Posted on 06/15/2007 1:12:11 PM PDT by Defend Our Marine
Our son, L/Cpl Justin Sharratt is not a murderer. The media refuses to report the truth about what happened in Haditha on 19 November 2005. The media has blatantly ignored the truth as to what happened in House 4 where 4 Iraqi men were killed. Our son followed his ROE, used his Marine Corps training and survived a firefight when he used lethal force in House 4.
Detailed and scientific testimony by two government witnesses, Lt. Col Elizabeth Rouse and NCIS Agent Mark Maloney, showed the forensic evidence disproves all accounts of murder in House 4.
The Lt. Col testified that her forensic evidence and pathology investigation shows that the shots fired by Marines in House 4 were not at close range. The shots were fired from a distance exceeding 24 inches, 2 feet to infinity. This disproves the Iraqi fairy tale that the Marines herded the 4 Iraqi men into a room and executed them. The Iraqi relatives fabricated this story to illicit Solatia payments (blood money) for the deaths of their kin.
NCIS Agent Mark Maloney provided a total and truthful forensic reconstruction of the events in House 4 where the 4 Iraqi insurgents were killed. Agent Maloney’s statement that the Marines’ testimony about the events in House 4 was “not entirely truthful, nor entirely false” formed the basis of Agent Nyada Mannle’s charge sheet. Agent Mannle believed the coerced testimony of the Iraqi conspirators rather than the testimony of my son, Justin Sharratt and SSgt Wuterich.
NCIS Agent Mark Maloney presented forensic evidence that showed L/Cpl Sharratt shot the first two insurgents while reacting to a hostile threat. The first insurgent was killed when he pointed an AK47 at Justin in the doorway of the bedroom. When his fully automatic SAW jammed, Justin shot the first insurgent with a 9mm service pistol. Blood stain patterns and the position of the Iraqi showed he was not executed, but died from a head wound while attempting to fire at Justin. This evidence verified L/Cpl Justin Sharratt’s account of this first encounter.
The second insurgent was shot after he raked his AK 47 for firing and pointed the weapon at L/Cpl Sharratt. Justin fired his 9mm at the Iraqi, striking him in the cheek, possibly the abdomen and middle finger of his left hand. The forensic evidence verified this second encounter but was weak in the detection of the abdomen penetration. The pictures of the dead insurgent verified the head wound and finger wound but was not positive for a shot in the abdomen. Defense attorneys argued that the pool of blood located around the insurgent’s chest cavity was evidence of a wound typical to an upper abdomen penetration. Niether Rouse nor Maloney could rule out this explanation but confirmation was not positive.
The death of the third insurgent was the fog in the House 4 encounter. Agent Maloney testified that blood stain patterns showed the man died in a corner of the bedroom next to a closet(amoire). Agent Maloney theorized the man was crouching in the corner when he was shot. Defense attorney Gary Meyers cleared the fog by explaining the order of events. Attorney Meyers and Agent Maloney agreed the bedroom was “rather” dark because the window curtains were closed. Gary Meyers stated that the third Iraqi was moving across Justin’s line of sight while trying to retrieve a 3rd AK 47 which was hidden in the closet( amoire.) Prior testimony by the Iraqi patriach of the household provided details that he had hidden the AK 47 in the closet(amoire). A 3rd AK 47. As the third insurgent moved toward the hidden AK, L/Cpl Justin Sharrat fired 4 shots at the man. His first shot missed and penetrated the closed curtains where they overlapped in the middle and exited through the window. NCIS Agent Mark Maloney agreed they had laser line bullet trajectory evidence tracking this first shot. NCIS had 3 points of contact to verify the path of the bullet. A second 9mm bullet missed the moving insurgent and lodged in the wall. This bullet was recovered and laser line evidence verified it was fired by Justin from his static position. The third round fired from Justin’s 9 mm struck the open closet door , where the insurgent was trying to get to the 3rd AK 47. The bullet penetrated the door, inside to outside, and struck the third insurgent in the abdomen. With the closet door(amoire) fully opened, a fourth bullet struck the insurgent in the head as he slumped into the corner. NCIS Agent Mark Maloney verified the third and fourth bullet trajectories. Agent Maloney testified his major concern in the investigation was the penetration of the closet door from inside to outside, entry and exit path. He agreed that the defense explanation of the third bullet matched a laser line path. In his sworn testimony, Agent Maloney said the pattern of events presented by the defense fully explained the encounter in the bedroom. Agent Maloney’s forensic reconstruction fully supported this chain of events.
Although the fourth insurgent was not a factor in the Sharratt case, Attorney Meyers followed through with his cross. While L/Cpl Sharratt was firing at the third insurgent, a fourth man was also trying to get to the closet. With his 9mm empty, Sharratt yelled “I’m out” and ducked behind the doorway to try to clear his SAW. SSGt Wuterich assumed Justin’s firing position and fired two rounds at the fourth insurgent while he was in the closet trying to retrieve the 3rd AK 47.
Attorney Gary Meyers’ rendition of the House 4 events was concise and specific. NCIS Agent Mark Maloney testified the forensic reconstruction verified this conclusion to be the most probable, likely and supportable scenario. Agent Maloney’s only caveat to the testimony was that his forensic reconstruction came some four months after the event and could not be exact. Everyone in the courtroom knew the defense had presented the most accurate reconstruction as to the events in House 4. The prosecution knew it too, they had no re-direct.
I must apologize to the readers of FR for the length and detail I have provided in this article. I felt this was needed to show what the media refuses to print. This forensic evidence shows that my son, Justin Sharratt and SSgt Frank Wuterich were truthful in their account of what happened in House 4. It proves they followed the ROE, used their military training and survived a life and death encounter with four insurgents.
May God bless our Marines and keep them safe
Darryl Sharratt
Nope, that’s a new one one on me.
I wish you all the best in the future and I am in admiration of your strength through the very long year you and your family have endured.
This is a great travesty. Our prayers will continue to support the Haditha Marines.
Ping by all to the article.
This looks like very good news! I’m SO happy for you. Your son is the same rank and age as mine, so we pray for Justin when he’s able to call. Sometimes the system works.
Cindie
Mr. Sharratt,
no need to apologize for being long winded. I salivated over every minute of it. Thank your son for taking out the trash.
Thankyou for all the detail of this case, and more importantly for raising such a fine son. Justin was well served by all his defense attorneys, both civilian and military. Justin has and will alwasy be an honorable Marine who fought for all of us. We are grateful for his service and commend him for standing strong.
AMEN! Congratulations and God Bless you and yours!
They lose the debate in the face of hard evidence and the ammunition that you just gave us is what we need.
I don’t know how to post pictures but I am doing the Happy Dance right now. Get some rest my friend and give Justin and Theresa a big hug from all of us!
Your son is a hero, as are all our military.
Ongoing prayers that this nightmare will soon be officially over.
PERFECT!
Your son is a fine warrior. A hero to me and many. The news media is often the enemy in this country. They enjoy the suffering of our brave troops. And that includes many in congress.
When you see your son, give him a hug for me. He is in my prayers and the Lord is with him always.
Semper Fi
Thank you for your detailed report! It sounds as if this case is falling apart. Hallelujah! My thoughts and prayers are with you and your son. Please know that my family and I are forever grateful for his service to our country.
He is a hero to all of us. God bless you all.
You are darn tootin that he is a hero. This is a farce and Tim McGirk and John Murtha and their enablers within the Marine Corps need to be severely punished for bringing this about.
Thanks for the detailed report. Outstanding. Thanks for the ping, Race. Thanks to Michael Savage for discussing this travesty on his show tonight. Thanks to all contributors to this thread.
America’s finest.
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