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.
Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld today released the following statement (April 7, 2001):
“Americans are saddened by today’s tragic loss of life of both U.S. and Vietnamese service personnel in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Those of us in the Department of Defense, and the families of our missing, are keenly aware of the dedication of both the American and Vietnamese team members who were, on this very day, searching for servicemen who have been missing in action since the end of the war.”
7 Americans, 9 Vietnamese Die in Viet Helo Crash (April 10, 2001):
“The Americans killed in the crash were identified as Army Lt. Col. Rennie M. Cory Jr., commander, Detachment 2, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting; Army Lt. Col. George D. Martin III, incoming commander; Air Force Maj. Charles E. Lewis, deputy commander; Army Sgt. 1st Class Tommy J. Murphy, mortuary affairs team sergeant, Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii; Navy Chief Petty Officer Pedro J. Gonzales, corpsman; and Air Force Master Sgt. Steven L. Moser and Tech. Sgt. Robert M. Flynn, linguists. U.S. Pacific Command officials in Hawaii released the names April 9 at 7 p.m. The Vietnamese dead include the three-member crew and four aircraft technicians. Also killed were two members of the Vietnamese agency that assists U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Task Force-Full Accounting in its investigation and recovery efforts.”
“A Pacific Command investigation into an April 7 helicopter crash that killed seven U.S. servicemen in Vietnam found that deteriorating weather conditions, poor visibility and the Vietnamese pilot’s failure to “properly react” to those conditions were predominant factors in the accident.” –Honolulu Advertiser (October 17, 2001)
Preview: What would you do if you found your spouse sleeping with your best friend? When Stephen Schap found out his wife was pregnant with his best friend’s baby, he couldn’t control his anger. He was charged with premeditated murder and 45 years in jail. -Crazy Love, True Nightmares, Discovery Canada (January 26, 2016)
Editors Note: Love podcasts? Do you want to get up to speed quick with the Stephen Schap murder case, check out Episode 2 on the Military Murder Podcast.
Army Sgt. Stephen Schap and his wife Diane Schap were stationed at Sickles Army Airfield in Fulda, Germany. While living there, Diane began an affair with Sgt. Schap’s best friend. Sgt. Schap suspected Diane was cheating on him and confronted her. Diane admitted to Stephen she cheated on him with another man, she was pregnant, and she wanted a divorce. Sgt. Schap knew the child wasn’t his because he had a vasectomy at a young age. Sgt. Schap immediately suspected his best friend Spc. Gregory Glover and set off to confront him. On December 7, 1993, Sgt. Stephen Schap stabbed Spc. Gregory Glover up to fifteen (15) times before decapitating him on the Army post in front of witnesses. Sgt. Schap then delivered Spc. Glover’s head to his wife Diane while she was at the hospital. Sgt. Schap was charged with premeditated murder and found guilty of premeditated murder by a military jury in April 1994. Premeditated murder usually comes with a life sentence but according to the Military Murder Podcast, the convening authority reduced the sentence to 45 years in prison. Sgt. Schap was motivated to kill because his wife Diane Schap was having an affair with his best friend (betrayal), she was pregnant with Spc. Glover’s child (evidence of betrayal), and she wanted a divorce (took marriage vows seriously). During the trial, there were differences of opinion as to whether this was a case of premeditated murder or a crime committed in the heat of passion, hence the reason the convening authority gave Sgt. Schap a reduced sentence.
The death of a farm owner leads to a murder mystery with a shocking outcome; a random twist of fate raises questions for the parents of a thrill seeking teenager; a women betrays her husband and it leads to an unthinkable, horrifying scenario. -Crazy Love, True Nightmares (S1,E1)
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 