Category: Non Combat Death

Mefloquine: The Military’s Suicide Pill

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Military Policy, SuicideLeave a comment

Box Lariam (mefloquine) antimalarial tabletsMefloquine: The Military’s Suicide Pill

In late July, 2013, the FDA issued a powerful “black box” safety warning for a drug which has been taken by hundreds of thousands of troops to prevent malaria. The drug is called mefloquine, and it was previously sold in the U.S. by F. Hoffman-La Roche under the trade name Lariam. Since being developed by the U.S. military over four decades ago, mefloquine has been widely used by troops on deployments in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan.

We now recognize, decades too late, that mefloquine is neurotoxic and can cause lasting injury to the brainstem and emotional centers in the limbic system. As a result of its toxic effects, the drug is quickly becoming the “Agent Orange” of this generation, linked to a growing list of lasting neurological and psychiatric problems including suicide.

The public had its first glimpse of the mefloquine suicide problem over a decade ago in 2002, when a cluster of murder-suicides occurred among Ft. Bragg soldiers returning home from deployment. All three soldiers had been taking mefloquine, yet an official Army investigation later concluded mefloquine was “unlikely to be the cause of this clustering.”

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-remington-nevin/mefloquine-the-militarys-_b_3989034.html

Military And Veteran Suicides Rise Despite Aggressive Prevention Efforts

On By AdministratorIn Military Policy, SuicideLeave a comment

The Spartan PledgeMilitary And Veteran Suicides Rise Despite Aggressive Prevention Efforts

WASHINGTON — The good news: most people with military service never consider suicide. Contrary to popular perception, there is no “epidemic” of military-related suicides  — even though President Barack Obama used the word in a speech this summer at the Disabled American Veterans Convention. Among those few whose lives do spiral down toward darkness and despair, the vast majority never take that irrevocable step.

The bad news: the number of military and veteran suicides is rising, and experts fear it will continue to rise despite aggressive suicide prevention campaigns by the government and private organizations.

The Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), already struggling to meet an increasing demand from troops and veterans for mental health services, are watching the suicide rates, and the growing number of those considered “at risk” of suicide, with apprehension.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/29/military-veteran-suicides-prevention_n_3791325.html?utm_hp_ref=invisible-casualties

Death on the Home Front: Women in the Crosshairs

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Military Policy, PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, SuicideLeave a comment

stop the violenceDeath on the Home Front: Women in the Crosshairs

Wake up, America.  The boys are coming home, and they’re not the boys who went away.

On New Year’s Day, the New York Times welcomed the advent of 2009 by reporting that, since returning from Iraq, nine members of the Fort Carson, Colorado, Fourth Brigade Combat team had been charged with homicide. Five of the murders they were responsible for took place in 2008 when, in addition, “charges of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault” at the base rose sharply.  Some of the murder victims were chosen at random; four were fellow soldiers — all men.  Three were wives or girlfriends.

This shouldn’t be a surprise.  Men sent to Iraq or Afghanistan for two, three, or four tours of duty return to wives who find them “changed” and children they barely know. Tens of thousands return to inadequate, underfunded veterans’ services with appalling physical injuries, crippling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suck-it-up sergeants who hold to the belief that no good soldier seeks help.  That, by the way, is a mighty convenient belief for the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, which have been notoriously slow to offer much of that help.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ann-jones/death-on-the-home-front_b_181728.html

A Stranger in My Home Premiered ‘Trailer Park Terror’ on ID: Rick Taber Killed Next Door Neighbor Micky Widmer in Minnesota (October 20, 2013)

On By AdministratorIn Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Suicide, True CrimeLeave a comment

Mickey Widmer and her boyfriend Darnell Mears move into a Minnesota trailer park looking for a fresh start, but after meeting Rick Taber, a reclusive neighbor, he grows too close for comfort. Good neighbors go bad; and bad neighbors spill blood. -Trailer Park Terror, A Stranger in My Home (S1,E2)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch 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. 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 $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Trailer Park Terror | A Stranger in My Home | Investigation Discovery (S1,E2)
Trailer Park Terror | A Stranger in My Home | Investigation Discovery (website)
Trailer Park Terror | A Stranger in My Home | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Michaela Widmer Found Murdered in Minnesota Cemetery; Suspect Ricardo Taber Guilty of Stolen Valor, Died by Suicide (July 25, 2009)

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

On By AdministratorIn Army, Non Combat DeathLeave a comment

US ArmyDoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Lyle D. Turnbull, 31, of Norfolk, Va., died Oct. 18, in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from a medical emergency. The cause of his death is under investigation.

Turnbull was assigned to the 62nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 11th Signal Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

For more information related to this release, the media should contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at (254) 287-9993 or (254) 287-0106.

Original link: http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=16325

Cody Hooks, US Air Force, Murdered his Wife Kaylla Rihn & Then Killed Himself in San Antonio, Texas (2013)

On By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Suicide, USAFLeave a comment
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Kaylla Brooke Rihn and SrA Cody Hooks, US Air Force

Senior Airman Cody Hooks and Kaylla Brooke Rihn were found dead in their apartment from an apparent murder-suicide on October 17, 2013 in San Antonio, Texas. Their friends reported this was two days after they heard them having a late night argument. Although family were not aware of any previous issues with the couple. Senior Airman Cody Hooks, 21, was considered a suspect and Kaylla Brooke Rihn, 22, was listed as a homicide victim in the shooting. They found Rihn dead with a bullet wound to one eye and Hooks with a .40-caliber wound to his temple. A Beretta handgun was found near his body. SrA Hooks was a member of the 802nd Security Forces Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio. Hooks and Rihn were married only two weeks before the murder-suicide yet family didn’t learn she was married until after she was found dead. This was SrA Hooks first tour of duty with the Air Force and it is unknown if he deployed in support of the war efforts.

“Suicides have plagued the armed forces for years, with self-inflicted deaths rising after the U.S. went to war in Afghanistan and Iraq. A record was set last year (2012), with the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps logging 514 suicides.” -My SA

Related Links:
Murder-suicide suspected in pair’s deaths

David Chesser: A Man Changed Forever By PTSD

On By AdministratorIn PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, SuicideLeave a comment

PTSD Invisible WoundsDavid Chesser: A Man Changed Forever By PTSD

Three hours before David Chesser, wife Jenifer Chesser was on the phone with her husband.
David had said he was going for a walk. When he called her, it was clear he’d been drinking heavily. Actually, he’d been sober for a month but in the past couple of days he began to unravel again, she said.

Back from the war, Chesser was unable to find regular work and unable to keep it when he did. He was drowning in back rent payments, and their landlord called to say they were out of chances. “It’s hopeless,” he told her over the phone. “If I was dead, at least you and the kids would be taken care of.”  Then he hung up.

Read more: http://lakewood-jblm.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/xyxyxyx

Living through nine suicides: After the deaths of so many friends, sailor determined not to lose another

On By AdministratorIn PTSD, TBI, Mental Illness, SuicideLeave a comment

Veterans Crisis Line

Living through nine suicides: After the deaths of so many friends, sailor determined not to lose another

WASHINGTON — The first suicide was in 2007. Mike Little was preparing to head to Iraq for a year when he heard that his close friend, a National Guardsman who had inspired Little to join the military, had killed himself.

The second was before Little deployed to Afghanistan, about two years later. He couldn’t go to the funeral because he was due on a plane. The next three came during the naval reservist’s yearlong deployment in Afghanistan. Another suicide happened just as he got home, in late 2010. He’s up to nine now.

“At this point, I’m taking it personally,” he said. “I deployed twice, I came home, I struggled. I feel responsible that I didn’t reach out to them. Maybe if I had …”

Little, a petty officer 2nd class in the Naval Reserves, fought his own battle with suicidal thoughts and won, as much as any person still struggling with depression and post-traumatic stress can say they’ve won.

He has trouble sleeping. He calls the Veterans Crisis Line almost weekly.

Read more: http://www.stripes.com/living-through-nine-suicides-1.240240

Insider outrage: Staff Sgt. Andrew Britton-Mihalo, 25

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US ArmyInsider outrage: Staff Sgt. Andrew Britton-Mihalo, 25

Britton-Mihalo, a Green Beret, was slain April 25 by an elite counterpart with the Afghan special forces on a base the two sides shared in Kandahar Province. But those circumstances haven’t played much of a part in Mihalo’s grief. “We just accepted it,” she said.

Britton-Mihalo’s father was a Marine, his stepfather served in the Army and his two half-brothers are also in the Army.

Read more: http://www.stripes.com/insider-outrage-staff-sgt-andrew-britton-mihalo-25-1.191954

Insider outrage: Sgt. Joshua Born, 25

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US ArmyInsider outrage: Sgt. Joshua Born, 25

The soldiers who came to the door in Florida told Beth Croft that her son was killed in a green-on-blue attack, but the only word that held any significance to her was “dead.”

It didn’t matter that an Afghan soldier had shot him while they monitored a local protest. Her only child, Sgt. Joshua Born, was gone forever.

Read more: http://www.stripes.com/insider-outrage-sgt-joshua-born-25-1.191942