Army veteran Steven Russell, Jr. was convicted of the capital murder of his girlfriend Joy Owen on January 27, 2012. Russell was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors say Russell killed Joy because she tried to leave him. In the middle of the night on November 3, 2009, Russell cocked his gun and fired it four times at Owen with no apparent provocation. The North Little Rock Police Department found Joy Owen’s body around 4:30 a.m. In the course of the homicide investigation, police learned that Russell had received 5-years probation in Clark County, Arkansas for the second-degree domestic battery of another girlfriend in 2008. According to reports, the U.S. Army said Russell was a mechanic stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and he enlisted in the Army in 2001; the year he left the Army was not available.
Steven Russell’s defense team admitted he killed Owen but blamed the shooting on post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by his war service in Iraq in 2003. The attorneys appealed the decision claiming he “had the dubious task of recovering bodies and equipment after they had come in contact with improvised explosive devices.” But the state Supreme Court disagreed with the defense saying the judge was confronted with conflicting forensic evaluations. While two mental health professionals “found that Russell lacked capacity as a result of mental disease or defect to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law or to appreciate the criminality of his conduct, the court also had before it (another doctor’s) opinion to the contrary.” The Supreme Court upheld a Pulaski County jury’s 2012 conviction of capital murder.
“You would have to believe [Owen] did something that reminded him of his Iraqi war experience … and I can’t make that jump. To me, it was too convenient, and there was too much purposeful action.” –Dr. Brad Diner, psychologist
On January 13, 2012, Shannon O’Roark of Texas drove 250 miles to Missouri to kill her estranged husband’s mistress fourty-six year old Dr. Irina Puscariu. Shannon O’Roark Griffin was an aeronautical engineer who worked for NASA training astronauts until she experienced a seizure that put her on definite sick leave. Shannon’s husband was a Colonel in the Air Force who decided he wasn’t ready to retire. Shannon and Col. Roscoe Griffin had been living separately for quite some time and discussed divorce but it appeared Shannon did not want a divorce after twenty years of marriage. Meanwhile, Col. Griffin lost a fellow service member to suicide and it devastated him.
Col. Griffin began seeing Dr. Irina Puscariu, a Veterans Affairs psychiatrist, for help. The professional relationship evolved into a romantic relationship, which is strictly forbidden in the world of psychiatry. Dr. Puscariu put her own career at risk when she chose to date Col. Griffin. Shannon found out thru social media that her husband was seeing Dr. Puscariu when he posted a picture with Irina on Facebook. Col. Griffin also changed his relationship status to “it’s complicated” which to Shannon was rejection, and rejection was the trigger. Col. Roscoe Griffin had no idea what was in store for him when someone is dumped and dangerous.
Shannon may have felt like the post meant the last twenty years were horrible and now I am going to replace you. Shannon asked Col. Griffin to go to a counseling appointment with her one last time in an effort to save the relationship. It would be here she would learn her husband of twenty years loved Dr. Puscariu and wanted to continue to see her. After this counseling session is when Shannon decided to go to Missouri and kill Dr. Puscariu. She wanted to obliterate Dr. Puscariu from her life so the problem would go away. She drove 250 miles to Irina’ home in Missouri and shot and killed her four times in front of her own mother, the last shot was to her face.
Shannon then fled the scene back to Texas and was held in custody until she could be extradited back to Missouri for a murder charge. Shannon plead guilty to second degree murder to avoid a trial. She was sentenced to twenty years for second degree murder and twenty years for armed criminal action. Investigators noted that before this incident Shannon had zero criminal history or violent behavior, she didn’t even have a speeding ticket. But when she got rejected by her husband Col. Roscoe Griffin, it would be jealousy and revenge that would drive her to murder the woman who stole her life.
A woman charged in the slaying of a Gladstone psychiatrist will be coming back to Missouri to face first-degree murder charges. -KMBC 9 (January 17, 2012)
Shannon O’Roark-Griffin, charged in the slaying of a Gladstone doctor, returns to Missouri for the first time since her arrest last week. -KMBC 9 (January 19, 2012)
A former NASA training specialist from Texas allegedly drove to Missouri and gunned down her husbandâs mistress after he admitted in therapy that he was not willing to give up the affair. -HLN (December 3, 2012)
Investigation Discovery:
When their love life goes sour these Deadly Women take lethal revenge. They are “Dumped and Dangerous.” -Dumped and Dangerous, Deadly Women (S11,E13)
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.
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 veteran Remano Campbell, 32, was found shot to death at his home on October 12, 2011 in Mobile, Alabama. Remano served seven years in the Army and deployed to Iraq twice. He survived an improvised explosive device attack during one of his two tours to Iraq. Remano was found dead after his home caught fire. Remano was entering his home when he was shot multiple times. His car trunk was found open and his keys were still in the door. In March 2014, Remano’s widow Eugenia Campbell and her friend Alexander Frank Williams were arrested for his murder. Prosecutors said insurance money was the motive behind the murder. In November 2016, Eugenia Campbell and Alexander Williams were sentenced to life in prison for the first degree murder of Remano Campbell.
Jennifer Reali was having a wild affair with Brian Hood, he made her shoot his wife to death in a parking lot. She did, and now she is serving life in prison. Former FBI profiler Candice DeLong talks face to face with Jennifer to find out the truth -Love Before Life, Facing Evil (S1, E3)
Update:
Reali shot and killed her lover’s wife in 1990. -CBS Denver (April 6, 2018)
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.
This Is An Open Investigation That Has Gotten No Major Publicity And Your Help Is Needed
The day before Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan went on a rampage at Ft. Hood and allegedly shot 43 military personnel, wounding 31 and killing 12, there was another “shooting” at an American military base in Iraq which has been treated far differently by the military: the “execution-style” murder of Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y. at the U.S. military base near Kirkush.
On November 6, 2009 the Department of Defense issued a press release on the death of Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y., who, according to the DOD, “died Nov. 4 in Kirkush, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a “non-combat related incident”: Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y., died Nov. 4 in Kirkush, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. She was assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation. For more information media may contact the Fort Lewis public affairs office at (253)-967-0152, (253)-967-0147.
Army Pfc. Adriana Alvarez, 20, died of injuries sustained while supporting combat operations on February 10, 2010 in Baghdad, Iraq. Pfc. Alvarez was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom on behalf of the 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. According to the Department of Defense press release, the incident was under investigation yet the outcome of the investigation is unknown. According to the Brownsville Herald, Pfc. Alvarez’s sister indicated that she was found with a gunshot wound. An official cause of death could not be determined based on any official statements from the Army or media reports. Although, the Olympian reported“Pfc. Adriana Alvarez, 20, belonged to a military police company at Lewis-McChord and died from injuries of an unexplained nature…in Baghdad, according to a separate report.”
“The U.S. Army policewoman was found Wednesday in Baghdad with a gunshot wound. Military officials were investigating Alvarez’s death, her sister said.” –Brownsville Herald (February 12, 2010)
“Army PFC Alvarez was assigned to the 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. She was found dead of a gunshot wound – under investigation. Adriana always had dreams of becoming a police officer so after she graduated in 2008 from San Benito High School in San Benito, Texas, she joined the Army. She knew the best way to pursue a career in law enforcement would be through the military. In August she deployed to Iraq and kept in touch with her family thru e-mails and phone calls. Two days before her death, she spoke to her sister and said everything was fine. Adriana loved photography, classic rock music and proudly served her country.” (Adriana Alvarez, Find A Grave)
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)
Preview: In the rolling hills of Lenoir, North Carolina, retired Vietnam veteran Roland Younce sells off a patch of his land to Tony Moore and his young family to build their forever home on. Unfortunately, things turn ugly. -Lies, Lawns & Murder, Fear Thy Neighbor (S1, E1)
“Roland Younce, 63, of Caldwell County, North Carolina, allowed his pit bull to roam free in the small rural neighborhood. This decision would prove to have deadly consequences. In January 2008, Younce’s pit bull bit the two young daughters of his 44-year-old neighbor, Tony Moore. As a result, Moore sued Younce for the cost of the medical bills. The judge ruled in Younce’s favor and dismissed the lawsuit. This caused an 18-month feud between the two men. They called the police on each other over frivolous actions and filed several lawsuits against each other.”
Tony and Amy Moore and their two daughters moved into a new home in Lenoir, North Carolina in 2007. Tony and Amy bought their home from Roland Younce, a Vietnam veteran in his 60s, and also their neighbor. Roland was a single man with a dog he considered family and his daughter and her husband lived with him. Tony survived a tragedy and lost one of his legs in a vehicle accident. As a result, Tony stayed home with the girls and Amy worked full-time to support the family. Tony depended on his 4-wheeler to get around the property. Tony and Amy loved their new home and appreciated all their kind neighbors. They all depended on one another to make it work. At first the Moores were friendly with Roland Younce. The neighbors would occasionally BBQ together but they noticed Roland didn’t leave his home very much. Roland’s daughter Alicia on the other hand was a breath of fresh air. She played with the girls and they had a lot of fun. One day, Alicia invited the two girls over to her home to check out her movie collection. The girls stayed on the porch while Alicia went inside Roland’s home to retrieve the movies. One of the girls admitted to opening the door and Roland’s dog Harley lunged towards them and began biting both of them. They were seriously hurt with puncture wounds and had to be taken to the hospital. Roland agreed to pay the hospital bills.
As the hospital bills started rolling in, Tony brought them over to Roland and Roland paid for the first bill he received. Meanwhile, the kids got back to playing and having fun in their backyard. According to Alicia, Tony brought Roland another hospital bill that was for the exact amount as the first one. Roland thought Tony was trying to get him to pay the same bill twice so he refused to pay it. Tony and Amy didn’t feel they should have to pay for any of the bills so Tony filed a judgement against Roland in civil court. Things only got worse when the court sided with Roland on the matter. Nevertheless, Roland asked his son-in-law to tell Tony he would pay $20 a month until it was paid off. Apparently, Tony said no to the offer and demanded all of it. This was when everything went to hell and the tension continued to simmer between the once friendly neighbors. At this point, the friendship was dead so Tony built a property border using some trees to help create more privacy. Roland didn’t like it because he felt they were getting too close to his property line. One day, Tony discovered his disability checks stopped showing up in the mail. He immediately suspected Roland of taking them from the mailbox but he couldn’t prove it. So in retaliation, he would get on his ATV, drive around the property, and make a bunch of noise.
The ATV noise annoyed Roland because he wanted peace and quiet at his home. Tony was on his ATV almost everyday and the blaring engine was getting on Roland’s last nerves. Alicia said Roland was triggered by the noise and he would have flashbacks from his time in the Vietnam war. His dog Harley helped comfort him but both sides were gearing up for combat and no one was backing down. Tony’s disability checks still hadn’t shown up so he asked Roland about it. Of course, Roland denied having any information about the missing checks. Then Roland started bringing his dog outside in what felt like an intimidation tactic to scare the Moore family. And not only was the Moore’s mail disappearing but some trees they planted on their property were missing too. The Moores put up a surveillance camera to see if they could catch the person who was removing the trees from their property. The video captured what looked like Roland Younce’s figure so they took it to the police. But the video wasn’t clear enough for the police to take action. They needed concrete evidence before they could do anything about it. Then one day, Roland went to his mailbox to get the mail only to discover it had been glued shut. He was not able to get the key in the keyhole to open the mailbox. Roland called the police department but they told him the same thing. If he didn’t see Tony do it then their hands were tied.
The police were frustrated by now because they were unable to get these two neighbors to settle down. It appeared both of them wanted to keep things going. Then in another act of intimidation, Roland would take his dog out when Tony’s two daughters came home from school. They were scared to get off the bus knowing the dog had hurt them in the past. Roland would allow the dog to lunge at them and then pull him back. They literally felt terrorized by Roland and the dog. In response, Tony threatened to kill the dog if the intimidation continued. Roland loved his dog and was deeply attached. Roland’s daughter Alicia felt like Tony was the one pushing buttons. Roland expressed concerned to Alicia and her husband that he was going to explode one day. Just months after Tony and Amy Moore bought their new home, they were locked in a war with their neighbor Roland Younce. In another act of aggression, Tony was out on his ATV one day with his daughters and ran over a board with nails in it. It flew up and hit the back of the ATV. Tony was furious because the nails could have seriously injured one of the girls. Tony reported the incident and once again because Tony didn’t see Roland put it there, there was nothing they could do. The Moore family felt isolated and alone in their battle with Roland because no one could help them. They thought Roland could do whatever he liked with no consequences.
Most thought Tony would back down for the sake of his kids but that’s not how things went down. Tony didn’t like feeling like a prisoner in his own home. The police tried to give them advice but neither side would budge. Then one day, the kids went outside and noticed someone had thrown logs in their yard. They alerted their father and all three of them threw the logs back on Roland’s property. Tony and the girls were caught red handed so Roland and his family started throwing the logs back on Tony’s property. Then Roland’s son-in-law Ricky threw a log that almost hit one of the girls. As a result, Tony pulled out a gun and threatened Ricky. He said if he hurt his daughters, he would shoot him. Ricky didn’t back down and told Tony to shoot him because he wasn’t scared. Tony indeed shot near them so Ricky threw a log at him and it hit and injured Tony. The police were called and Roland and Ricky got arrested for assault on a handicap person and a child. Ricky understood why the police arrested him but he didn’t understand why they arrested Roland. Roland didn’t have anything to do with this incident. It also seemed strange that Roland went to jail but Tony didn’t. Apparently, Tony didn’t get arrested because he was in a wheelchair. The two were jailed with no bond and couldn’t get anyone to help them. It took two weeks for Roland and Ricky to get out of jail and both came home with a new level of anger.
Ricky admitted he wanted to hurt people and eliminate the threat. And each time Roland was arrested, it just made him madder and madder. One day Roland threatened to kill Tony so Tony called 911 and the police suggested he leave the home. Roland blocked him in his driveway with his truck and Tony felt trapped. So he made the decision to back up anyways in an attempt to get out of the driveway and wrecked Roland’s truck. After this, Alicia and Ricky moved out of Roland’s home because the whole thing got to be too much and the situation was escalating. Alicia said Roland felt abandoned and the neighborhood feud with Tony continued. Both men were armed and dangerous. Tony felt like Roland was waiting for a confrontation and as a result Tony was always armed. Roland was pushing Tony’s limits too. The two just didn’t like one another. One day Amy left for an overnight trip with work. She said she hated leaving her family because she couldn’t make sure everything was okay at home. On May 27, 2009, Tony heard something on the back porch and when he looked to see what was going on, he was facing Roland’s angry dog at his door. In response, Tony shot the dog. Roland heard the shot and immediately went looking for his dog. Roland threatened Tony and told him if he shot his dog, he was going to kill him. Amy was in Springfield, Missouri (over 1000+ miles away) when she received a phone call from Tony who told her he shot the dog.
Amy knew right away this was not good because Tony took Roland’s best friend away from him. She knew things were fixing to get really bad. Roland called the police to report that Tony shot his dog and he begged the police to get to the scene as quickly as possible because he was going to kill Tony. Tony had called the police as well. When the police arrived at the scene, they didn’t observe anything unusual initially. When the Moores realized the police were there, they started coming out of the home and immediately they all heard gunfire. Roland was shooting at them with a rifle and Tony and one of the girls had been shot. They ran back into their home. Unbeknownst to them, one of the police officers had been shot as well. Roland continued shooting through the windows of Tony’s home. More police were dispatched to the scene. The unharmed daughter contacted her mom and told her what happened. Amy Moore told her to call the police because Roland was still at large. Once the additional officers arrived at the scene, they immediately started treating the officer who had been shot. Dispatch informed the police that Tony and one of the girls had been shot as well and needed their help. The police decided to chance it so they could get to Tony and Ashley. They did not know where Roland was but time was ticking because Tony and his daughter were losing blood. The police decided to use the car as a shield so they could get to them.
The police went towards the home and Tony’s daughter summoned them from the garage. Roland started shooting at them again and this time he hit another police officer. The police shot back in the dark until all of a sudden the shooting stopped. The Police rescued Tony and his girls and took them to the hospital. Amy Moore got emergency flights back to North Carolina so she could get home to her family. Alicia headed to her father’s place after she heard about the chaos only to learn that her dad had been killed in an officer involved shooting. The police didn’t want to kill Roland but had no choice. The next day, Alicia and Ricky went to Roland’s home to see if they could figure out what happened. They found the dog certificate torn up and could see where he cried on those pieces of paper. Roland was devastated by the loss of his dog and he decided to take justice into his own hands. All those injured on the scene lived but they were seriously harmed with lasting impacts. One of the police officers lost his career because of the injuries. And after about a year on the job, the other injured police officer realized he just couldn’t do the work anymore. This one night of violence impacted all involved. It was traumatizing, preventable, and tragic that anyone had to lose their life because they couldn’t work out their differences.
Source: ‘Lies, Lawns & Murder’ Fear Thy Neighbor
ID Go: In North Carolina, a retired Vietnam veteran sells off a piece of his land to a young family. No one can predict the modern day Hatfield McCoy neighbor feud that will ensue and the midnight shootout that will end it. -Lies, Lawns & Murder, Fear Thy Neighbor (S1, 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.
HISTORY – Twisted Philly – Episode 14: PART 1 – Ms. Rambo
To recap part one, Sylvia Seegrist was a resident of Springfield, Pennsylvania, a suburb about 10 miles outside the city… -Ms. Rambo, Twisted Philly
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 