Posted on 10/23/2006 5:09:14 PM PDT by Kaslin
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A sailor pleaded guilty Monday to abducting and killing a Marine corporal he thought had been involved in a gang rape. The rape turned out to be a lie, but the truth surfaced too late.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper Jackson, 23, pleaded guilty Monday to premeditated murder, kidnapping, impersonating a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent and obstruction of justice in connection with the death of Cpl. Justin L. Huff, 23.
In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors agreed to spare him a possible death sentence.
Federal agents had testified at his Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a grand jury investigation, that Jackson had been fooled into falling in love with a woman who called herself Samantha and made up a story about being raped by servicemen.
"Samantha" turned out to be Ashley Elrod, a 22-year-old hotel clerk on North Carolina's Outer Banks, who testified that she lied about being raped. She said she "might have" told Jackson that one of the Marines was named Huff or Huffman, and she said Jackson called her after Huff was killed. Elrod has not been charged.
During his court-martial, Jackson told the Navy judge how he posed as an NCIS agent and took Huff to North Carolina to get information about the purported rape. He said he then slit Huff's throat and buried the body to avoid being caught.
"I'd broken several laws and I had a missing Marine with me," Jackson said at his hearing Monday. "Quite frankly, I was scared of the consequences of what would happen, of being caught, more so than I was of the consequences of taking his life."
If the judge accepts the plea, Jackson could be sentenced to life in prison with or without the possibility of parole, said his lawyer, Don Marcari. The sentencing phase was to begin Tuesday.
Huff, 23, of Indianapolis, was reported missing Jan. 2 after he didn't show up for class at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center in Virginia Beach, where Jackson also was a student.
Agents said Jackson, of Boones Mill, confessed when they questioned him Jan. 12. The next day, he led agents to Huff's body in a wooded area in Currituck County, N.C., just south of the Virginia-North Carolina border.
What did any of this have to do with women in the military?
What on earth are you talking about? What woman in this story is in the military????
That stupid girl, Ashley Elrod, ought to be charged with something. It's outrageous that her lie caused this to happen!
Really.
susie
PLENTY of pictures of the victim on Google News, etc., but not one that I could find of Jackson. I wonder why?
Note that all of this happened in January of 2006. The headline suggests that this just happened.
"PLENTY of pictures of the victim on Google News, etc., but not one that I could find of Jackson. I wonder why?"
LOL I had posted this on the earlier thread.
"I give up, I wanted to see what a man that would do such a thing looks like, but it seems he is a murderer and a serviceman without a picture, I'm also curious what the woman looks like, and what charges she is facing, in all the stories I looked at on the net I couldn't find a picture of either of them.
I did see a picture of the victim who's throat was slit, he was a square jawed, intelligent looking Marine."
What a dumbass
I agree
I guess that is because the article is about the trial, not when the crime happened
RIF
I imagine it's pretty hard for the marine's family to deal with the stupidity of this crime. A stupid girl, a stupid guy and a totally innocent man, who was doing something honorable and good is dead. And they will probably both live long lives.
susie
GMTA! :-)
The woman in question was a hotel clerk.
Make sure you have the right guy.
Rule Number Two:
Make sure the accuser isn't some spaced-out crack whore crying wolf.
They are both so damm dumb. I hope that girl gets boils. Leprosy, stds.
It is indeed very sad.
I really do wish that women would not make up stories about rape. It is a topic not to lie about.
This is the sweathog that Marine got killed for, my dog wouldn't do that POS!
Golly, is that really a picture of her?
Yes it sure is.I'll be back with a video link.
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=5570329&nav=23ii
It's the second one down
It fills me with dread that the moron was going to Intelligence School.
Gasp! Groan! No ... have mercy. Not a video of her as well!
This murderer must be such a dumbbell. My heart goes out to the dead man's family.
I guess Jackson didn't get his rid of his sea legs yet, or his sea eyes. Yikes!
To be fair, the camera adds ten pounds.
This is very odd, I can't find a photo of Jackson anywhere.
After seein' the photo I think Jackson DESERVES death.
so just how many cameras did they have on that woman? :)
What complete wastes of DNA.
jealousy over THAT?!?
She maybe could be sued by the family for defamation... she'll never see a jail.
Jackson had been fooled into falling in love with a woman who called herself Samantha <<<

That's a whole lot of foolin'. How did he manage not to pass out before reaching the required beer intoxication level... what - three, no four kegs on an empty stomach?
Apparently the sailor never met her but talked to her on the phone and probably email. He should just hang himself now that he knows. Not only did he kill an innocent man, but he killed him over that "thing".
Sounds like she enticed him to commit a crime. He committed the crime and should be put down for his actions, but she should also pay the price.
absolutely flaking psycho nuts
"absolutely flaking psycho nuts"
both were nucking futs.
How likely is it that some murderously scheming female will find a willing dupe in the service. And that without ever seeing the dupe face to face. Bizarro.
From the story, Jackson had never met this Ashley Elrod, but "fell in love with the woman he knew as Samantha over the phone." ... "Between the two, I think in 57 days there was almost 1500 calls between the both of them."
Sounds like a phone sex thing. She probably described herself as very sexy looking. She may very well have a sexy voice on the phone.
LOL!
She's on MySpace, go's by the name Half Ton.
LOL. She's lying there too. She goes the full ton...for sure. :-)
LBT
-=-=-
Haha. That was funny!
I wouldn't be surprized if the dead guy never even knew who she was.
I've often thought that there needs to be a law that falsely accusing someone of a crime would be a crime itself that would carry the same penalty as that crime.
It would be justice if she served the same amount of time as a rapist.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.