Fort Hood Army Spc. Justen Glenn Ogden, 22, was found unresponsive at his on post home on July 11, 2017. Spc. Ogden is survived by a daughter, parents, and three siblings. “Family meant alot to Justen, he didn’t let a day pass without talking to his daughter, brother and sister. He was an excellent father, brother, son and soldier. He will be greatly missed (obituary).” Spc. Ogden is from Humble, Texas and he joined the Army in March 2014 as a motor transport operator. In August 2014 he was assigned to 61st Quartermaster Battalion, 13th Expeditionary Sustainment Command at Fort Hood in Texas. At the time of his death, the Army claimed in a press release that the circumstances surrounding his death were under investigation. The official cause of death was unknown until 2020 when the family stated that the Army ruled the cause of death as a self-inflicted gunshot wound. To this day, the family continues to question the cause of death ruling and claims none of the circumstances surrounding the incident add up.
“He died of a gunshot wound that they ruled as a suicide. None of it ever added up! He put his truck in the shop that morning to have a lift kit added! Also, his time of death was around 11 am. He was supposed to be at work and had been there that morning, but he wasn’t found until 6pm when his girlfriend got home! All I ever got from anyone at Ft. Hood were lies and useless condolences!! Something really bad is going on at that base and it needs to be stopped! I have prayed everyday, since I put my son in the ground, that they would be held accountable for the horrific way they are failing our children!!! NO SOLDIER LEFT BEHIND!!” –Justen’s family
Death of a Fort Hood Soldier – Spc. Justen Ogden (Screenshot of the Fort Hood press release because they will delete the on-line version)
Army veteran Marinna Rollins, 23, was found dead of an apparent suicide on May 7, 2017 in Fayetteville, North Carolina. According to reports, Rollins was medically retired from the Army with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after a traumatic event while stationed in South Korea. Rollins was involved in the execution style killing of her estranged husband’s dog Huey around April 16 or 17. The harrowing incident was filmed and released to the public resulting in worldwide coverage. Marinna and her accomplice, Jarren Heng, were both facing felony charges in court. Jarren Heng is an active duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg and he still faces felony charges, although the conspiracy charge was dropped after Marinna died. Meanwhile a Facebook page was created called Justice for Huey and they are also petitioning the Army to take action. According to Marinna’s estranged husband, Matt Dyer, Marinna was watching the dog for him while he was in South Korea but at some point decided she wanted to keep the dog and didn’t want to give Huey back.
Meanwhile, she registered the dog as an emotional support animal. Matt shared that he was okay with her keeping the dog because he thought Huey would be good for her PTSD. Matt and Justice for Huey have been empathetic of Marinna and believe that had Jarren Heng never entered her life, this would not have happened. Matt expressed that he was aware that Jarren hated Huey and was controlling of Marinna. Marinna and Matt grew up together in Windham, Maine and were still technically married as their divorce had not been finalized yet. Initially it appears that Marinna did try and find a home for the dog with no success. Matt thinks Jarren Heng convinced Marinna to get rid of the dog. Did Jarren Heng pressure her to get rid of the dog because it was her soon to be ex-husband’s dog? We may never know the answer to that question but nonetheless this is a very heartbreaking situation: an innocent dog lost a life, another soldier with Post Traumatic Stress lost her life, and Matt lost his childhood friend & wife and his dog.
Curtis Lovelace was a college football star and later a prominent attorney, and then one Valentine’s Day morning his wife, Cory, died mysteriously. The case was closed, but now 11 years later, Lovelace is on trial for her murder — again. “48 Hours” correspondent Maureen Maher joins “CBS This Morning” with a preview of her report.
Massachusetts School of Law explored violent crime in the military with Jennifer Norris, Military Justice for All, and the impact it has on civilians too. Jennifer talked about her experiences with four different perpetrators within the first two years of her enlisted career, the reporting & adjudication process, and the retaliation that ensued and eventually ended a fifteen year career. Also discussed was the jurisdictional hurdles that arise with a transient population like the military. For example, Jennifer was not able to press charges against one perpetrator because he moved out of state after learning he was getting reported. Another perpetrator was active duty Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base, therefore a state National Guard commander did not have jurisdiction of a federal employee. And finally, although Jennifer was able to move forward with two other cases involving high ranking National Guard members with over eighteen years of service, unlike the civilian world, after the cases were adjudicated, they retired with full military retirement benefits and no public records.
Jennifer also shared that although the Department of Defense downplays violent crime in the military and sexual assault appears to be closely monitored by some female members of Congress, everything is not under control. The crime appears to be escalating. The military doesn’t just have a sexual assault issue, they have a domestic violence and homicide issue as well. They also have a pattern of ruling soldier’s deaths both stateside and overseas as suicides, training accidents, and illness despite families strongly protesting and evidence revealing otherwise. Domestic violence is more likely to lead to homicide and unfortunately the two issues have not been given the attention they deserve because until you do the research yourself and see how many families and communities have been impacted by the crimes, suspicious death, and homicide of a soldier or civilian, you wouldn’t know because Congress and the main stream media do not give it the attention it deserves. Homicide and independent investigations of all suspicious deaths should be given the highest priority not only because people have lost their lives and families deserve answers but because someone needs to be held accountable. We must prevent others from becoming victims of these crimes too.
Jennifer discussed the lasting impacts the crimes and retaliation had on her. Jennifer was empowered after doing all that she could do to protect others from getting harmed by the same people, but her squadron did not see it the same way. After the cases were adjudicated, Jennifer faced hostility from a couple of the perpetrator’s friends and her Chain of Command once she returned back to work. She eventually had to transfer to another squadron. It was the professional and personal retaliation that made her start feeling more intense feelings of anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. And unfortunately her next squadron wasn’t any more welcoming then the last. She was told shortly after arriving that ‘no female makes it in the satellite communications work center’ and that she was experiencing hostility from her new Chain of Command because the old squadron called and informed them she was a ‘troublemaker.’ The retaliation had a direct impact on her mental health and cemented an already traumatizing experience with further abuse, indifference, and judgement. By the time she got to her third squadron (almost ten years after the first attack), she learned that the Department of Veterans Affairs treated Post Traumatic Stress resulting from military sexual trauma.
After Jennifer informed her third squadron that she was getting help for the PTS at the Department of Veterans Affairs, she was immediately red flagged and asked to leave the squadron until she could produce a note from her doctor giving her permission to be at work. She did this and jumped through the other hoops asked of her in an attempt to save her career but lost confidentiality in the process. Jennifer walked away from her career in the end because she refused to release her VA records for a security clearance investigation. The entire experience not only opened her up to judgement again (simply because she asked for some counseling due to what someone else did) but she had to prove that she was ‘fit for duty’ while the perpetrators were enjoying full military retirement benefits. Jennifer chose a second chance at a civilian career when she refused to release her confidential VA records for her security clearance investigation because she wanted to ensure a future free of a tainted security clearance. It makes zero sense that someone who is a victim of crime be negatively impacted by the crimes of others in yet another way. The hypocrisy of the system is truly revealed when you look at how the perpetrators were let off the hook but the victim of crime loses their military career because they had the strength to first report and then eventually ask for help.
ID Go: A young mom falls for a married military man after a chance meeting at his naval base. -The Girl with the Gold Earring, Forbidden: Dying for Love (S2,E8)
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.
Preview: Growing up, Eric Witte’s father taught him to protect his family. But when his father became increasingly violent, Eric realised that his father was the evil his family needed protection from. -She Made Me Do It, Evil Lives Here (S2, E2)
As a boy, Eric Witte’s father taught him to protect his family. But as his father grows increasingly violent, Eric realizes that he is the evil his family needs protection from. -She Made Me Do It, Evil Lives Here (S2, 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.
Army soldier Pvt. Wanya Bruns, 20, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Killeen, Texas on November 26, 2016. Pvt. Bruns’ home of record is listed as Bellwood, Illinois and he joined the Army in February 2016. Pvt. Bruns was a cavalry scout assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood in Texas. At the time of the report, the Killeen Police Department investigated the circumstances of Bruns’ death and their findings indicated the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. In effect, Pvt. Bruns committed suicide nine months after joining the Army; five months after getting to Fort Hood. The following comment on MJFA under Spc. Zachary Moore’s story begs the question: Why Are Army Soldiers at Fort Hood Dying at Alarming Rates Stateside?
“48 Hours” goes inside the mind of a serial rapist hunting his victims while two detectives were hunting him. Correspondent Maureen Maher investigates. (November 17, 2016)
On August 11, 2008, Marc Patrick O’Leary raped an eighteen year old at knife point in Lynnwood, Washington. The 18 year old woman reported the rape to her local police department but they accused her of lying and she was charged with false reporting. In 2011, Marc O’Leary was arrested in Colorado for rape and consequently admitted to raping several women in Washington and Colorado. DNA, digital evidence, and O’Leary’s vehicle linked him physically to several rapes. Read more here.
Pvt. Dakota Stump, 19, US Army, went missing from Fort Hood, Texas on October 10, 2016. The family confirmed Dakota was found dead on November 3rd, 2016 on the base. Military officials said Stump’s remains were found next to his flipped-over vehicle 100 yards from the roadway on Fort Hood. An investigator told Dakota’s mother Patrice Wise that his car had rolled multiple times and he was ejected but the crash scene wasn’t visible from the road. Patrice claimed Army officials said they searched the area but because his phone pinged off a cell phone tower in Indiana they thought he was Absent Without Leave (AWOL). Patrice’s response: ‘He was laying in the woods, and nobody would go look.’ Patrice has since started a petition to pass Dakota’s Law which would create a ‘Warrior Alert’ when soldiers go missing. Learn more here:
We need to change Standard Operating Procedures on how Law Enforcement and Military handle situations when our Veterans and Active Duty Members go missing. Which will in turn allow not only Law Enforcement and Military Officials the tools to better locate these individuals, but will help the families and any veterans organizations to assist as well. –Dakota’s Law Petition
