Army Spc. Michael Henry Bailey II, 26, died on December 29, 2011 from injuries sustained from a gunshot wound on December 23, 2011. He was assigned to 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, in Fort Hood, Texas. Spc. Bailey deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from May 2011 to November 2011. At the time of the Army press release, the incident was under investigation. According to a family petition, they believe that there was more evidence supporting murder then suicide. They asked the Army and the Killeen Police Department to investigate the circumstances further as they believe that someone close to Spc. Bailey’s life had motive (life insurance) and this person was allegedly present at the location on the day of the shooting.
Army Specialist Mikayla Bragg died of a non combat death in Khowst province, Afghanistan on December 21, 2011. Spc. Bragg was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on behalf of the 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division in Fort Knox, Kentucky. The Army ruled that Spc. Bragg’s cause of death was suicide. After an investigation it was revealed that commanders at Fort Knox failed to properly track Spc. Bragg as a “high-risk” soldier who could potentially hurt herself or others before she was cleared to deploy to Afghanistan. The Army investigators also made three recommendations in the report.
Mental-health providers stateside should share more information about high-risk soldiers with mental-health providers in war zones. Camp Salerno’s behavioral-health officer said she had been unable to get mental-health records for Bragg because of privacy laws.
Commanders should develop better procedures to ensure personnel data is not lost while transferring soldiers between units.
No soldier, regardless of gender, should be stationed in a guard tower alone.
According to the U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs, unit officials conducted a health and welfare inspection of Sgt. Kimberly D. Agar’s barracks room after Agar missed a medical appointment. The corporal was found unresponsive and German emergency medical personnel were contacted. A German doctor pronounced Kimberly dead at the scene on October 3, 2011. An investigation into the cause of death determined Kimberly died by suicide. Kimberly’s mother has since dedicated her life to raising awareness of active-duty suicide rates in an effort to prevent suicide within the active-duty ranks.
Airman First Class Kelsey Anderson was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on June 9, 2011. According to media reports, she was found in a locked stall in a second-floor women’s bathroom inside an aircraft maintenance hangar at the base. The military investigation indicated that a few months after Kelsey arrived at Guam, she was stripped of her service revolver over mental health concerns. Although Kelsey’s weapons privileges had been restored about a month prior to her death. The reports stated that Kelsey may have been unhappy after trying and failing to be transferred from Guam or released from military service. Kelsey’s parents had to file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to get the Air Force to turn over its investigation records. They simply wanted answers for their daughter’s tragic and unexpected, untimely death yet the Air Force concealed the details. Chris and Adelia Sue Anderson received the mostly redacted investigation reports almost two years after their daughter’s death. The final court settlement with the Air Force in September 2013 was for the cost of the attorney they had to hire in their quest to get the information they were entitled to have. It’s unfortunate that this family had to wait two years for answers and even more unfortunate that they were forced to go to court during one of the most difficult times of their life.
What could have been done to prevent this? What kind of mental health services were offered to Kelsey? Why did Kelsey want to leave Guam and/or get out of the military? Why was she upset after finding out that she was not able to transfer or get out of the military? What were the extenuating circumstances that made Kelsey feel like she had no options other then suicide? Is this a suicide? After so many families have come forward with concerns that their loved one was murdered despite a ruling of suicide, do we know for sure that this was a suicide? It happened in Guam. There is absolutely no one to hold the Air Force accountable in that setting. There is no way to ensure that the Air Force investigated the scene as both a potential homicide or suicide. It’s as simple as what the Air Force says happens is what happened. Every government entity should have a mechanism by which they are held accountable. Where does a grieving parent turn to when they do not agree with the military investigator’s or medical examiner’s findings? Who holds the individual branches or Department of Defense accountable? The only body of people that can hold the military industrial complex accountable is the US Congress and even they struggle. Time and time again we hear accounts from service members and families that contacting their congressional Representative or Senator did not help. Some help, some don’t, and some never call you back. Every level of government should have accountability of some kind because this country was founded on the principles of checks and balances in our system.
“Enlisting U.S. Sen. Jim Risch‘s office for help still didn’t yield results.” -Chris & Adelia Sue Anderson
In an interview the Andersons’ lawyer emphasized that the prolonged wait and anxiety of suing the federal government in a last-ditch effort for information intensified the couple’s pain after the loss of their daughter. He empathized as a father of three and shared that he could not imagine losing a child thousands of miles away and not knowing what happened to her. No parent should have to wait nearly two years before the government decides to produce the information they deserve to have.
The grieving parents of a 19-year-old Idaho woman who died serving her country thousands of miles from home say the U.S. Air Force won’t give them information about the circumstances of her death. -NewsMedia24
A profile of Clay Hunt, a Marine who recently took his own life while waiting for upgraded benefits from the VA. (May 31, 2011)
“Clay had the world at his fingertips,” a friend recalls. Why did the Marine combat vet take his own life? -CBS News (March 3, 2013)
President Obama makes remarks before signing the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. -CBSN (February 12, 2015)
On February 12, 2015, President Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act into law at the White House. -The Obama White House (February 12, 2015)
President Obama signed the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act. -C-Span (February 12, 2015)
The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act is law tonight. -WGAL TV (February 12, 2015)
Clay Hunt, U.S. Marine Corps Veteran
Marine and veteran advocate Clay Hunt died by suicide in his Sugar Land, Texas home on March 31, 2011. Clay Hunt was open about his journey with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from combat and used his advocacy to help other service members and veterans struggling with the invisible battle. His unexpected death prompted his family to speak out and they shared that his perceived ill treatment by the Department of Veterans Affairs was part of the reason he took his own life. In their quest to get justice for their son, they were able to inspire the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention Act for Veterans passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama on February 12, 2015. According to President Obama’s website, the bill would require annual third-party evaluations of VA’s mental health care and suicide prevention programs; create a centralized website with resources and information for veterans about the range of mental health services available from the VA; and require collaboration on suicide prevention efforts between VA and non-profit mental health organizations. On March 13, 2019, AMVETS published a press release revealing their outrage with the Department of Veterans Affairs Clay Hunt Report. They requested a new report from the Veterans Affairs immediately, one that utilizes an outcomes based approach.
Army Staff Sgt. Amy (Seyboth) Tirador died of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident in Kirkush, Iraq on November 4, 2009. Staff Sgt. Tirador was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Washington. This was Amy’s third tour of duty in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The Department of Defense announced the circumstances surrounding the incident were under investigation at the time of the press release. Media reports declared that Amy was found by a maintenance worker in the base’s small generator room with a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. The Army pathologist ruled the cause of death as a ‘self inflicted gunshot wound’ but Amy’s mother Colleen Murphy disagreed and vowed to launch a private investigation. The family expressed concerns publicly that this was an execution style murder on a secure base and that she was killed in the generator room to muffle the sounds of the gunshot. Amy’s DNA evidence was found on the 9mm and that of another person. The family shared that the investigation report attempted to lead one to believe that Amy was considered high risk for suicide because of pressures at work as an Arabic translator and a strained marriage. Amy’s husband Michael Tirador was living at the same deployed location in Iraq as Amy at the time of her death. Amy’s mother denied any history of depression or substance abuse and does not believe her daughter died by suicide.
A year after Amy’s death the Army Criminal Investigation Division indicated in media reports that the investigation was not completed and no final rulings had been made. Yet Colleen Murphy shared that she was told the case was officially closed and expressed frustration with the miscommunication she typically experienced with Army bureaucracy. Amy’s mother also indicated that a lot of women in the military who have died have had their deaths falsely ruled as suicides. Colleen learned from other families who have lost their loved ones that they have even exhumed their daughters’ bodies and found that, without a shadow of a doubt, they did not kill themselves. Colleen indicated that she was going to get a second autopsy in light of the Army pathologist’s determination of cause of death. Michael Tirador expressed in interviews that he did not believe that his wife committed suicide and ordered that her body be exhumed for a second autopsy. Michael was of course a person of interest but his DNA did not match the second DNA profile on the gun. Colleen Murphy indicated that despite Michael’s claims that they had a good marriage, Amy wanted to divorce him. Amy’s father Greg Seyboth expressed concern that her work as a interrogator made her a high-profile target. Retired Army Colonel Ann Wright validated Amy’s family when she published an article stating that several female soldier’s deaths have been grossly mislabled by the military yet when faced with further evidence, they refused to change their findings. Colleen Murphy stated that she will never accept that her daughter committed suicide and that the Army is covering up the real reason that she was killed.
Tirador’s “greatness” has been shrouded in military “secrecy”. Her military legacy clouded by the military’s label of a “non-combat” death. An execution-style death in a “secure area” on an American military base in a war zone. –Family of Amy Tirador
Amy Seyboth-Tirador should have been coming home from her tour of duty overseas very soon. Instead, family and friends are planning a big memorial event in her honor. It’s a ride to remember the Army staff sergeant whose death still remains a mystery to loved ones. -WNYT NewsChannel 13 (August 6, 2010)
Interview with Amy Seyboth Tirador’s mother, 2 of 4 -810 WGY News (February 4, 2010)
Interview with Amy Seyboth Tirador’s mother, 4 of 4 -810 WGY News (February 4, 2010)
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)
Date: July 25, 2009 Victim: Michaela ‘Micky’ Widmer Offender: Ricardo ‘Rick’ Taber (said he was Army veteran, served in Vietnam) Location: St. Peter, Minnesota Circumstances: Neighbors, Rick had inappropriate boundaries, Rick gave Micky’s daughter expensive gifts and it caused problems in her relationship with fiancé Darnell Mears, Micky and her daughter went missing, neighbors found Rick dead in his home, teenagers found what they believed was a little girl, Micky’s daughter Cindy was found alive, investigators located a knife and Micky’s belongings in a dumpster including an $18,000 check written to Micky from Rick, Micky’s body was located in the same cemetery Rick’s aunt was buried in, her hands were bound behind her back, her bra was removed and she was stabbed to death, it is believed Rick may have wanted sex and got angry when he was rejected, autopsy revealed Micky was not sexually assaulted, the residents tore down Rick’s home, aunt and uncle have custody of Cindy, Disposition: Rick never served in the military (stolen valor) & died by poisoning, suicide
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.
Air Force Commander Brigadier General Thomas Tinsley died in his home at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska of an apparent self-inficted gunshot wound to the chest on July 27, 2008. He was a fighter pilot and flew the F-15, F/A-18 and F-22A. The cause of death was ruled suicide by Air Force officials. The circumstances surrounding his death are being questioned by others including his family.
Col. Richard Walberg, who assumed command at Elmendorf after Tinsley’s death, said Tinsley was not under investigation or undue stress. “Gen. Tinsley was under no investigation,” he said. “As far as stress, sir, this job, by nature of being an Air Force officer in a nation at war, is stressful. Undue stress, no.” –The Mercury News
Pvt. Matthew Brown, U.S. Army (photo: Vanity Fair)
Army Pvt. Matthew W. Brown, 20, of Zelienople, Pennsylvania, died May 11, 2008 in Asadabad, Afghanistan from injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. Pvt. Brown was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom on behalf of the 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery Regiment, 18th Fires Brigade (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. At the time of the incident, the Department of Defense announced Pvt. Brown’s death was under investigation. On January 8, 2019, the family alleged Matthew was murdered in a Vanity Fair publication titled “Leave No Soldier Behind”: The Unsolved Mystery of the Soldier Who Died in the Watchtower.
