Thursday, June 26, 2008

Family: Army rules Cpl. Ciara Durkin death 'suicide'

(NECN) - The family of a Massachusetts Army National Guard corporal who died in mysterious circumstances last fall in Afghanistan now says they have been told her death was a suicide.

The family of 30-year-old Ciara Durkin released a short statement on the family website announcing that they had been told the Army's final report reached the suicide conclusion.

In the statement, the family says:

"The Durkin family has received the Army's final report into Ciara's death with their conclusion that she took her own life. We are very upset and saddened by their conclusion.

"We have borne an extraordinary amount of pain over the past nine months, compounded by a protracted and at times ambiguous investigation. We now need time and privacy to grieve, and let our Ciara finally rest in peace. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam."

Durkin's death had been classified as a non-combat fatality.

Durkin's family had challenged initial reports that Durkin had committed suicide, saying she seemed upbeat in conversations shortly before her death, but noting she had been “making enemies” for reasons she did not disclose in her job in a finance unit at Bagram Air Base.

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