Army Spc. Keisha M. Morgan, 25, died of a non-combat related cause in Baghdad, Iraq on February 22, 2008. Spc. Morgan was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood in Texas. Army investigators ruled her death a suicide by overdose of her military-dispensed prescription anti-depressants. The family suspects Keisha may have been raped and murdered.
“But Keisha had confided in her mother about a night when she was certain a fellow soldier had slipped something in her drink at a local bar. When she awoke the following morning–failing to remember how she left the bar and returned to barracks–the soldier was in her room. This same man was on base at the time of Keisha’s death, says her mother, recalling her daughter’s concern about this. A week later, a roommate found Keisha lying on the floor and couldn’t tell if she was sleeping. Keisha erupted in seizures and the roommate ran for help. Medics could not stabilize her and she passed away.” ~WomensENews (December 17, 2010)
Army Sgt. Tracy Birkman, 41, died from non combat related injuries in Owesat, Iraq on January 25, 2008. Sgt. Birkman was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 626th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. At the time of the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation which is typical of non combat death. But the official cause of death is unknown.
Birkman’s father, Jerald Griffith, a Vietnam War veteran, said he was angry with military officials for releasing information about his daughter’s death and with the news media for its portrayal of soldiers such as himself. “I didn’t want it released. I am so [furious] about all this I can just scream,” said Griffith, also of New Castle. “I hate the media with just an unmitigated passion. You . . . lied about me when I was in Vietnam.” He said his daughter was on her third deployment.” She’s over there in a war we shouldn’t even be involved in, on her third tour,” Griffith said. –The Washington Post (January 29, 2008)
Brianna Denison, 19, was abducted by former Marine James Biela in Reno, Nevada on January 20th, 2008. She was subsequently found raped and murdered. According to Joe Biela, James Biela once wore the uniform of a Marine but was kicked out of the service. James Biela was convicted of raping and strangling Brianna and sentenced to death in 2010. Brianna’s family fought for ‘Brianna’s Law’ in Nevada and it passed:
The bill mandates a DNA cheek-swab whenever a person is booked for a felony arrest. If the arrest is deemed legitimate, the DNA would be cross-referenced with DNA from other crime scenes to see if the arrestee was involved. The proposal is named after Brianna Denison who was raped and murdered by James Biela in Reno in 2008. Proponents believe such a law may have saved Denison because Biela had a prior felony arrest.
ID Go: When a young college student is abducted from a friend’s home in the middle of the night, the city of Reno lives in fear of who might be next. Dogged investigation leads detectives to a serial rapist who’s just escalated to murder. -Vanished in Reno, Unusual Suspects (S6,E1)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch all of the Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. Download the ID Go app and binge away. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $2.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict.
House Judiciary Committee hearings on the Jamie Leigh Jones gang rape by Halliburton/KBR employees | Jamie Leigh Jones Testifies Before House Judiciary Committee (December 19, 2007)
House Judiciary Committee hearings on the Jamie Leigh Jones gang rape by Halliburton/KBR employees | Chairman Conyers’ Witness Questions at the KBR Rape Hearing (December 19, 2007)
House Judiciary Committee hearings on the Jamie Leigh Jones gang rape by Halliburton/KBR employees | Rep. Anthony Weiner Statement at the KBR Rape Hearing (December 19, 2007)
House Judiciary Committee hearings on the Jamie Leigh Jones gang rape by Halliburton/KBR employees | Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee at the KBR Rape Hearing (December 19, 2007)
House Judiciary Committee hearings on the Jamie Leigh Jones gang rape by Halliburton/KBR employees | Rep. Bobby Scott Questions Witnesses at the KBR Rape Hear (December 19, 2007)
House Judiciary Committee hearings on the Jamie Leigh Jones gang rape by Halliburton/KBR employees | Chairman Conyers’ Statement at the KBR Rape Hearing (December 19,2007)
The family of slain Marine Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach is hailing recent provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that profoundly change the way the Department of Defense will handle sexual assault charges…Provisions include access to legal counsel for victims and the right to request a base transfer. Lauterbach’s mother, Mary Lauterbach of Vandalia, said the new law would have made the difference in the case of her daughter, who was denied a base transfer after accusing fellow Marine Cesar Laurean of sexual assault. “Maria would be alive today if the base transfer had been available to her,” she said. Representative Mike Turner (R-OH) concurred, “In civilian life you have complete control of your movements, and if you’re in an unsafe situation you can remove yourself. In military life, the victim needs permission to take even basic self-preservation actions.” –Dayton Daily News (December 25, 2011)
In the News:
The murder of pregnant Camp Lejeune Marine Maria Lauterbach has many people examining North Carolina’s fetal homicide law. North Carolina is one of twelve states that does not have an unborn child homicide law. Cesar Laurean, the Marine Corporal suspected of killing Lauterbach, only faces a murder charge in her death, not the death of the fetus. Henderson County state representative Trudi Walend proposed House Bill 263 to change that. Walend believes our state leaders have a fear that recognizing an unborn child might affects pro choice laws. -WITN-TV (January 15, 2008)
The autopsy shows that 20 year old Maria Lauterbach, who disappeared mid-December in North Carolina died from blunt force trauma. The sheriff says the autopsy also shows that Lauterbach died before her family reported her missing. -Associated Press (January 16, 2008)
Maria Lauterbach Case – Autopsy Confirms Body Is Lauterbach -WITN-TV (January 16, 2008)
Authorities say murder suspect Cesar Laurean has probably gone into hiding. His truck was found in a motel parking lot on Tuesday. An autopsy report confirmed burned remains found in his backyard were those of his pregnant colleague. -Associated Press (January 17, 2008)
Pregnant Marine’s mom laments her death -Today Show (March 12, 2008)
Missing Marine’s Uncle Speaks Out -ABC News (March 12, 2008)
The Oversight Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs holds a hearing, “Sexual Assault in the Military.” Panel one is Reps. Louise Slaughter (NY-28) and Jane Harman (CA-36); panel two is Ingrid Torres, MSW, CSW and Mary Lauterbach, Mother of Lance Cpl. Maria Lauterbach; panel three includes representatives of the Defense Department, the Army, and the GAO. Mary Lauterbach, whose daughter was murdered after reporting a rape, testifies. -Nancy Pelosi (July 31, 2008)
A Marine who fled to Mexico shortly before he was charged with killing a pregnant colleague in North Carolina has been returned to the U.S., according to an FBI spokeswoman. -Associated Press (April 17, 2009)
Lauterbach murder trial to begin -WDTNTV (August 2, 2010)
The attorney for an ex-Marine accused of killing a pregnant colleague says the victim’s lies may have so angered the defendant he couldn’t have premeditated the murder. -Associated Press (August 12, 2010)
A North Carolina jury says a former Marine is guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a pregnant colleague whose remains were found under a backyard firepit. -WITN (August 24, 2010)
Dept. of Defense Gives New Provisions to Military’s Victims of Sexual Assault -WKEF/WRGT (August 15, 2013)
Major Hurdle Cleared for Victims of Sexual Assault in the Military -WKEF/WRGT (December 20, 2013)
Law protecting military victims of sexual assault discussed | Expedited transfer policy includes provisions for victims of domestic violence -WDTN TV (May 1, 2018)
Investigation Discovery:
Cesar and Christina Laurean’s Marine marriage ranks perfection, but when Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach, joins the regiment, disaster strikes. -Burned by Desire, Deadly Affairs (S3,E3)
Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense tells Armen Keteyian that the No. 1 problem facing vets of Afghanistan and Iraq will be mental health. -CBS News (November 13, 2007)
Army Spc. Christine Ndururi, 21, died from a non combat related illness at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait on November 6, 2007. Spc. Ndururi was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Hood, Texas. At the time of the press release, the Department of Defense announced that Christine’s death was under investigation.
“She has not been sick,” Ndururi’s father, Wilson Wachira, 45, said yesterday at the family’s home. “I’m waiting for them to tell me what happened. She was not ill, unless she was ill after 9 o’clock when she talked to her mother. Before she was deployed there, she had to have a medical checkup.” ~Eagle Tribune
Marine Cpl. Erik T. Garoutte, 22, of Santee, Calif., collapsed and died Oct. 19 after working out in Baghdad, where he had been stationed for nearly three months. Autopsy results were pending. He was assigned to the 1st Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Norfolk, Va.
Marine Cpl. Erik T. Garoutte, 22, of Santee, Calif., collapsed and died Oct. 19 after working out in Baghdad, where he had been stationed for nearly three months. Autopsy results were pending.
He was assigned to the 1st Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Company, Marine Corps Security Force Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force in Norfolk, Va.
MASN Anamarie Camacho, 20, US Navy, was murdered by a fellow sailor Clarence Jackson on October 22, 2007 in Bahrain. Her death was ruled a homicide and she was one of two killed during the incident. Navy sailor Genesia Gresham, who was said to be in a casual relationship with Jackson, was also killed. After Jackson shot and killed the two female sailors, he then shot himself in the head but lived. Jackson did not face charges because it was determined by a medical board that he was unfit for duty.
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 