY, SOME HOT TEA IN BED AND RAN HIS COLD HANDS DOWN HER WARM BACK—-A LITTLE JOKE BETWEEN THEM. THEN REPETTI KISSED AND HUGGED HIS WIFE AND WENT OFF TO WORK.
THAT EVENING—–FEB. 17, 1992—– REPETTI REPORTED FOR GUARD DUTY AT CAMP PENDLETON. LATER, HIS FELLOW MARINES DESCRIBED AN UTTERLY ROUTINE EVENING.
REPETTI, 27 SHARED A PIZZA AND TOLD HIS FRIENDS TO SAVE HIM A FEW SLICES FOR BREAKFAST. HE BUMMED SOME COFFEE. HE WATCHED THE WINTER OLYMPICS ON TV. HE BRAGGED ABOUT HIS ROTTWEILER DOGS. HE KIDDED AROUND. HE DISCUSSED FUTURE TRAINING SESSIONS.
THEN, SOMETIME AFTER MIDNIGHT, ACCORDING TO THE NCIS, REPETTI WENT TO THE SECOND FLOOR BATHROOM AND SHOT HIMSELF IN THE HEAD WITH HIS 9MM BARETTA PISTOL.
AN NCIS INVESTIGATION FOUND NO HINT THAT REPETTI WAS DEPRESSED. INDEED, THE INVESTIGATIVE REPORT DESCRIBES A MODEL MARINE, A HIGH-ACHIEVING NCO UP FOR PROMOTION, A FORMER DRILL INSTRUCTOR ADMIRED BY HIS MEN FOR HIS FAIRNESS AND TOUGHNESS. THE REPORT DETAILS A STABLE MARRIAGE, NO MONEY OR JOB PROBLEMS, NO HISTORY OF MENTAL OR PHYSICAL
PROBLEMS, NO USE OF ALCOHOL, NO SUICIDE NOTE.
“NO APPARENT MOTIVE FOR SUICIDE,” THE REPORT CONCLUDED.
EVEN SO, THE NCIS RULED ON JULY 9,1992, THAT REPETTI’S DEATH WAS A SUICIDE — ALTHOUGH BALLISTICS, GUNSHOT RESIDUE AND BLOOD AND TISSUE TESTS WERE NOT COMPLETED UNTIL AUG.6.
HALLIGAN DIDN’T BUY THE SUICIDE THEORY ALMOST FROM THE MOMENT A NAVY OFFICER CAME TO HER FRONT DOOR IN MIDDLETOWN, NEW JERSEY, TO BREAK THE NEWS. AFTER SHE FLEW TO CAMP PENDLETON TO QUESTION MARINE COMMANDERS, SHE WAS EVEN MORE CONVINCED HER SON DID NOT KILL HIMSELF.
“THERE’S NO DOUBT IN MY MIND MY SON WAS MURDERED,” HALLIGAN SAID.
THREE OF REPETTI’S FELLOW MARINES HAD DOUBTS ABOUT HIS DEATH. THEY TOLD THE NCIS THAT THEY DIDN’T BELIEVE HE KILLED HIMSELF.
THE MARINE WHO FOUND REPETTI’S BODY SAID: “HE NEVER GAVE ANY NDICATION HE WAS CONTEMPLATING SUICIDE.” THIS MARINE SAID REPETTI HAD TOLD HIM TO RELIEVE HIM AT 2 A.M. THE APPROXIMATE TIME HE SAID HE DISCOVERED REPETTI’S BODY.
ANOTHER MARINE TOLD NCIS THAT HE “HAD REASON TO BELIEVE THERE WAS FOUL PLAY.” HE SAID REPETTI “STEPPED ON A LOT OF DICKS.”
THE SAME MARINE SPECULATED THAT REPETTI HAD BEEN LURED UPSTAIRS TO THE BATHROOM BY SOMEONE HE KNEW. HE TOLD THE NCIS THAT REPETTI LEFT HIS KEYS AND LOG BOOK IN HIS OFFICE — SOMETHING HE DID ONLY WHEN HE INTENDED TO COME RIGHT BACK. THE LOG CONTAINED ROUTINE NOTATIONS, AN UNUSUAL ATTENTION TO DETAIL FOR A MAN MINUTES FROM SUICIDE.
THE NCIS REPORT CONTAINS OTHER INCONSISTENCIES:
- INVESTIGATORS SAID THEY WERE UNABLE TO FIND ANY FINGERPRINTS ON REPETTI’S GUN OR AMMO CLIP. “HOW DOES SOMEONE SHOOT HIMSELF WITHOUT LEAVING FINGERPRINTS ON THE GUN?” HALLIGAN ASKED. REPETTI WAS NOT WEARING GLOVES.
- REPETTI WAS RIGHT-HANDED, BUT THE AUTOPSY FOUND THAT THE BULLET ENTERED SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT SIDE OF HIS FOREHEAD, TRAVELED DOWNWARD AND EXITED THE RIGHT REAR. SUICIDE EXPERTS SAY THAT IS AN UNUSUAL WAY FOR A RIGHT-HANDED PERSON TO COMMIT SUICIDE.
- THE NCIS SAID REPETTI WAS FOUND WITH HIS RIGHT HAND ON THE GUN BUTT AND HIS LEFT HAND ON THE GUN BARREL. EX-MILITARY INVESTIGATORS WHO REVIEWED THE FILES SAID THE WEAPON’S RECOIL SHOULD HAVE CAUSED IT TO FLY OUTWARD AND AWAY FROM REPETTI’S HAND.
- THERE WERE SIX OR SEVEN MARINES ON GUARD DUTY INSIDE THE BUILDING WHERE REPETTI WAS FOUND IN THE QUIET, EARLY MORNING HOURS. NONE REPORTED HEARING A SHOT, THE NCIS SAID.
- THE AUTOPSY REPORT SAID THERE WERE NO BLOOD SPATTERS ON REPETTI’S HANDS FROM THE EFFECT OF A CLOSE CONTACT GUNSHOT WOUND. SUCH “BLOWBACK” SPATTERS ARE COMMON IN SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUNDS, ACCORDING TO GUNSHOT EXPERTS. THE REPORT ALSO NOTED UNEXPLAINED SMALL, CIRCULAR ABRASIONS ON REPETTI’S LEFT HAND AND WRIST.
“THIS INVESTIGATION WAS VERY POOR,” SAID DECKER, THE FORMER AIR FORCE INVESTIGATOR. “THE SUGGESTION OF FOUL PLAY WAS NEVER FOLLOWED UP.”
DECKER ADDED:”THIS CASE LEAVES ME WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT THE NIS SUPERVISORS WERE MORE INTENT UPON MANAGING AGENTS’ CASELOADS AND STATISTICS, RATHER THAN TAKING THE TIME TO SEARCH OUT THE TRUTH.”
A GUNSHOT RESIDUE TEST, WHICH DETECTS TINY AMOUNTS OF GUNPOWDER, CONCLUDED THAT REPETTI EITHER FIRED A GUN OR HAD HIS HANDS “IN CLOSE PROXIMITY” TO A GUN THAT WAS FIRED. THE SUICIDE RULING WAS MADE 10 DAYS AFTER THE SHOOTING, OR FIVE MONTHS BEFORE THE RESIDUE TEST WAS COMPLETED.
A MILITARY MANUAL FOR INVESTIGATORS SAYS A POSITIVE RESIDUE TEST IS NOT CONCLUSIVE PROOF OF SUICIDE.
“RESIDUE CAN BE PRESENT ON A VICTIM’S HANDS BECAUSE THEY WERE CLOSE TO THE MUZZLE BLAST OF A SHOT FIRED BY SOMEONE ELSE,” THE MANUAL SAYS.
THE AUTOPSY REPORT CONCLUDED THAT THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO SUGGEST THAT REPETTI HAD STRUGGLED WITH AN ATTACKER. AND IT SAID THE HEAD WOUND WAS OF “NEAR CONTACT TYPE” AND CONTAINED POWDER BURNS —- ALL CONSISTENT WITH A SELF-INFLICTED GUNSHOT WOUND.
HALLIGAN SAID THE MILITARY REFUSED FOR MORE THAT A YEAR TO TELL HER HOW HER SON DIED. AFTER 14 MONTHS AND A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST, SHE SAID, SHE FINALLY RECEIVED THE NCIS AND AUTOPSY REPORTS. READING THEM ONLY MADE HER MORE CONVINCED HER SON DID NOT KILL HIMSELF.
“MY SON WAS A PROUD MARINE— SO PROUD HIS BUTTONS WOULD BUST,” SHE SAID. “HE WOULD WANT ME TO PROVE HE DIDN’T DO THIS TO HIMSELF. THAT’S ALL I CAN DO FOR HIM NOW.”
IN CASE AFTER CASE, THE DEAD SERVICEMEN EXHIBITED FEW, IF ANY, OF THE MOST COMMON RISK-FACTORS THAT SUICIDE EXPERTS ASSOCIATE WITH SELF-INFLICTED DEATHS.
SOME STUDIES, FOR INSTANCE, SHOW A HIGH CORRELATION BETWEEN SUICIDE AND RECENT VISITS TO A DOCTOR OR A MENTAL-HEALTH PROFESSIONAL. OTHER STUDIES CONCLUDE THAT SUICIDE VICTIMS OFTEN ARE PHYSICALLY OR MENTALLY ILL, ABUSE NARCOTICS, SUFFER FROM BRAIN INJURY OR DISEASE, GIVE AWAY POSSESSIONS, OR HAVE MADE PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS.
VIRTUALLY NONE OF THE DEAD SERVICEMEN FIT INTO THOSE CATEGORIES, ALTHOUGH IN SEVERAL CASES MILITARY PSYCHOLOGIST SPECULATED AFTERWARDS THAT THE MEN HAD BEEN CLINICALLY DEPRESSED.
ALMOST NONE OF THE VICTIMS WAS ISOLATED OR HAD WITHDRAWN FROM FRIENDS—- OTHER COMMON RISK FACTORS IN SUICIDES. AND ONLY ONE CASE INVOLVED A GUNSHOT WOUND TO THE MOUTH, WHICH EXPERTS SAY IS ONE OF THE FOUR “CLASSICAL” SITES IN GUNSHOT SUICIDES.
OFTEN, SUICIDE VICTIMS EXHIBIT SEVERAL TELLING SYMPTOMS, BUT IN THESE DEATHS THAT WAS NOT THE CASE.
THERE WERE SIX CASES IN WHICH THE MILITARY SAID THE VICTIM WAS LEGALLY DRUNK AT THE TIME OF DEATH. ALCOHOL ABUSE IS A HIGH RISK FACTOR IN SUICIDES, ACCORDING TO EXPERTS.
FIVE OF THE VICTIMS LEFT SUICIDE NOTES, ALTHOUGH THE AUTHENTICITY OF EACH NOTE WAS CHALLENGED BY THE FAMILIES. HANDWRITING ANALYSES OF TWO NOTES PROVED INCONCLUSIVE IN DETERMINING WHETHER THE DEAD MEN HAD WRITTEN THEM, ACCORDING TO MILITARY FILES. VARIOUS STUDIES HAVE FOUND THAT NOTES ARE LEFT IN 12 TO 25 PERCENT OF COMPLETED SUICIDES.
THE SERVICEMEN, MOST OF THEM IN THEIR 20s DID NOT FIT THE PROFILE FOR HE TYPICAL AMERICAN SUICIDE: A MIDDLE-AGED OR ELDERLY WHITE MAN WHO KILLS HIMSELF, USUALLY AFTER EXPERIENCING HEALTH OR MENTAL PROBLEMS. THE SUICIDE RATE FOR MILITARY MEN IS ROUGHLY HALF THAT OF CIVILIAN MEN, ACCORDING TO A 1987 PENTAGON STUDY BASED ON 1980 STATISTICS.
IN VIRTUALLY ALL 40 CASES, THE VICTIMS WERE DESCRIBED BY FAMILIES, FRIENDS, AND CO-WORKERS AS POSITIVE, UPBEAT AND OTHERWISE NORMAL BEFORE THEIR DEATHS. IN SOME CASES, THE SERVICEMEN SPOKE HAPPILY TO FAMILY OR FRIENDS WITHIN HOURS OF THEIR DEATHS TO DISCUSS PLANS FOR FUTURE EVENTS. OTHERS HAD JUST COMPLETED SUCH PROSAIC TASKS AS LAUNDRY, PAYING BILLS OR HAVING THEIR CARS REPAIRED.
ACCORDING TO THE FAMILIES, THE MEN DID NOT EXPRESS THE MOST COMMON EMOTIONS NOTED IN MOST SUICIDE CASES — HOPELESSNESS, FUTILITY AND EMOTIONAL PAIN.
EXPERTS SAY IT IS UNUSUAL FOR SUICIDE VICTIMS TO EXHIBIT NO SIGNS OF DEPRESSION BEFORE KILLING THEMSELVES. A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN “LIFE TATUS” OR A TRAUMATIC EVENT SUCH AS A DEATH OR ROMANTIC BREAKUP OFTEN PRECEDES A SUICIDE, THEY SAY. FEW OF THE MILITARY VICTIMS EXPERIENCED SUCH EVENTS.
SOME EXPERTS SAY IT IS UNUSUAL FOR SUICIDE VICTIMS TO CONTINUE TO CARRY OUT ROUTINE TASKS OR MAKE PLANS FOR THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE IN THE HOURS BEFORE KILLING THEMSELVES.
“IF SOMEBODY IS MAKING SPECIFIC PLANS FOR THE FUTURE JUST BEFORE THEIR DEATH, THAT IS A STRONG INDICATOR AGAINST SUICIDE.” SAID RONALD S. EBERT, A FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST WHO TEACHES AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL.
ALTHOUGH SOME EXPERTS SAY MAKING SUCH SPECIFIC PLANS PRIOR TO SUICIDE IS UNUSUAL, OTHERS SAY SOME PEOPLE INTENT ON SUICIDE DO CONTINUE WITH DAY -TO-DAY LIFE.
” YOUR LIFE GOES ON UNTIL THE MOMENT YOU KILL YOURSELF. YOU CAN KILL YOURSELF ON SATURDAY AND HAVE PLANS TO PLAY TENNIS ON SUNDAY.” SAID MARIS , THE PSYCHOLOGIST.
EXPERTS ALSO SAY FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS SOMETIMES FAIL TO DETECT SIGNS OF DEPRESSION OF SUICIDAL INTENT IN LOVED ONES. THEY SAY, TOO, THAT PEOPLE INTENT ON SUICIDE OFTEN WILL MASK THEIR INTENTIONS— A “VEIL OF DECEPTION.” ONE PSYCHOLOGIST CALLED IT.
AND, ACCORDING TO EXPERTS, MILITARY MEN ARE LESS LIKELY THAN CIVILIANS TO SEEK HELP OR REVEAL EMOTIONAL FRAILTY OR INADEQUACY IN A MACHO CULTURE THAT VIEWS SUCH ADMISSIONS AS SIGNS OF WEAKNESS.
EVEN SO, THESE EXPERTS SAY, IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT ANY ONE SUICIDE VICTIM — MUCH LESS DOZENS — WOULD CONCEAL ALL OUTWARD SIGNS OF DEPRESSION, OR WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN TREATED FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS.
“IT’S EXTREMELY PUZZLING TO ME THAT MEN IN SO MANY CASES DID NOT SEEK MEDICAL HELP BEFORE COMMITTING SUICIDE, SAID AARON TIMOTHY BECK, A PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
“IN SUCH A LARGE NUMBER OF CASES, IT WOULD BE REMARKABLE NOT TO HAVE SOME INDICATOR” OF DEPRESSION OR DESPONDENCY, EBERT SAID. “PEOPLE DON’T JUST COMMIT SUICIDE FOR NO REASON.
IN SEVERAL CASES, DEAD SERVICEMEN HAD BEEN UNDER SCRUTINY BY MILITARY INVESTIGATIVE AGENCIES SHORTLY BEFORE THEY DIED.
ARMY SGT. TIMOTHY MILLER, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS FACING A COURT MARTIAL FOR ALLEGEDLY PERSUING A FELLOW SOLDIER NAMED TERRY STEPHENSON TO HAVE ORAL SEX WITH HIM. THE ARMY RULED THAT MILLER SHOT AND KILLED HIMSELF THREE HOURS AFTER MURDERING STEPHENSON AT FT. IRWIN, CALIFORNIA, IN JULY 1991.
THE SOLDIER WHO REPORTED FINDING MILLER’S BODY TOLD INVESTIGATORS THE 44 CALIBER HAND GUN FOUND NEXT TO MILLER WAS ON SAFETY AND WOULD HAVE BEEN VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR MILLER TO SHOOT HIMSELF IN THE HEAD AND THEN PUT THE GUN ON SAFETY.
LAB TESTS CONCLUDED THAT MILLER HAD FIRED A WEAPON, BUT THAT STEPHENSON HAD A MEMO IN THE CID INVESTIGATIVE REPORT SAYS AGENT ACCIDENTALLY SWITCHED THE NAMES AND CONTROL NUMBERS ON THE TWO MEN’S GUNSHOT RESIDUE SWABS SUBMITTED TO THE LAB.
A MILITARY DOCTOR WHO TREATED MILLER NOTED IN HIS REPORT: PATIENT WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD BY ANOTHER SERVICE MEMBER. THE CID SAYS A MILITARY SPECIAL RESPONSE TEAM HAD SURROUNDED MILLERS BARRACKS WHEN HE WAS SHOT BUT FIRED NO SHOTS.
THE CID REPORT QUOTES A SOLDIER AS SAYING ANOTHER SOLDIER HAD THREATENED TO KILL STEPHENSON , WHO WITNESSES SAID SHOUTED THAT SOLDIERS NAME SECONDS BEFORE HE WAS SHOT.
AND, ALTHOUGH THE CID REPORT SAYS NO PRINTS WERE FOUND NEAR MILLER’S BODY, SCENE PHOTOS SHOW WHAT APPEARS TO BE A PRINT OUTLINED IN BLOOD – AND MARKED REFERENCE BY A METAL RULER.
MILLERS BROTHER ED MILLER, OF BATH, PA. SAID THE ARMY HAS NOT PROVIDED ANY EXPLANATIONS THESE AND OTHER INCONSISTENCIES.
THE CID REPORT STATED IT COULD NOT DETERMINE IF MILLER WAS SHOT BY THE .44-CALIBER HANDGUN FOUND NEXT TO HIS BODY. ARMY RECORDS SHOW THAT MILLER HAD TURNED IN THE GUN TO THE BASE ARMORY THREE MONTHS EARLIER, AS ORDERED BECAUSE HE WAS FACING A COURT MARTIAL.
THE REPORT SAID ARMORY OFFICIALS ADMIT THEY HAD FALSIFIED RECORDS SHOWING THAT THE GUN WAS LOCKED IN A STORAGE BOX.
EVERY TIME I RAISE A QUESTION, THEY COME UP WITH NEW EXPLANATIONS, SAID MILLER WHO CALLS HIMSELF “ONE MAD BROTHER” AFTER TWO YEARS OF DEALING WITH THE ARMY.
BRIAN URBIN HAD NEVER SEEN HIS BEST FRIEND SO UPSET. KENNETH LOUTHIAN. VISITING HOME TOWN IN INDIANA WHILE ON LEAVE FROM THE USS VIRGINIA IN NOVEMBER 1991, POURING OUT A HARROWING TALE OF LIFE ABOARD SHIP.
ACCORDING TO URBIN, PETTY OFFICER LOUTHAIN TOLD HIM HE HAD WALKED INTO A DRUG CONSPIRACY ABOARD THE VIRGINIA. LOUTHAIN DESCRIBED THE DEALER AS A SAILOR WHO CARRIED A BRIEFCASE LOADED WITH ILLEGAL DRUGS.
“KENNY SAID THE GUY TOLD HIM IF HE SAID ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT HE SAW, HE’D KILL HIM URBIN RECALLED. ” AND KENNY TOLD ME: “IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME, DON’T BELIEVE WHAT NAVY SAYS.”
ELEVEN MONTHS LATER, ON OCT. 3, 1992, KENNETH LOUTHAIN WAS FOUND DEAD ABOARD VIRGINIA WHILE THE GUIDED MISSILE CRUISER WAS OFF THE COAST OF JAMAICA. THE NCIS SAYS LOUTHAIN DOUBLED A PHONE RECEIVER CORD AROUND HIS NECK, HUNG THE RECEIVER BACK ON A WALL MOUNTED PHONE, THEN SOMEHOW HANGED HIS 185-POUND BODY UNTIL HE DIED.
AN NCIS REPORT SAID LOUTHAIN MOST LIKELY DIED AS A RESULT OF A “SUICIDAL GESTURE PROMPTED BY “SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR, HE CONCLUDED THAT HE STRANGLED HIMSELF IN A DRUNKEN RAGE, BUT PROBABLY DID NOT INTEND TO KILL HIMSELF.
THE REPORT QUOTED SAILORS AS SAYING LOULAIN HAD DELIBERATELY CUT HIS OWN LEFT ARM HOURS BEFORE HE DIED. SEVERAL SHIPMATES SAID LOUTHAIN HAD ADMITTED TO THEM IN THE ROOM THAT HE HAD SLICED HIS BODY WITH MINOR CUTS TO RELAX HIM OR CLEANSE HIS SPIRIT,” ESPECIALLY WHEN FRUSTRATED OR DRUNK.
THE REPORT ALSO SAID INVESTIGATORS FOUND NO EVIDENCE OF DRUG DEALING ABOARD SHIP. IT SHOWS THE SAILOR NAMED BY URBIN DENIED THAT HE SOLD OR USED DRUGS.
THE WHOLE STORY DIDN’T ADD UP TO LOUTHIAN’S PARENTS, DONNIE AND CAROLE LOUTHIAN FROM LOGANSPORT, IND.
KENNY HAD JUST ASKED HIS SISTER TO HAVE HIS NEW TRUCK SERVICED, THEY SAID. HE WAS EXCITED ABOUT COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS IN SIX WEEKS, AND HAD PLANS TO SEE A GIRLFRIEND AND GO HUNTING WITH HIS FATHER. THE DAY BEFORE HE DIED, HE BOUGHT SOUVENIRS IN JAMAICA FOR HIS SISTER.
ACCORDING TO NCIS REPORT, KENNY WAS DRUNK WHEN HE DIED. BUT THE NAVY BROKE THE VIALS CONTAINING HIS BLOOD SAMPLES AND WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE A BLOOD-ALCOHOL LEVEL.
THEN THERE WAS THE MATTER OF WALL MOUNTED PHONE IN THE SHIPBOARD OFFICE WHERE LOUTHAIN WAS FOUND.
SOME WITNESSES DREW SKETCHES FOR THE NCIS SHOWING THE RECEIVER HUNG UP ON THE WALL, WITH THE PHONE LINE WRAPPED AROUND LOUTHAIN’S NECK. ANOTHER DREW A SKETCH SHOWING THE RECEIVER DANGLING FROM THE WALL BASE AND A SEPARATE WIRE AROUND LOUTHAIN’S NECK.
SOME WITNESSES SAID THE COILED RECEIVER CORD WAS WRAPPED TWICE AROUND LOUTHAIN’S NECK. ANOTHER WITNESS SAID THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN TWO CORDS.
A FORENSIC EXPERT INTERVIEWED BY THE NCIS AT THE ARMED FORCES INSTITUTE OF PATHOLOGY SAID: “IT IS CLEAR FROM THE AUTOPSY PHOTOGRAPHS THAT TWO CORDS WERE WRAPPED AROUND LOUTHAIN’S NECK.”
NO ELECTRICAL CORD WAS FOUND, ACCORDING TO THE NCIS REPORT. THE AUTOPSY PHOTOS SHOW STRAIGHT LINES ACROSS LOUTHAIN’S NECK-NOT IRREGULAR LINES THAT THE TIGHTLY COILED PHONE CORD WOULD BE EXPECTED TO LEAVE.
TWO NAVY INVESTIGATORS SAID IN THE REPORT THAT THEY TWICE TRIED TO REPLICATE THE HANGING BY WRAPPING A REPLACEMENT PHONE CORD AROUND ONE INVESTIGATOR’S NECK AND PULLING ON IT GENTLY AS HE LAY DOWN. EACH TIME, THEY SAID, THE RECEIVER POPPED OUT OF THE WALL BASE.
THE NCIS REPORT DOES NOT RESOLVE THE DISCREPANCY. THE PHONE WAS NOT TESTED FOR FINGERPRINTS, ACCORDING TO THE NAVY REPORTS.
NOR DOES THE REPORT CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT SOMEONE SURPRISED LOUTHAIN FROM BEHIND, STRANGLED HIM WITH A WIRE, THEN CLOSED THE DOOR AND LET HIS BODY SLUMP AGAINST IT.
SOME EVIDENCE COULD SUGGEST A STRUGGLE: LOUTHAIN’S SHIRT WAS HIKED UP ON HIS BACK. HIS LEFT ARM WAS TUCKED BEHIND HIS BACK. HIS RIGHT HAND WAS BALLED INTO AAINED RED MARKS ON LOUTHAIN’S ARMS, A POSSIBLE INDICATION THAT HE WAS RESTRAINED,
AFTER STUDYING THE THREE-INCH THICK NAVY REPORTS, DONNIE AND CAROLE LOUTHAIN INSIST THEIR SON WAS MURDERED.
“INSTEAD OF INVESTIGATING HIS DEATH PROPERLY, “DONNIE LOUTHAIN SAID, “THE NAVY SET OUT FROM THE START TO PROVE A SUICIDE THEORY.”
THE NCIS REPORT NOTED THAT LOUTHAIN HAD HAD CONFRONTATION WITH SEVERAL ENLISTED MEN AND OFFICERS IN THE MONTHS BEFORE HIS DEATH. HIS PARENTS SAID HE HAD COMPLAINED ABOUT HARASSMENT FROM SUPERIORS.
IN A LETTER TO HIS PARENTS SHORTLY BEFORE HE DIED, KENNY WROTE: “I CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER WHERE THE NEXT ‘KNIFE’ IS COMING FROM.”
