“The commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base issued a statement Wednesday afternoon expressing deep concern for the safety of the military members and their families assigned to BAFB in light of the recent murders of five Barksdale Airmen and/or their spouses. ‘I’ve been stationed at eight installations in my 25-year Air Force career and I have never experienced as many murders involving Airmen and their families,’ said Air Force Col. Michael A. Miller.” Read more from Ark-La-Texhere.
TSgt Joshua Kidd, U.S. Air Force: died September 25, 2018, murdered outside home, DNA links two teens to murder, Jareona Crosby and Alonzo Wilson charged with second degree murder, awaiting trial
TSgt Kelly Jose, U.S. Air Force Reserve and spouse Heather Jose: died November 8, 2018, murdered after giving a guy they met at the shopping mall a ride, found slain in a burned out car, Dewayne Willie Watkins, 34, was indicted in connection with the robbery, kidnapping, and murder, charged with two counts of second degree murder, state seeking the death penalty
Antonio Williams (spouse of civil servant Airman Ivy Shelby-Williams): died June 22, 2019, gunned down while delivering mail to Michael Gentry at his home in Shreveport’s South Highlands neighborhood, Michael Gentry, 32, arrested after the shooting & charged with second-degree murder
TSgt Perry Bailey, U.S. Air Force: died June 30, 2019, murdered in Shreveport residence, the female homeowner said her former boyfriend, Brandan Brown, broke into the residence through the master bedroom window and shot her current boyfriend Perry Bailey, Brown died by suicide
“48 Hours” goes behind the scenes with a defense team and cutting edge forensic animators as they strategize to defend a woman accused of murder. CBS News correspondent Tracy Smith investigates in a special two-hour edition of “48 Hours” airing Saturday, Dec. 23 starting at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
After “48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty tracks down the accused killer of a decorated military pilot in Brazil, the woman is extradited to the United States . Will the pilot’s family get justice?
To get justice for his death, Karl Hoerig’s family in the United States must first navigate the Brazilian criminal justice system, which may keep his suspected murderer from facing extradition. -48 Hours
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio, 13th District) has appealed to three U.S. Presidents to try and help Major Karl Hoerig’s family get justice for the U.S. Air Force veteran’s murder. “48 Hours” Erin Moriarty talks to the congressman about his push to have Claudia Hoerig extradited to the United States to stand trial. -48 Hours
In The News:
The family of a murdered military hero is embroiled in an international fight for justice. Karl Hoerig was killed in his Ohio home in March 2007. His family immediately suspected his wife, Claudia, but she boarded a flight to her native Brazil hours after her husband’s death. U.S. investigators charged Claudia with murder, but more than 10 years later, the Hoerig family is still seeking justice. -CBS This Morning (November 24, 2017)
A military hero found shot to death in his home in Ohio and his wife abruptly returns to her native Brazil. Now his brother is on a mission to track down a suspected killer. -CBS New York (November 24, 2017)
48 Hours reporter explains what Claudia Hoerig’s been doing in Brazil -WKBN27 (January 18, 2018)
More than 11 years have passed as the family of Karl Hoerig waited for his accused killer to be brought to justice. -WKBN27 (January 18, 2018)
A Brazilian fugitive accused of murdering her husband is back on U.S. soil to face justice, thanks in part to “48 Hours.” Karl Hoerig was a major in the Air Force reserve. He was shot and killed in his own home in March 2007. The main suspect was his wife, but she flew back to her native Brazil shortly after Hoerig’s death. -CBS This Morning (January 23, 2018)
Honoring the victim: Karl Hoerig, US Air Force Reserve
Captain Jamie Brunette, 30, US Air Force, was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in her car on February 9, 2015 in Tampa, Florida. Tampa police found her in the parking lot of a Harbour Island cafe near her apartment slumped over in the back seat of a locked vehicle. She purchased the hand gun six months earlier. According to friends and family, Jamie didn’t speak much about her time in Afghanistan but her parents believe she may have suffered with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a sexual assault while deployed to Afghanistan. The issue sheds light on whether or not military members feel comfortable reporting crimes and asking for help for the aftermath. According to one MacDill Air Force Base official, they actively encourage airman to reach out for help and assured they would not lose their careers. They also reminded airman that reaching out for help early will help prevent the Post Traumatic Stress from getting worse and in the end help save their military career.
Sexy psychologist and doting Air Force wife Michelle begins a swinging affair with Army Sgt. Diamond while her husband, Captain Marty Theer, is away. But all’s fair in love and war, and Marty’s return will remind them that love is a battlefield. -Sergeant Swinger, Scorned: Love Kills (S4,E1)
In 2000, Michelle Theer was an Air Force wife in the military town of Fayetteville until a fatal shooting made her a widow. The investigation into her husband’s death led police to the door of an Army Ranger – taking orders from very unlikely accomplices. -Fayetteville, Sins and Secrets (S2,E3)
Oxygen:
A frantic, distraught woman runs into a video rental store screaming that her husband has been shot. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
Killer Couples: S8 E5 Preview – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Killer Couples: S8 E5 After the Verdict – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Psychologist Debbie Layton-Tholl talks about her experience meeting with Michelle Theer. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
A lonely military wife and psychologist go searching for sex on the Internet with deadly results. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples (S8,E5)
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.
On February 19, 2011, Vanessa Mintz was found shot and killed at her family owned mountain Lodge in Saluda, North Carolina. After police conducted a thorough investigation they learned that a shell casing at the scene of the crime matched a gun owned by Travis McGraw, a police officer in the Air Force Reserve. They also learned that Travis was in love with a woman by the name of Mary-Beth who gave him an ultimatum. Mary-Beth asked Travis to choose her or Vanessa and get back to her once he decided. Less then 48 hours later, Vanessa was dead. It is believed that Travis killed Vanessa for the $100,000 military life insurance policy. At trial, the public learned that Travis asked his Air Force Commander about the life insurance policy within twelve hours of Vanessa’s death. Travis was found guilty by a jury of his peers and sentenced to life without parole. Travis McGraw appealed his conviction but it was denied.
On March 7, 2008, SrA Blanca A. Luna, 27, US Air Force Reserve, was found unresponsive and with injuries consistent with a stab wound in her billeting room at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas three days prior to graduating and heading back home. She was discovered with a knife in the back of her neck according to the death certificate and no pants or underwear and dried fluid near her groin according to the autopsy. She was taken to a local hospital in Wichita Falls where she died shortly thereafter. She was an Air Force Reservist on temporary duty at Sheppard AFB attending a technical training course for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC). She was a Marine from 1997 to 2002 and then became a Reservist in 2007 at the 434rd Civil Engineer Squadron, Grissom Air Reserve Base in Indiana. She loved the military. She was living in the Chicago, Illinois area and studying Graphic Design.
Because this death occurred on a federal installation, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) was the lead on the investigation. They initially labeled the death a “suspicious incident”. According to AFOSI, the FBI assisted with the investigation. The FBI processed the crime scene and collaborated with the ensuing Air Force investigation. The AFOSI referred to the death as a homicide in the media in the early stages of the investigation. Six months later they would be accused of leading the family to believe it was a suicide despite evidence suggesting otherwise. Six months after her death, no official determination was made as to the manner of death: homicide, suicide, or accident. Eventually, the family learned from the autopsy report that the official manner of death was considered “undetermined”. No suspects were ever identified.
“AFOSI has been the lead investigative agency since Airman Luna’s death. At AFOSI’s request, the FBI sent an evidence response team to process the scene immediately after Airman Luna was found, and the two agencies have continued to cooperate in the investigation. Agents have been assigned to the case on a full-time basis, and more than 350 interviews have been conducted at locations across the country. Findings have been reviewed by a diverse team of experts, including specialists in forensics, polygraph, computer investigation, behavioral psychology and forensic pathology…More than 200 DNA tests have been done.”
Two of Blanca’s friends who had visited her at the base noted that she had talked about problems with some airman in her classes. She felt that they resented her because of her rank and the fact that she was a woman in a leadership position. When Blanca’s body arrived in Chicago, the family observed bruises on Blanca’s face as if she had been punched or had fallen and scratches between her fingers that appeared to be defensive wounds. Luna’s family insists that she would never commit suicide and that the evidence does not support that suggestion. In October 2008, Gloria Barrios traveled to Texas from Chicago to get some answers, including the autopsy report, from the Air Force but she didn’t get anything except a tour of the base. Gloria had questions about the bruises, defensive wounds, and the fluid found near Blanca’s groin but never received any answers. Blanca’s mom feels that this is a cover-up.
The family believes that AFOSI did not investigate the crime with due diligence and was trying to lead them to believe Blanca committed suicide. They initially determined that it was a homicide and investigated it as a crime. This is problematic because instead of listing the death as an unsolved murder or cold case, it can be written off as a suicide and never investigated again. After Gloria’s visit to Sheppard AFB, the Air Force released a statement that said “deaths are investigated as homicides initially, but that nothing suggests that anyone on base is in danger.” This statement is troublesome because the murder occurred within the confines of a secure military base. One cannot get onto the base without military identification. It had to be someone affiliated with the base that either lives and/or works there. The Air Force cannot guarantee the base’s safety when they do not even know who committed the crime. Blanca’s mom wants answers from military officials, and she wants them to classify Luna’s death as a homicide and find the culprit. Was the DNA collected at the scene compared to the national DNA database (CODIS)? Five years later, still with no answers, Gloria Barrios was battling depression and hospitalized. Eight years later, the case is still considered “under investigation” and highlights the need for cold case squads in the military.
“My gut feeling is they are looking for a culprit outside of the base, but the murderer is on the base. They’re looking in the wrong place…I can’t express what I feel about these people. They’re [Air Force] treating me like dirt. They are driving me crazy. It’s like they’re playing with my mind, giving me bad information.” -Gloria Barrios (Blanca’s mom)
The incident is under investigation by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Sheppard AFB security forces squadron. Anyone with information regarding the case should call Sheppard Air Force Base security forces at (940) 676-2981 [or Sheppard AFOSI at (940) 676-1852].
After “48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty tracks down the accused killer of a decorated military pilot in Brazil, the woman is extradited to the United States . Will the pilot’s family get justice?
To get justice for his death, Karl Hoerig’s family in the United States must first navigate the Brazilian criminal justice system, which may keep his suspected murderer from facing extradition. -48 Hours
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio, 13th District) has appealed to three U.S. Presidents to try and help Major Karl Hoerig’s family get justice for the U.S. Air Force veteran’s murder. “48 Hours” Erin Moriarty talks to the congressman about his push to have Claudia Hoerig extradited to the United States to stand trial. -48 Hours
The family of a murdered military hero is embroiled in an international fight for justice. Karl Hoerig was killed in his Ohio home in March 2007. His family immediately suspected his wife, Claudia, but she boarded a flight to her native Brazil hours after her husband’s death. U.S. investigators charged Claudia with murder, but more than 10 years later, the Hoerig family is still seeking justice. Erin Moriarty, who traveled to Brazil to track down Claudia, joins “CBS This Morning” to preview her “48 Hours” report.
Former Air Force Reservist Michelle Theer was indicted in 2002 for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in the death of her husband Air Force Captain Marty Theer on December 17, 2000. Theer was accused of killing her husband with her lover, Army Special Forces soldier John Diamond. In August 2001, John Diamond was found guilty by a military jury of first degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Around the date of the 2002 indictment, Michelle, who had moved to New Orleans since the murder, left Louisiana to “start a new life.” Michelle moved to Florida where she rented an apartment and had plastic surgery performed under an assumed name.
The police located and arrested Michelle Theer in August 2002 and her trial concluded on December 3, 2004. The jury returned verdicts of guilty of first-degree murder by aiding and abetting and of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. The motive for the homicide was an early attempt to collect Marty’s $500,000 Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance policy. The prosecutor ascertained Michelle manipulated John Diamond into murdering her husband. Diamond was accused of shooting Marty multiple times execution style as he ascended a stairwell at Michelle’s place of employment in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The civilian trial court sentenced Michelle Theer to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Investigation Discovery:
In 2000, Michelle Theer was an Air Force wife in the military town of Fayetteville until a fatal shooting made her a widow. The investigation into her husband’s death led police to the door of an Army Ranger – taking orders from very unlikely accomplices. -Fayetteville, Sins and Secrets (S2,E3)
Sexy psychologist and doting Air Force wife Michelle begins a swinging affair with Army Sgt. Diamond while her husband, Captain Marty Theer, is away. But all’s fair in love and war, and Marty’s return will remind them that love is a battlefield. -Sergeant Swinger, Scorned: Love Kills (S4,E1)
Oxygen:
A frantic, distraught woman runs into a video rental store screaming that her husband has been shot. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
Killer Couples: S8 E5 Preview – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Killer Couples: S8 E5 After the Verdict – Michelle Theer and John Diamond | Oxygen
Psychologist Debbie Layton-Tholl talks about her experience meeting with Michelle Theer. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples
A lonely military wife and psychologist go searching for sex on the Internet with deadly results. -Michelle Theer & John Diamond, Killer Couples (S8,E5)
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.
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 