Friday, January 22, 2010

Soldier's Mother Expects Suicide Finding

The mother of a U.S. soldier who grew up in Colonie says she expects military investigators to to conclude her daughter killed herself.

"It's going to come down a suicide," says Colleen Murphy, "and then there's going to be a fight." Murphy says she does not believe her daughter's death was suicide and suggested to CBS 6 News reporter Craig Smith the prospect of exhuming her daughter's body to help prove it.

According to the military, 29-year-old Staff Sergeant Amy Seyboth Tirador died last year on November 4 from a non-combat related injury. No other details have been released to reporters. "Please understand that we go to great lengths to ensure we have all the information possible and investigate the deaths of soldiers very thoroughly before making a final determination in the death," said Chris Grey, the Chief of Public Affairs for the USA Criminal Investigation Command, in an e-mail. Grey said that generally, if a case is completed and ruled a suicide that determination would be made public.

According to Murphy, investigators have asked her questions that lead her to believe that other scenarios have been ruled out and that investigators are heading toward a finding of suicide.

Murphy and Tirador's father, Gerard Seyboth have said their daughter was shot in the back of the head and they say it was not an accident. They have not suggested any theories on what may have happened. They say their daughter worked as an Arabic-speaking translator and interrogator in Iraq. Seyboth described his daughter as a "high-profile target" because of the nature of her work.

-- submitted by Patti Woodard

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