“The Department of Defense announced today the death of one soldier and one Department of Army civilian employee who were supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
Sgt. Douglas J. Riney, 26, of Fairview, Illinois, and Michael G. Sauro, 40, of McAlester, Oklahoma, died Oct. 19 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds received from encountering hostile enemy forces.
Riney was assigned to the Support Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. Sauro was assigned to the Defense Ammunition Center, McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, McAlester, Oklahoma.”
According to Reuters, a U.S. official said the attack occurred at an Afghan military ammunition supply point near Camp Morehead outside Kabul. The Americans were visiting the site as part of their train, advise and assist mission when a lone gunman opened fire on them at the entry control point. The assailant, who was later killed, was reported to be wearing an Afghan army uniform.
Sgt. Douglas J. Riney Memorial Video:
Sgt. Douglas J. Riney Memorial Video
Congressional Action In Honor of Douglas Riney:
On Wednesday, May 17, the Illinois House of Representatives adopted a resolution designating the section of Illinois Route 78 from Canton to Farmington as the “Sgt. Douglas Riney Memorial Highway”. The resolution honoring Sgt. Riney is House Joint Resolution 43 sponsored by State Representative Mike Unes (R-East Peoria). -Illinois House GOP (May 18, 2017)
Rep. Cheri Bustos Speaks on her bill to rename the Fairview Post Office in Honor of Sgt. Douglas Riney
Fort Hood Army soldier Douglas L. Bailey, 24, was found dead October 15, 2016 at his on post home. He was a native of Elmira, New York when he enlisted in the Army and was active-duty military for six years at the time of his death. The funeral announcement stated Douglas Bailey was an “amazing husband and father.” Douglas’ obituary stated he “enjoyed hunting, fishing with family and spending time at the family cabin on Trout Lake. Doug loved to play football and was an avid Buffalo Bills fan. His favorite vacation spot was Myrtle Beach with his family.” The official cause of death is unknown.
Poohbear,
Your dad, myself and Belinda and the rest of the family will forever miss you. There will never be a day that we won’t think of you. You were a great son, brother, husaband and friend. Til we meet again my son, we love you then, we love you now, and will forever.
Kelly Bailey
October 30, 2016
Fort Hood Army Spc. Bradley Acker, 25, was found dead at his off-post residence in Copperas Cove, Texas on October 7, 2016. Spc. Acker’s home of record is listed as Canandaigua, New York and he joined the Army in October 2010. Spc. Acker was reclassified as an aircraft power plant repairer and was assigned to 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood in 2014. The Copperas Cove Police Department ruled the cause of death was self-inflicted.
Fort Hood Army Pvt. Nathan Berg, 20, died of an apparent gunshot wound in Killeen, Texas on September 17, 2016. Pvt. Berg’s home of record is listed as Bellevue, Nebraska and he entered military service in May 2016. Pvt. Berg was a combat engineer assigned to the Reception Detachment, United States Army Garrison at Fort Hood. According to a Fort Hood press release, the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation by the Killeen Police Department. The circumstances surrounding his death and official cause of death are unknown.
Fort Hood Army 2nd Lt. Andrew Hunt, 23, was found unresponsive at his on post residence and shortly after was pronounced dead at the Texas installation’s medical center on September 13, 2016. 2nd Lt. Hunt was assigned as the Assistant Squadron S3 to the HHT, 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood for one month before he died. The Army Criminal Investigation Division reported the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation. The circumstances surrounding his death and official cause of death are unknown.
Andrew graduated from St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in 2011. He then was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point where he actively served as a Color Guard member, finishing as the Cadet Color Captain during his senior year. Andrew graduated and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on May 23, 2015 with a B.S. in English. After graduating, 2LT Hunt completed Armor Basic Officer Leadership Course (ABOLC), Army Reconnaissance Course (ARC), Bradley Leader Course (BLC), and Advanced Situational Awareness Training (ASA) at Ft. Benning, GA. Following these courses, 2LT Hunt was assigned to HHT, 6th Squadron, 9th US Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division and served as the Assistant Squadron S3. He earned an Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon. –Obituary
Fort Hood Army Pfc. Stacy Jordan Hardy, 20, “died from injuries suffered after wrecking his motorcycle at the conclusion of a police pursuit” in Killeen, Texas on September 10, 2016. Apparently, the Killeen Police Department tried to pull Pfc. Hardy over for speeding but instead he drove away. According to the Army Times, after a 10-minute chase at upwards of 100 mph, Pfc. Hardy hit a minivan at an intersection and was thrown over 100 feet. None of the individuals in the minivan suffered any serious injuries. Pfc. Hardy was transported to two different local hospitals and died as a result of his injuries the day after the accident. Pfc. Hardy was an infantryman with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood in Texas. He entered the Army in January 2015 and earned the National Defense Service Medal and Global War on Terrorism Medal, among other decorations. According to a Fort Hood press release, the Killeen Police Department investigated the incident.
Preview: When Staff Sgt. Michael Severance goes AWOL the community of San Angelo rallies around his new bride. But there is something more sinister behind his disappearance, and investigators uncover a saga of treachery and passion as big as the state of Texas. -Nightmare Next Door, Investigation Discovery (S10 E2)
Air Force SSgt. Michael Severance was poisoned with animal medications by his veterinarian wife Wendi Davidson on January 15, 2005 in San Angelo, Texas. SSgt. Severance enlisted with the United States Air Force in 1998 and was a flying crew chief stationed at Dyess Air Force Base. He met Wendi at a local club and they hit it off right away. Shortly after meeting, she got pregnant with his child. Michael wanted to do the right thing so he eventually married Wendi and moved in with her in a small apartment attached to her new Veterinarian Clinic. He commuted 90 miles one way to the base where he worked. Michael was reported missing to the local police on January 16th after his wife Wendi informed Michael’s parents that she wouldn’t make the flight to Maine with him for a visit with their child because he was nowhere to be found. She cancelled the flights for all three of them. Michael’s parents also called the base to report him missing but Air Force leadership informed them that their hands were tied until he was considered Absent Without Leave (AWOL). After Michael’s leave was up 8 days later and he didn’t return to duty, he was officially considered AWOL. This prompted the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) to join forces with the local civilian authorities. Wendi led all the investigators to believe that Mike had deserted the military. She claimed that he didn’t want to go back to Iraq and was thinking about heading to Canada. Michael, Wendi, and their child were planning a trip to visit his parents in Maine because Mike was scheduled to deploy to the Middle East after returning from the trip.
The San Angelo police department investigators visited Wendi at her veterinarian clinic on January 17, 2005. Wendi told them Mike had been drinking lately and was out all the time, but investigators observed that all of his personal belongings were still at their shared apartment. On January 18th, Wendi filed divorce papers and attempted to get a restraining order against Mike. Civilian investigators were suspicious of Wendi and believed that she was cold and calculating. They gave her a polygraph test but the results came back inconclusive. Once Mike’s leave was up and he was considered officially AWOL, AFOSI joined the San Angelo police department investigation. AFOSI doubted that Michael was a deserter and would just up and leave. In the meantime, the San Angelo police department put a GPS tracking device on Wendi’s car. They learned that on February 7th, Wendi traveled to a remote area owned by a friend of hers. Because investigators considered Wendi a person of interest, they traveled to the location where she had been and found a large retaining pond on the property. In March 2005, investigators were able to look at the search history on Wendi’s computer and learned that Wendi had done a search for ‘decomposition of bodies’ and ‘how to pass a lie detector test’. Investigator’s confronted Wendi but didn’t buy her story so they started turning up the heat. Wendi appeared to dismiss the investigators and then after the interview left the vet clinic in a hurry. She traveled back to her friend’s remote property but this time the police were there to make sure she wasn’t able to disturb a potential crime scene while they worked on obtaining a search warrant.
In the meantime, Wendi confided in her brother Marshall. She told him that she came home and found Mike dead. She said she was scared so she disposed of his body. But her brother didn’t buy her story either and reported her to the police. On March 6th, law enforcement searched the pond on her friend’s property and found Michael Severance’s body anchored down with cinder blocks. When they searched Wendi’s home and business, they found a knife, rope, drug log book, and bottles of medication. Wendi was arrested for the murder of Mike Severance and after 32 days behind bars, her parents raised the $500,000 bond to get her released. Investigators learned that they had only been married for four months when she murdered him. Wendi gave birth to her first child in October 2001. In December 2003, she met Michael and eventually got pregnant but Michael wasn’t ready to settle down or get married quite yet. And Wendi’s parents apparently didn’t like Mike and labeled him lazy and disrespectful; they did not want Wendi to marry him. In September 2004, Wendi gave birth to their son and they were quietly married twelve days later at the courthouse. Two weeks later, Wendi purchased a veterinarian clinic and Mike moved in with her, despite the commute 90 miles one way to work at the base. Shortly after moving in, Mike was sent to Airman Leadership School in Wichita Falls and then he got orders to go to the Middle East. Mike planned a vacation to Maine in January 2005 so his parents could meet his new wife and child, their grandchild, before he was deployed overseas. After Mike returned from Airman Leadership School shortly before their trip to Maine, he observed that Wendi was cold towards him and her mother made it clear that she didn’t like Mike and she didn’t want Wendi going to Maine.
Michael Severance, US Air Force
The coroner was not able to determine if there was physical trauma to Mike’s body due to decomposition. But an autopsy revealed that Michael overdosed on drugs usually found in an animal clinic. They found Phenobarbital and B-Euthanasia in his system and he was stabbed 41 times after he was dead. Investigators learned from Wendi’s google searches that Mike was most likely stabbed post mortem so his body wouldn’t float to the surface in the pond. Wendi was arrested again on April 15th for evidence tampering after police learned she falsified log records at the animal clinic so she could justify taking the medication she used to kill her husband. Her bail was now $100,000 per tampering. In the meantime, her family arranged for her to have a privately administered polygraph. On May 24th, a grand jury indicted Wendi for murder and shortly after she was released on bond again. While awaiting trial, on August 20th, Wendi was arrested for child endangerment. One of her children got lost while looking for her; she was out at a night club. She spent another night in jail. In preparation for trial, prosecutors theorized that Wendi concocted her homicidal plan on January 14th. She asked Mike out to dinner on January 15th and then afterwards they went to a bar where they drank and danced. Upon return to their residence, prosecutors believe that Wendi mixed Phenobarbital in his drink. After he was unconscious, she plunged a syringe full of B-Euthanasia into his chest. Then she had to get rid of his body so she drove him out to the pond on her friend’s property and used fishing line to tie cinder blocks to his body. From google searches she learned that gases will make the body float so she went back to the retainer pond and stabbed him 41 times to release the gases; she attached more weight to his body.
Wendi Mae Davidson was looking at 9 to 99 years in prison so instead of going to trial, she plead ‘no contest’ which also left things open for appeal. Her lawyers argued the validity of the search warrants and believed that the GPS tracker was placed in an illegal manner; the resulting evidence was fruit of the poisonous tree. Wendi Davidson was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. She also received an additional 10 years for evidence tampering. Investigators and prosecutors were somewhat baffled with the motive for this crime and because Wendi plead ‘no contest’, we may never know the real reason she murdered Mike. Authorities theorized that maybe Wendi was motivated to kill because Mike Severance wanted to leave her. They theorized that Wendi’s mother didn’t like Mike so instead of divorcing him, she killed him. They also theorized that Wendi and her family wanted custody of the child with no incident. It’s important to note that Michael’s family believes Wendi also wanted the $500,000 life insurance payout. This was an unusual case because Wendi never had any known predisposition or tendency for violence but Mike’s family believes that her mother specifically had something to do with Wendi committing the murder. The question remains why didn’t she just divorce him instead of killing him?
Wendi may have made this decision because control and financial motive is a common motive for murder. It was noted that Wendi met Mike at a bar and shortly thereafter became pregnant; he may have been targeted for exploitation. It was noted that Wendi was in debt after purchasing a new animal clinic providing the motive for financial gain. It was noted that the crime was premeditated as evidenced by her plan to steal the medications from her animal clinic used to kill Mike. It was noted that Mike was murdered only four months after marrying Wendi; was he a means to an end? It was noted that Wendi’s parents didn’t like Mike and their beliefs may have been the fuel to light the fire; she may have been manipulated because she didn’t want to defy or disappoint them, afraid of the consequences. It was noted by Mike’s family that Wendi was the recipient of the life insurance policy. It was noted that Wendi attempted to manipulate the investigation and make Mike out to be someone he was not; even going so far as to get a restraining order a couple days after she killed him. Wendi Davidson does appear to be cold and calculating. Wendi Davidson appears to be a sociopath; but she exercised her right to remain silent in another attempt to abuse the process, she knows how the system works. As a result, she is eligible for parole in April 2019; she will be 41 years old.
Source: Nightmare Next Door ‘The Unwelcome Wagon’
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.
When Staff Sgt. Michael Severance goes AWOL the community of San Angelo rallies around his new bride. But there is something more sinister behind his disappearance, and investigators uncover a saga of treachery and passion as big as the state of Texas. -Nightmare Next Door, Investigation Discovery (S10 E2)
*Research not complete. (Includes Lackland AFB, Randolph AFB, Kelly AFB, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Bullis, & Camp Stanley)
“On Jan. 31, 2010, the 502nd ABW took over responsibility as the host unit at Lackland and Randolph. On that day, the 12th Mission Support Group at Randolph inactivated and the 902nd Mission Support Group activated in its place. Meanwhile, the 37th Mission Support Group at Lackland inactivated and the 802nd Mission Support Group activated in its place. At Fort Sam Houston, the wing assumed IOC on April 30, 2010, when the 502nd Mission Support Group (502 MSG) activated. The 502nd MSG also provided installation support for Camp Bullis in northwestern Bexar County. The US Army Garrison at Fort Sam Houston remained active alongside the 502nd MSG until JBSA achieved Full Operational Capability (FOC) on 1 October 2010. At FOC, the Garrison inactivated and the Army civilian employees transferred to the Air Force. On Dec. 4, 2013, in a transformation ceremony held at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, the 502nd, 802nd and 902nd Mission Support Groups inactivated and became respectively the 502nd Force Support Group; the 502nd Installation Support Group; and the 502nd Security Forces and Logistics Support Group.” –502nd Air Base Wing
Spc. Dion Servant, 24, US Army, was found dead in the barracks at Fort Hood, Texas on August 19, 2016. Spc. Servant’s home of record is listed as Maywood, Illinois and he entered military service in June 2014. He was a petroleum supply specialist assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. At the time of his death, military officials indicated they were investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. The official cause of death is unknown.
“His found his little niche in life, and that was military.” She says her nephew loved the military so much he was going to re-enlist. “He was planning on signing up because he told us that. He was just home in July, and he told me that personally that that’s what he was going to do,” Barbara Servant says. –CBS Chicago
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 