By Galina Stolyarova
The St. Petersburg Times
Fifty-eight young men died as a result of non-combat-related causes in the military detachments of the northwestern district in 2009, Igor Lebed, chief military prosecutor of the Leningrad Military District, said Thursday.
Nationwide, the figure totaled 273 deaths, according to the country’s Defense Ministry. Suicides account for more than half of non-combat deaths in the armed forces. According to statistics released on Thursday, 137 people committed suicide in the Russian army in 2009. A further 88 people died as the result of accidents, 20 died in traffic incidents, 17 were murdered, seven died in incidents involving the misuse of weapons, and four died as the result of hazing.
The Defense Ministry estimated that on average, up to 500 recruits die from non-combat-related causes every year in Russia.
But human rights groups contest official statistics and claim the actual number is at least twice as high. Worse still, human rights groups insist hazing cases are often reported as accidental deaths.
The St. Petersburg Soldiers’ Mothers human rights organization said recruits are driven to suicide by hazing, violence and physical abuse. Some of the letters kept at the organization’s headquarters were written by recruits who later committed suicide.
These letters are sometimes brought to the pressure group by desperate parents wishing to sue the military authorities.
“Every month, deserters and their relatives flock to us with absolutely chilling stories of torture, forced prostitution and slave labor,” said Ella Polyakova, head of Soldiers’ Mothers.
Investigations into suicides and alleged abuses typically lead nowhere.
Obtaining evidence from a closed structure like the Russian army, which has its own military prosecution system, has proven difficult.
“It is a shame that the Russian armed forces are more concerned about their image — which they want to preserve at all costs — than about establishing the truth and protecting the victims of abuse,” said Polyakova.
“Unfortunately, in Russia, victims’ testimonies are not treated seriously enough,” she said. “Even if we submit a whole pile of testimonies, the prosecutors can easily refuse to open a criminal case, claiming that there is not enough evidence.”
“Basically, what happens is that the prosecutors weigh the testimonies of the deserters against the word of the officers; needless to say the victims do not stand a chance,” Polyakova added.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Army Releases January Suicide Data
The Army released suicide data today for the month of January. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 12 potential suicides: one has been confirmed as suicide, and 11 remain under investigation. For December, the Army reported ten potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, three have been confirmed as suicides, and seven remain under investigation.
During January 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides. For December, among that same group, there were seven total suicides. Of those, five were confirmed as suicides and two are pending determination of the manner of death.
"In the new year, we won't just maintain our current focus on suicide prevention, we're going to sharpen that focus," said Col. Christopher Philbrick, director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. "We've made significant changes in our health promotion, risk reduction, and suicide prevention programs, policies, and initiatives. But over the last year, you could describe our Army effort as shining a flood light on the problem of suicide. Now in 2010, we're going to move from a flood light to a laser light— identifying our most effective programs, so we can target and reinforce what's working and fix what isn't."
In January, the Suicide Prevention Resource Council and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention selected the Army's "Ask, Care, Escort" model for inclusion in their national registry of programs reflecting "best practices" in suicide prevention. The Army's model is one of only thirteen suicide prevention programs, nationwide, included in the registry.
"One suicide prevention approach that is working is the Army's 'Ask, Care, Escort' model of suicide prevention," said Philbrick. "The 'Ask, Care, Escort' model is fundamentally about engaged, concerned leadership, and caring for your fellow soldier. That's something the Army knows how to do."
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63, Health Promotion at: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdf and Army Pamphlet 600-24 Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention at http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf .
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20. Army Knowledge Online is required to download materials.
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence (DCOE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
The Military OneSource toll-free number for those residing in the continental U.S. is 1-800-342-9647; their Web site address is http://www.militaryonesource.com/ . Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.
The DCOE Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org .and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil/ .
The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/default.asp .
More information about the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf/ .
Source: Department of Defense Announcement, verbatim
During January 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides. For December, among that same group, there were seven total suicides. Of those, five were confirmed as suicides and two are pending determination of the manner of death.
"In the new year, we won't just maintain our current focus on suicide prevention, we're going to sharpen that focus," said Col. Christopher Philbrick, director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. "We've made significant changes in our health promotion, risk reduction, and suicide prevention programs, policies, and initiatives. But over the last year, you could describe our Army effort as shining a flood light on the problem of suicide. Now in 2010, we're going to move from a flood light to a laser light— identifying our most effective programs, so we can target and reinforce what's working and fix what isn't."
In January, the Suicide Prevention Resource Council and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention selected the Army's "Ask, Care, Escort" model for inclusion in their national registry of programs reflecting "best practices" in suicide prevention. The Army's model is one of only thirteen suicide prevention programs, nationwide, included in the registry.
"One suicide prevention approach that is working is the Army's 'Ask, Care, Escort' model of suicide prevention," said Philbrick. "The 'Ask, Care, Escort' model is fundamentally about engaged, concerned leadership, and caring for your fellow soldier. That's something the Army knows how to do."
Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63, Health Promotion at: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdf and Army Pamphlet 600-24 Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention at http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf .
Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20. Army Knowledge Online is required to download materials.
Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence (DCOE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
The Military OneSource toll-free number for those residing in the continental U.S. is 1-800-342-9647; their Web site address is http://www.militaryonesource.com/ . Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource Web site for dialing instructions for their specific location.
The DCOE Outreach Center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, via electronic mail at Resources@DCoEOutreach.org .and at http://www.dcoe.health.mil/ .
The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/default.asp .
More information about the Army's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf/ .
Source: Department of Defense Announcement, verbatim
Monday, February 08, 2010
Marine's suicide shines light on depression, disorder
http://www.thestate.com/local/story/1138263.html
Tuesday, Feb. 02, 2010, The State, Columbia, SC
By CHUCK CRUMBO - ccrumbo@thestate.com
Mills Bigham was a 19-year-old Marine in Iraq when he made his first kill.
While on a foot patrol, someone hurled a grenade at Bigham's squad. Bigham, who was at the point, turned and fired.
"I pulled the trigger quickly, twice. Pop ... pop," the Columbia Marine wrote in his journal.
Two bullets hit the attacker's chest, knocking him to the ground. Within minutes, he was dead.
The grenade was a dud. Bigham checked the attacker's identification. He was 12.
Less than four years later on Oct. 19, Lance Cpl. Mills Palmer Bigham sat in his red Chevy Tahoe, put a .410-gauge shotgun to his forehead and pulled the trigger one last time.
He was 23.
Family said Bigham, a graduate of A.C. Flora High School , suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In hopes they can prevent another veteran's suicide, Bigham's family recently founded Hidden Wounds, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Columbia .
"My brother fell through the cracks," said Anna Bigham, the Marine's sister.
About one out of every five veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have some form of PTSD and depression, according to a federal study.
Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs said the suicide rate among veterans between 18 and 29 years old climbed 26 percent from 2005 to 2007.
The VA also said 20 percent of the 30,000 suicides reported in the U.S. are committed by veterans. The suicide rate among veterans is nearly twice the rate for civilians, according to reports.
Through Hidden Wounds, the Bighams aim to provide temporary counseling and support to sufferers of PTSD, depression and traumatic brain injury until they can enter the Veterans Affairs health care system.
Temporary help is needed because the VA reports it has a six-month backlog in processing claims, the Bighams said.
Some veterans need help sooner, Anna Bigham said. That's why the family founded Hidden Wounds.
A spokeswoman for the Dorn VA Medical Center said the hospital supports the Bighams' efforts.
Like so many service members coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan , Mills Bigham found it difficult to cope with the demons of war that haunted his memories.
Anna Bigham said her brother seemed to feel like he was out of place after completing his enlistment in October 2008.
In the Marines, her brother had a built-in support group of buddies, many of whom were dealing with similar issues.
But once PTSD sufferers return to the civilian world, many feel like they're "a fish out of water," according to a VA study.
This sense of isolation can deepen feelings of depression and suicidal tendencies, the report added.
Anna Bigham said her brother seemed to be overwhelmed with guilt.
"In his last three or four months he didn't go out in the daytime," Anna Bigham said. "He told me, 'I feel like everyone can see what I've done. I can't go on this way.'"
Hidden Wounds also hopes to help the veterans' families learn tell the signs of PTSD and depression and help their loved ones seek care.
John Bigham said he knew his son suffered from nightmares, ringing in the ears and had "sparks of anger," all signs of PTSD.
"But I didn't put it 100 percent together until he died," John Bigham said.
Mills Bigham wrote about his first kill in his journal on Oct. 3, just 16 days before he took his own life.
Bigham said he wanted to tell the story "so you can understand the way death may or may not affect the living party."
As he approached the fallen attacker, Bigham said he could see "it is abruptly clear he is leaving his world, and soon."
"He is suffocating in his own blood. He is blowing blood bubbles through his red teeth. He is crying.
"There are bubbles coming from the two holes in his chest. One to the left of his heart, and the other to the right.
"Death took him and there were no new bubbles.
"He cried no more. I checked his ID. He is 12.
"I wept that night."
Those interested in finding out more about Hidden Wounds can check its Web site at hiddenwounds.org
--submitted by Laura Kent
Tuesday, Feb. 02, 2010, The State, Columbia, SC
By CHUCK CRUMBO - ccrumbo@thestate.com
Mills Bigham was a 19-year-old Marine in Iraq when he made his first kill.
While on a foot patrol, someone hurled a grenade at Bigham's squad. Bigham, who was at the point, turned and fired.
"I pulled the trigger quickly, twice. Pop ... pop," the Columbia Marine wrote in his journal.
Two bullets hit the attacker's chest, knocking him to the ground. Within minutes, he was dead.
The grenade was a dud. Bigham checked the attacker's identification. He was 12.
Less than four years later on Oct. 19, Lance Cpl. Mills Palmer Bigham sat in his red Chevy Tahoe, put a .410-gauge shotgun to his forehead and pulled the trigger one last time.
He was 23.
Family said Bigham, a graduate of A.C. Flora High School , suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
In hopes they can prevent another veteran's suicide, Bigham's family recently founded Hidden Wounds, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Columbia .
"My brother fell through the cracks," said Anna Bigham, the Marine's sister.
About one out of every five veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have some form of PTSD and depression, according to a federal study.
Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs said the suicide rate among veterans between 18 and 29 years old climbed 26 percent from 2005 to 2007.
The VA also said 20 percent of the 30,000 suicides reported in the U.S. are committed by veterans. The suicide rate among veterans is nearly twice the rate for civilians, according to reports.
Through Hidden Wounds, the Bighams aim to provide temporary counseling and support to sufferers of PTSD, depression and traumatic brain injury until they can enter the Veterans Affairs health care system.
Temporary help is needed because the VA reports it has a six-month backlog in processing claims, the Bighams said.
Some veterans need help sooner, Anna Bigham said. That's why the family founded Hidden Wounds.
A spokeswoman for the Dorn VA Medical Center said the hospital supports the Bighams' efforts.
Like so many service members coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan , Mills Bigham found it difficult to cope with the demons of war that haunted his memories.
Anna Bigham said her brother seemed to feel like he was out of place after completing his enlistment in October 2008.
In the Marines, her brother had a built-in support group of buddies, many of whom were dealing with similar issues.
But once PTSD sufferers return to the civilian world, many feel like they're "a fish out of water," according to a VA study.
This sense of isolation can deepen feelings of depression and suicidal tendencies, the report added.
Anna Bigham said her brother seemed to be overwhelmed with guilt.
"In his last three or four months he didn't go out in the daytime," Anna Bigham said. "He told me, 'I feel like everyone can see what I've done. I can't go on this way.'"
Hidden Wounds also hopes to help the veterans' families learn tell the signs of PTSD and depression and help their loved ones seek care.
John Bigham said he knew his son suffered from nightmares, ringing in the ears and had "sparks of anger," all signs of PTSD.
"But I didn't put it 100 percent together until he died," John Bigham said.
Mills Bigham wrote about his first kill in his journal on Oct. 3, just 16 days before he took his own life.
Bigham said he wanted to tell the story "so you can understand the way death may or may not affect the living party."
As he approached the fallen attacker, Bigham said he could see "it is abruptly clear he is leaving his world, and soon."
"He is suffocating in his own blood. He is blowing blood bubbles through his red teeth. He is crying.
"There are bubbles coming from the two holes in his chest. One to the left of his heart, and the other to the right.
"Death took him and there were no new bubbles.
"He cried no more. I checked his ID. He is 12.
"I wept that night."
Those interested in finding out more about Hidden Wounds can check its Web site at hiddenwounds.org
--submitted by Laura Kent
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Cpt. Roselle Hoffmaster
Last month, her husband notified me privately that he had just received the results of the probe and that, indeed, her death had been ruled a suicide. Now a local paper in Massachusetts, The Republican, has received the report and posted a summary. It reveals that she took her own life by shooting herself in the head while alone in her room.
Just hours before she killed herself, Hoffmaster, a surgeon commissioned into the Army Medical Corps in 2004, had been berated by a senior officer, the report shows. She later told another officer who counseled her that night that she "couldn't do it anymore" and wanted to quit the military, the report states.
The report includes a statement from one officer who believes the Army did Hoffmaster a disservice by failing to properly prepare her for duty in Iraq.
The investigation includes numerous interviews with military colleagues and family members, many of whom attested to Hoffmaster's positive attitude and expressed disbelief that she would commit suicide.
Hoffmaster was found dead on her cot by one of her roommates, whose M9 Beretta pistol was still in her hand. Several witnesses said that she had broken down in tears that day after being yelled at by a supervisor for failing to carry out one of her medical duties.
One officer told investigators that Hoffmaster was "swamped from the day she arrived at the unit" and "had about four of five months of catching up to do with a new Army program that she was completely unfamiliar with."
Because Hoffmaster was a last-minute replacement for another surgeon who left the unit, she was not able to attend a readiness training center in Louisiana, the officer said, or to get acclimated to her new unit. The officer told investigators he felt the Army did Hoffmaster a disservice and called the situation "a 'perfect storm' to create tension and anxiety."
Despite her distress that day, Hoffmaster was by all accounts a strong, positive, focused person who worked hard to achieve her goals and put the needs of others before her own.
The story reflects my own experience. Whenever I wrote about her (including in my book on Iraq and the media) old friends of her would email to say what a truly great person she was and how they just can't believe she would kill herself.
Now The Republican relates that family members say she gave no hint of being anxious or depressed and that they did not believe she would take her own life.
"She was a positive person and would not have committed suicide," Hoffmaster's mother says in the Army's report. "I believe that Roselle fumbled with the gun after a long day, and it took her life."
Hoffmaster's husband, Gordon Pfeiffer, said: "It was as if we were best friends rather than a married couple. All of our buddies wanted to have a marriage like ours."
-- Ann Wright
==Another news story==
The Republican -- A U.S. Army investigation has concluded that Capt. Roselle M. Hoffmaster, a 2000 graduate of Smith College in Northampton, took her own life by shooting herself in the head while alone in her room in Iraq.
The voluminous report was released to The Republican this week, 16 months after the Army announced that the 32-year-old Hoffmaster, an Army surgeon, had died while on deployment in Kirkuk on Sept. 20, 2007. The investigation includes numerous interviews with military colleagues and family members, many of whom attested to Hoffmaster's positive attitude and expressed disbelief that she would commit suicide.
As the report describes it, Hoffmaster was found dead on her cot by one of her roommates, the M9 Beretta pistol that delivered the fatal shot still in her hand. The highly redacted report deleted the names of virtually everyone involved in the investigation, but several witnesses said that Hoffmaster had broken down in tears previously that day after being berated by a supervisor for failing to carry out one of her medical duties.
One officer told investigators that Hoffmaster was "swamped from the day she arrived at the unit" and "had about four of five months of catching up to do with a new Army program that she was completely unfamiliar with." Because Hoffmaster was a last minute replacement for another surgeon who left the unit, she was not able to attend a joint readiness training center in Louisiana, the officer said, or to get acclimated to her new unit. The officer told investigators he felt the Army did Hoffmaster a disservice and called the situation "a 'perfect storm' to create tension and anxiety."
Despite her distress that day, Hoffmaster was by all accounts a strong, positive, focused person who worked hard to achieve her goals and put the needs of others before her own. At Smith, she is remembered as a top student who was not easily frustrated. Because of her ethical concerns about doing laboratory experiments on live animals, Hoffmaster chose to work with frozen cells, according to her faculty adviser Mary E. Harrington, a professor of psychology.
Carla M. Coffey, Hoffmaster's track coach at Smith, called her "the total package."
"She had the smile," Coffey said. "You just don't find people like that."
After graduating from Smith, Hoffmaster got her medical degree at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She was a native of Ohio. She enlisted in the Army to help pay for her medical school costs. According to friends quoted in the report, Hoffmaster volunteered for assignment to Iraq because she had no children and wanted to spare doctors who did.
Hoffmaster knew little about Army culture when she deployed to the Middle East around Labor Day of 2007, according to accounts in the report. She spent about a week in Kuwait before she was sent to Forward Operation Base Warrior in Kirkuk, Iraq, with the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team. She shared a room there with two other female Army captains.
As the report describes the sequence of events, Hoffmaster received a verbal reprimand from a supervisor at about 5 p.m. on Sept. 20 for not completing a pre-screening for blood donors. After Hoffmaster walked out of the meeting crying, the supervisor told another officer that Hoffmaster needed to "toughen up."
A female major pulled Hoffmaster aside and gave her a pep talk, telling her she was "in the Army now" and that "everything would be OK." Hoffmaster told the major that "she couldn't do it anymore and that she wanted to quit," according to one of Hoffmaster's roommates, who overheard the conversation.
That same roommate told investigators that she returned to her room at about 11:30 p.m. and saw Hoffmaster lying in a awkward position on her bed. When she noticed blood and signs of injury, she summoned officials. Hoffmaster was already dead when a doctor arrived shortly before midnight.
The roommate told investigators that the gun found in Hoffmaster's hand was her own. Hoffmaster's was still in a holster by her bed.
Hoffmaster's parents, whose names were also redacted, said their daughter had a learning disability that made it difficult for her to do mechanical tasks, despite her high IQ. They and other family members said she gave no hint of being anxious or depressed and that they did not believe she would take her own life.
"She was a positive person and would not have committed suicide," Hoffmaster's mother is quoted as saying in the Army's report. "I believe that Roselle fumbled with the gun after a long day, and it took her life."
Hoffmaster's husband, Gordon Pfeiffer, described their marriage in idyllic terms.
"It was as if we were best friends rather than a married couple," he wrote in the report. "All of our buddies wanted to have a marriage like ours."
According to the report, Hoffmaster had been prescribed Zoloft for depression but had apparently not taken any of the pills from her most recent prescription. A civilian doctor who had treated Hoffmaster for depression in the U.S. told investigators that she seemed happy in her marriage and her life and never indicated that she had contemplated suicide.
Hoffmaster's family held a memorial service for her in West Chester, Pa.
--submitted by Ann Wright
Friday, February 05, 2010
Soldier's mother says U.S. Army is covering up murder
New details three months after daughter's death
February 04, 2010 11:36 PM
Colleen Murphy told a roomful of reporters she does not know who would have wanted her daughter dead or why, but she believes someone in the army is covering up whatever happened to 29-year-old Staff Sergeant Amy Seyboth-Tirador.
"I've been told too many lies...I don't trust them," Murphy said, referring to army investigators.
Five days after Seyboth-Tirador's death, Murphy and her former husband, Gerard Seyboth were saying it was not an accident and not a suicide. They said they had been briefed by two generals. They offered no theories on a motive, except that their daughter's work in intelligence gathering may have made her a target, something Murphy still sees as a possible scenario.
"I don't know if Amy found something out in her job, I don't know if it was an issue between people, but Amy was set up to be in place for the perfect suicide," Murphy says.
She says the unit her daughter's husband, Mickey, worked in arrived at her camp two weeks before her death, and says the couple were having troubles in their marriage - but Murphy says her daughter expected to try to fix the problems and was looking forward to coming back to the states in ten months.
According to Murphy, investigators said Tirador was heard cursing often, "more than usual", in the three days before her death and said she had argued with a superior about reports that were late.
"They're trying to pile up different issues in her life to say, 'Oh, she couldn't take it anymore so she went and blew her brains out."
The military has not released the cause of death - only that it was non-combat related. On Thursday Murphy reiterated what she has said for weeks: She believes someone set it up to make it appear her daughter killed herself. She says contractors found her daughter's body in a generator room at Camp Caldwell in Iraq, her 9mm pistol by her side, residue from a discharged weapon on her hands.
"I know I'll never find the answers out or who pulled the trigger, but I will not allow even our own government to take the dignity and honor away from Amy that she so rightly deserves." Murphy says a medical examiner told her he believes it's a suicide. She says she heard three different versions of where on her daughter's head she was shot.
Murphy says if it's ruled suicide, she expects Mickey Tirador will try to show otherwise by having his wife's body exhumed from Saratoga National Cemetery. She says she has an attorney and a private investigator.
http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/army-1270835-murphy-told.html
--submitted by Patti Woodard
February 04, 2010 11:36 PM
Colleen Murphy told a roomful of reporters she does not know who would have wanted her daughter dead or why, but she believes someone in the army is covering up whatever happened to 29-year-old Staff Sergeant Amy Seyboth-Tirador.
"I've been told too many lies...I don't trust them," Murphy said, referring to army investigators.
Five days after Seyboth-Tirador's death, Murphy and her former husband, Gerard Seyboth were saying it was not an accident and not a suicide. They said they had been briefed by two generals. They offered no theories on a motive, except that their daughter's work in intelligence gathering may have made her a target, something Murphy still sees as a possible scenario.
"I don't know if Amy found something out in her job, I don't know if it was an issue between people, but Amy was set up to be in place for the perfect suicide," Murphy says.
She says the unit her daughter's husband, Mickey, worked in arrived at her camp two weeks before her death, and says the couple were having troubles in their marriage - but Murphy says her daughter expected to try to fix the problems and was looking forward to coming back to the states in ten months.
According to Murphy, investigators said Tirador was heard cursing often, "more than usual", in the three days before her death and said she had argued with a superior about reports that were late.
"They're trying to pile up different issues in her life to say, 'Oh, she couldn't take it anymore so she went and blew her brains out."
The military has not released the cause of death - only that it was non-combat related. On Thursday Murphy reiterated what she has said for weeks: She believes someone set it up to make it appear her daughter killed herself. She says contractors found her daughter's body in a generator room at Camp Caldwell in Iraq, her 9mm pistol by her side, residue from a discharged weapon on her hands.
"I know I'll never find the answers out or who pulled the trigger, but I will not allow even our own government to take the dignity and honor away from Amy that she so rightly deserves." Murphy says a medical examiner told her he believes it's a suicide. She says she heard three different versions of where on her daughter's head she was shot.
Murphy says if it's ruled suicide, she expects Mickey Tirador will try to show otherwise by having his wife's body exhumed from Saratoga National Cemetery. She says she has an attorney and a private investigator.
http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/army-1270835-murphy-told.html
--submitted by Patti Woodard
Thursday, February 04, 2010
A Military Murder
In 2003, four U.S.. soldiers were charged with brutally murdering another member of the Army. A new book examines what happened, and why.
By Kari Lydersen
On December 13, Army Sgt. Lanny Davis, a retired Vietnam vet, died.
But those who knew and loved him say a big part of Davis died six years earlier, when his only son Richard was murdered at Fort Benning, Ga.--just days after returning from Iraq, and before he had even seen his parents. Richards body was found in a field near the base--dismembered, burned to a crisp, with jagged holes in his skull and teeth knocked out. Four of his fellow soldiers were charged.
A fictionalized account of Davis mysterious murder is given in the 2007 movie In the Valley of Elah. In Murder in Baker Company: How Four American Soldiers Killed One of their Own (Chicago Review Press, February 2010), Georgian author Cilla McCain tells the true story. She answers many of the questions raised by the movie, and clears up the queries that commonly run through viewers minds during films based on true stories: "Did that part really happen?" In this case, the most shocking and disturbing events did indeed occur.
Click here for the full article:
http://www.inthesetimes.com/main/article/5442/
By Kari Lydersen
On December 13, Army Sgt. Lanny Davis, a retired Vietnam vet, died.
But those who knew and loved him say a big part of Davis died six years earlier, when his only son Richard was murdered at Fort Benning, Ga.--just days after returning from Iraq, and before he had even seen his parents. Richards body was found in a field near the base--dismembered, burned to a crisp, with jagged holes in his skull and teeth knocked out. Four of his fellow soldiers were charged.
A fictionalized account of Davis mysterious murder is given in the 2007 movie In the Valley of Elah. In Murder in Baker Company: How Four American Soldiers Killed One of their Own (Chicago Review Press, February 2010), Georgian author Cilla McCain tells the true story. She answers many of the questions raised by the movie, and clears up the queries that commonly run through viewers minds during films based on true stories: "Did that part really happen?" In this case, the most shocking and disturbing events did indeed occur.
Click here for the full article:
http://www.inthesetimes.com/main/article/5442/
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