Fort Hood Army Cpl. Christopher Ferguson Died of Undetermined Causes; CID Claimed Death Was Accident; CBS News Reported Suicide (March 25, 2007)

Christopher Ferguson
Cpl. Christopher Martin Ferguson, U.S. Army

Fort Hood Army Cpl. Christopher Martin Ferguson, 21, died of undetermined causes on March 25, 2007 in Killeen, Texas. Christopher was born and raised in Pataskala, Ohio and enlisted in the U.S. Army in May 2004 after graduating from high school. Cpl. Ferguson worked as a combat infantryman on behalf of the Bravo Company, 3-67 AR Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood in Texas. Cpl. Ferguson deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005; he conducted over 200 combat patrols and participated in over 30 joint operations with Iraqi counter-parts in Baghdad.

Christopher Ferguson was born on April 12, 1985, in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Theophil Ferguson of Florida, and Patty Gibson Ferguson of Pataskala. He attended the Watkins Memorial School system, and graduated from the Criminal Justice program at Licking Co JVS, Class of 2004. He was fascinated by security systems and the military since a small child. He was described as a “peacekeeper.” He entered the U.S. Army in 2004, spent one year in Iraq, and was stationed at Ft. Hood at the time of his death. Cpl. Ferguson was survived by his mother and two sisters of Pataskala, Ohio when he passed.

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July 13, 2020:

“My brother is Corporal Christopher Martin Ferguson…he passed away March 25, 2007 at Scott and White Hospital in Texas…he was stationed at Fort Hood…he had just got back from Iraq and was at a party right off of base with fellow soldiers…story was that he fell from a three-story building on his head (alcohol involved or not, you don’t fall from a balcony to your head and not fracture one other bone, not have anything broken, only have your brain bleeding)…my mom, myself and my sister were flown out to see him and he was never awake…he was on life-support for seven days…everybody that came to the hospital was not allowed to talk to us…they told us that they had been told that they were not allowed to talk about anything that happened that night…we were left with no answers…my brother’s Sergeant brought us his blazer so we had something to drive while there and my sister and myself found a grocery bag in the back of his blazer that had the clothes he was wearing that night…the paramedics had cut them off him…it was just stuffed in the back of his blazer…there was a detectives card in there that was just placed in his shoe so I called and the detective let me know that the army had taken the investigation from Killeen PD…At the same time we found his camera and his blazer, there were fellow soldiers in the pictures with him that night who claimed that they were not there…my brothers death certificate says cause unknown [undetermined]…No one would tell us what happened and it was ruled as an accident years later…One of his fellow soldiers that does surfing for veterans put my brother on national news with his picture, his name along with saying that he committed suicide, but my family was never told that…there’s a lot more to the story…it’s very fishy and there was a lot of no talking or lies and I really want to know what happened to my brother.” -Christina McDonald (sister)

Christopher Ferguson Balcony
Christopher Ferguson with two Army soldiers. Picture taken on the balcony in question in 2007.

CBS Evening News with Norah O’Donnell:

About 20 veterans die by suicide each day. A hotline launched in 2007 has answered more than 3.5 million calls, sending help to thousands of people. Dean Reynolds got an inside look. -CBS News with Norah O’Donnell (August 26, 2019)

Christopher Ferguson CBS News
Screenshot of the soldiers Army veteran Danny O’Neel claimed died by suicide. (CBS News)

“This is the national news episode that a fellow soldier of my brothers did! He added my brother to posters and news saying he committed suicide! If this was the case, why weren’t we told this?! The Army took the investigation from Killeen Police Department. If there was a real investigation going on, why did my sister and I find my brothers belongings, clothes, and shoes from that night…there’s blood on them, they stuffed everything in a grocery bag, and had it in the back of his blazer…they treated it like it was trash…wouldn’t you think they would need that as part of their investigation? Cpl. Christopher M. Ferguson deserves justice..please help our family find out what exactly happened to him at Fort Hood.” -Christina McDonald (sister)

Additional Photos:

Related Links:
Obituary: Christopher Martin Ferguson
Suicide Prevention Call Center | CBS News with Norah O’Donnell (Facebook)
Inside a suicide prevention call center responding to thousands of veterans (YouTube)
Army Soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas Are Dying at Alarming Rates Stateside (January 1, 2016 to Present)

Fort Drum Army Pfc. Gary Kalinofski Died of a Non-Hostile Gunshot Wound at Camp Magrath While on a Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo (March 4, 2002)

US Army Seal

Army Pfc. Gary S. Kalinofski, 21, died of a gunshot wound at Camp Magrath near Pristina, Kosovo on March 4, 2002. The military casualty announcement confirmed the gunshot wound was not a result of engagement with hostile forces. Pfc. Kalinofski’s home of record was listed as Fayetteville, North Carolina. Pfc. Kalinofski served in Kosovo since November 2001 in a peacekeeping mission role on behalf of A Company, Task Force 1-32nd Infantry Regiment at Fort Drum, New York. According to the book Army Wives by Tanya Biank, the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) ruled that Pfc. Gary Kalinofski died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Gary was survived by his parents; his dad also served in the Army and was in Kosovo at the time Gary took his own life. The Army Wives author shared that Gary’s parents were interviewed by Army CID but they didn’t have any insight or knowledge to help Army CID understand why Gary chose to die by suicide.

Editor’s Note: There was no Department of Defense press release for the announcement of the death of Army casualty Pfc. Gary S. Kalinofski in Kosovo.

Related Links:
U.S. Soldier Shot In Kosovo
U.S. peacekeeper diesfrom gunshot wound
U.S. Peacekeeper Dies in Kosovo
U.S. soldier dies of wounds in Kosovo
KFOR unveils memorial to those who died serving as Kosovo peacekeepers

Army Spc. Darlene Krashoc Raped & Murdered in Colorado Springs; DNA Match Leads to Arrest of Michael Whyte (March 17, 1987)

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Spc. Darlene Krashoc, U.S. Army

Information via The Gazette:

The victim: Darlene Krashoc, 20, a soldier at Fort Carson who worked as a mechanic at the Army post.

The Crime: Two Colorado Springs police officers on routine patrol spotted a partially nude woman laying in the parking lot behind the Korean Restaurant, a nightclub formerly at 2710 S. Academy Blvd., around 5:20 a.m. on March 17, 1987. An autopsy determined that Krashoc had been strangled with a coat hanger and leather thongs after being severely beaten, bitten, sexually assaulted. She may also have been thrown from a moving vehicle.

The investigation: Krashoc’s mother, Betty, last spoke with her daughter a week before her death. Krashoc had changed from a soldier ready to re-enlist to a frightened woman ready to go AWOL to get away from Fort Carson, but wouldn’t tell her mother why.

Colorado Springs Police Department considers a case to be cold if it remains unsolved for more than one year. If you have  information that would be of assistance in these investigations, please contact 719-444-7613, by e-mail at CSPDColdCase@springsgov.com or you may remain anonymous and could earn a cash reward by calling Crime Stoppers at 634-STOP (7867). –The Gazette

Thirty years after Krashoc’s body was found, Army Criminal Investigation Command are offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who can lead them to the man they believe killed Darlene Krashoc. If you have any information about the investigation or if the DNA prediction results resemble someone you know or knew at the time, you’re asked to contact your local CID office or CID headquarters in Virginia at (844) Army CID or (571) 305-4375. You can also email army.CID.crime.tips@mail.mil.

UPDATE: 32 years after a young woman’s killing in Colorado Springs, a suspect is in custody (June 14, 2019) 

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Related Links:
Justice for Darlene
Colorado Bureau of Investigations: Darlene D Krashoc
Getting away with murder
THE COLD CASE FILES: Soldier strangled, 1987
Army CID Offers $10,000 Reward on 1987 Homicide Case Using State-of-the-Art Science
Army offers $10,000 reward to solve 30-year-old murder of Fort Carson soldier
Army investigators offer reward to solve a soldier’s 30-year-old murder
New technology, $10,000 reward aimed at finding Fort Carson soldier’s killer from 1987
Investigators Hope New DNA Phenotyping Leads to Answers on a Decades-Old Case
Army offers $10K reward in 1987 cold-case murder of 20-year-old female soldier; DNA profile released
Army investigators on hunt for killer decode DNA to sketch what suspect in 1987 slaying might look like
Army Offers $10,000 To Anyone Who Can Help Solve Fort Carson Murder
Army hopes $10K reward, DNA phenotype will help solve 1987 Colorado murder
Army releases sketches to catch killer in 1987 cold case
DNA used to make rendering of suspect in 1987 cold case
DNA samples used to reconstruct face of killer 30 years later
Reward Grows In 30-Year-Old Murder Case
25 cold cases in Colorado Springs
Is Sketching a Killer’s Face From DNA Science or a Scam?
Hypocritically Trained: Military Experience
Phenotyping Webtool Developed by Academics, Who Want ‘Full Disclosure’ of Limitations
32 years after a young woman’s killing in Colorado Springs, a suspect is in custody
DNA leads to arrest in 1987 cold case slaying of Fort Carson soldier
Thornton man arrested in 1987 cold case killing of Fort Carson soldier
Arrest made in Colorado Springs cold case, 20-year-old female Fort Carson soldier murdered
DNA cracks killing of 20-year-old female Fort Carson soldier in 1987
CSPD makes an arrest in 1987 cold case murder
Man arrested in 1987 cold case slaying of soldier in Colorado Springs
Colorado man arrested in 1987 strangulation murder of 20-year-old soldier Darlene Krashoc
Thornton man arrested in 1987 cold case killing of Fort Carson soldier
DNA leads Colorado police to arrest of murder suspect in 32-year-old cold case
DNA leads to arrest in 1987 cold case slaying of Fort Carson soldier
How Army CID, police found suspect in 1987 cold case of soldier killed near Fort Carson
DNA testing leads to break in decades-old Colorado murder case. But privacy questions are being raised.
Darlene Krashoc Murder Finally Solved?