Marine maintains he shot in self-defense
North County Times, June 14, 2007
CAMP PENDLETON ---- A Marine who survived a roadside bombing in Haditha two years ago disputed reports that the attack was followed by small arms fire.
Marines involved in the civilians killings have maintained that the bombing was followed by an attack of small arms fire aimed at the troops, leading the Marines to assault four homes resulting in 19 Iraqi deaths.
Testifying on the fourth day of a hearing for Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt, who is charged with three counts of unpremeditated murder for his role in the deaths of 24 civilians in Haditha in the fall of 2005, Lance Cpl. Trent Graviss said he never heard shots consistent with AK-47 fire, the weapon commonly used by insurgents.
Graviss said that in the minutes and hours following the Nov. 19 bombing that killed a Marine and injured two others, the only shots he heard sounded like M-16 rifle fire, the weapon carried by most Marines.
Sharratt contends he shot men in self defense. He said the three he killed presented a threat and the first man he shot was holding an AK-47 in a threatening manner.
Graviss said he saw Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich firing at those men and shortly thereafter saw mist in the air that looked like blood. Wuterich is charged with 13 counts of murder and faces a hearing later this year.
As he and Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz detained several people during a search of a house following the bombing, Graviss said he heard a disturbing comment.
"He said we should have shot all the people," Graviss testified.
Dela Cruz was among the four enlisted men charged last December in the Haditha killings. The charges were dropped in April in exchange for his testimony.
Also testifying this morning was Lt. Col. Elizabeth Rouse, a forensic pathologist and medical examiner, who said photographs of four men slain inside one of the homes showed head wounds from shots that came from at least two feet away. No autopsies were conducted on any of the bodies and relatives would not allow U.S. authorities to exhume any remains for examination.
Rouse's testimony would seem to controvert statements given to investigators by survivors of the men, who contend they were herded into the room and killed execution style.
Sharratt has acknowledged killing three of the men in what his attorneys maintain was an act of self-defense. Wuterich shot a fourth man as he followed Sharratt into the room, according to testimony.
Sharratt's case is the first of the accused shooters at Haditha to reach court. When it concludes, the hearing officer, Lt. Col. Paul Ware, will write a report stating whether he believes there is sufficient evidence to order the 22-year-old Sharratt to trial.
The hearing is expected to end Friday.