Posted on 07/03/2006 3:46:35 PM PDT by motife
Ex-Soldier Charged in Brutal Rape, Slayings By TIM WHITMIRE
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (July 3) - A former Army soldier was charged with the alcohol-fueled rape and killing of a young Iraqi woman and the murder of her family, a crime the attackers apparently tried to cover up by burning the victims' bodies.
Steven D. Green, a 21-year-old former private first class discharged this spring for a "personality disorder," made an initial appearance on rape and murder charges in a federal courtroom Monday morning, three days after he was arrested by FBI agents in western North Carolina.
Green was ordered held without bond while waiting to be taken to Louisville, Kentucky, where he faces four counts of murder and one of rape stemming from the March incident. Each of the murder charges carries a possible death sentence.
According to an affidavit unsealed during his court appearance, Green was part of a group of four soldiers from the Fort Campbell, Kentucky-based 101st Airborne Division who invaded a home near the traffic checkpoint they manned in Mahmoudiya, Iraq, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad. Once inside, the affidavit said, Green and another soldier raped a young Iraqi woman who lived there.
Two other soldiers from the division's 502nd Infantry Regiment who were present and interviewed by investigators said Green fired shots from an AK-47 submachine gun that killed the woman, as well as three members of her family: a man, woman and a young girl.
The FBI affidavit estimated the rape victim's age as 25, but a neighbor in Mahmoudiya said Monday she was 14.
The military's investigation into the killings first became public last week. U.S. officials in Iraq have said they learned of the deaths in March, after the family's bodies were found inside a burned residence. They initially believed the killings were a result of sectarian violence.
Investigators in Iraq have said they believe the soldiers planned the rape for up to a week. According to the affidavit, written by Louisville-based FBI agent Gregor Ahlers, Green and fellow soldiers discussed the attack while drinking on the night of March 11, then changed clothes in an effort to disguise themselves before going to the woman's home and carrying out the assault.
Upon arriving at the residence, Green took the woman's relatives into a bedroom, according to one soldier interviewed by investigators. The sound of gunshots from inside the room followed, and Green emerged to say, "I just killed them, all are dead," the affidavit said.
"Immediately after this, (the soldier) witnessed (another soldier) and Green rape the woman ... . After the rape, (the soldier) witnessed Green shoot the woman in the head two to three times," Ahlers wrote.
Another soldier present during the attack told a similar story and said he was instructed afterward to dump the murder weapon in a nearby canal, which he did.
Investigators also interviewed a fifth soldier, who was left behind to man the radio at the traffic checkpoint. That soldier said Green and three others returned from the woman's house "with blood on their clothes, which they burned. Immediately after this, they each told (the soldier) that this is never to be discussed again."
Ahlers said in the affidavit he reviewed photos taken by Army investigators in Iraq of bodies found inside the burned house, including photos of an Iraqi man, woman and young girl who all appear to have died of gunshot wounds. He said he also reviewed a photo of a burned body of "what appears to be a woman with blankets thrown over her upper torso."
An official familiar with details of the investigation in Iraq has told The Associated Press that a flammable liquid was used to burn the rape victim's body in an attempted cover-up.
The satellite channel Al-Jazeera gave wide coverage to the alleged attack. But according to the affidavit, military officials learned of the American role in the deaths less than two weeks ago, after a soldier confessed to involvement during a routine military counseling session.
[b]The soldiers accused in the rape and killings are from the same platoon as two soldiers whose mutilated bodies were found June 19, three days after they were abducted by insurgents near Youssifiyah, southwest of Baghdad. Military officials say they believe guilt over the mutilations may have spurred the confession.[/b]
No other soldier has been charged in the case, said Maj. Joseph Breasseale, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. However, military officials have said four Army soldiers have had their weapons taken away and are confined to their base near Mahmoudiya.
Authorities did not say why Green was arrested in Marion. According to the affidavit, he was expected to return a rental car to Fort Campbell on Friday or Saturday, after attending a funeral in Arlington, Virginia, for one of the mutilated soldiers.
Green served for 11 months with the 101st Airborne Division, according to the affidavit, and he received an honorable discharge "before this incident came to light. Green was discharged due to a personality disorder."
Green will have a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing on July 10 in Charlotte, and will then be brought to Louisville, said Marisa Ford, chief of the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Louisville.
The mayor of Mahmoudiya, Mouayad Fadhil, said Monday that Iraqi authorities had started their own investigation. He said U.S. Army officers were also seeking permission to exhume one of the bodies; the U.S. military declined to comment on the report because the investigation is ongoing.
Associated Press writers Brett Barrouquere in Louisville, Mark Sherman in Washington and Kim Gamel and Robert H. Reid in Baghdad contributed to this report.
7/3/2006 16:22 EDT
Not good...
Ick
String'em up. We dont need criminals like this representing America..
This one looks like it has legs.
I think we need to wait for the case to come to court. Every one is pressumed innocent until proven guilty. However, if he is indeed proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt, he should pay the ultimate price.
This is not the way to Win Hearts and Minds.
I'll wait for the facts to come out on this before jerking my knee like the other posters did on this thread.
You're right. They didn't behead the victims, as a good Muslim would have done.
That was sarcasm--but this isn't: Let's wait until this plays out in court. Charges have been filed before, and the accused found innocent.
They did this March 11th.
The soldiers (from the same platton) were mutiliated June 19th.
So was this particular attack a direct retaliation - a blood feud? Particularly as "Military officials say they believe guilt over the mutilations may have spurred the confession."
I would speculate that there was some direct connection that caused the military to start asking some pointed questions.
The guy has been charged. With rape and quadruple murder.
If anybody is knee-jerking it is those who insist that "our military just does not do stuff like this."
Special prayers for the 101st AB.
I suspect that their may be a serious leadership problem in this platoon/company/battalion. That said, this battalion has been taking some serious casualties of late. Not an excuse for this sort of thing, but just an acknowledgement that we are expecting a great deal from these young men. Almost all will rise to the occasion and act bravely and honorably. My own experience has been that when acts of indiscipline occur - look to the leaders, something is not right at that level.
Charged, Sinkspur, they were charged. Did they get convicted?
Prayers for the family of the murdered, the 101st can look after themselves.
I'm really getting fed up with your attitude.
You seem to be unable to refrain from jumping on every single thread about this topic and cheering for the prosecution. I know- I'm not quoting you - I know you never said that.
There are a lot of us who will be heartbroken if these allegations are proven in COURT to be true. It just seems you look forward to it happening.
I'm not trying to start a fight or flame- just had to say my piece.
This was the same thought I had. The later event may have not been random. If I remember right, the June 19th incident was where a checkpoint was overrun by a large group of armed men who killed the driver of a humvee and took 2 riders hostage. Was it the same checkpoint?
Ditto.
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