Frank Wuterich

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SSgt Frank Wuterich

United States Marine Corps
Place of birth New London, Connecticut
Allegiance Flag of the United States United States of America
Service/branch United States Marine Corps
Rank Staff Sergeant
Unit 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines
Battles/wars Operation Iraqi Freedom

Frank Wuterich is a Staff Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and had been alleged to have participated on 19 November 2005 in a war crime in Haditha, Iraq, where the Marines are accused of having killed 24 civilians after a Marine had died in an insurgent attack.

On September 3, 2007, the Article 32 hearing investigating officer recommended that Staff Sgt. Wuterich be tried for negligent homicide in deaths of two women and five children, and that charges of murder be dropped.[1] Charges against the other Marines directly involved in the incident had been recommended dropped after their hearings found the charges were not supported by the evidence.[2]

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[edit] Background

Wuterich grew up in Meriden, Connecticut, and graduated from Orville H. Platt High School in 1998. He was well known as an honor student, jazz trumpet player, and drama club president. In his senior year of high school Wuterich enlisted in the Marine Corps. He originally intended to join the Marine Corps Band, but was not accepted.[3] Before going to Iraq, Wuterich was stationed in Hawaii, and later at Camp Pendelton, California, as an instructor at Marine Combat Training (MCT). MCT is essentially a condensed version of the School of Infantry (SOI), and teaches basic infantry skills to Marines who will work in non-infantry occupations (and since "every Marine is a rifleman", all non-infantry Marines must attend MCT). At this school, he was described as level headed and taught his young and older Marines to follow orders. In Hawaii he met his wife Marisol, and they have since had three daughters.[4] This was the first tour of duty in Iraq for Wuterich.

[edit] Haditha killings

According to news reports Wuterich was the senior Marine on patrol (no commissioned officers being present), and after the killings, allegedly lied to his commanding officers by stating that 15 of the dead Iraqi civilians were killed in the same IED explosion that touched off the incident.[5] Time magazine has reported that military investigators had placed Wuterich in at least two of the houses in which the killings took place.[6]

On 11 June 2006, the Washington Post reported a detailed account of Wuterich's version of events as related through his attorney, Neal A. Puckett.[7]

Many news reports have contradicted Wuterich's version of events, claiming that the Marines entered several houses and deliberately killed civilians. Besides photographic evidence of the killings provided by Iraqi journalism student Taher Thabet and testimony from a young Iraqi girl who survived by hiding described watching the Marines shoot her family members systematically.[8] The photographs and forensic evidence were later used to corroborate the Marines' version of events.[9]

Since being named in news reports in connection with the killings, several of Wuterich's family members have spoken out in his defense. Wuterich's father, Dave Wuterich, told the Associated Press that “I just don't believe that he [Frank Wuterich] would do something like that.”[10] Wuterich's sister Maria Wuterich also came to his defense in a discussion at thinkprogress.org. Previously, Marisol, Wuterich's wife, had praised her husband in blog postings.[11] On 19 June 2007, Marisol Wuterich and her father-in-law were interviewed on Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes. Both said that they back Frank Wuterich “100 percent”.[12]

Captain James Kimber, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey R. Chessani, and Captain Luke McConnell according to a report by The Times on 29 May 2006 were all relieved of their duties on suspicion of inadequate reporting of or investigation into the Haditha incident.

[edit] Congressman Murtha

On 2 August 2006, Wuterich filed a lawsuit naming Representative John Murtha (D-PA) as a defendant in a libel case. Wuterich's lawyers claimed that Murtha harmed Wuterich's image by popularizing the Haditha Killings.[13]

More recently Wuterich's lawyers admitted at a news conference that Murtha identified Wuterich's squad and not Wuterich himself[citation needed]. Murtha also has said said he does not blame Wuterich for "lashing out"[citation needed].

On 1 September 2007, news outlets[14] reported on a hearing of Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, a subordinate of Wuterich at the time of the Haditha incident, in which Dela Cruz testified against Wuterich.

[edit] Dela Cruz testimony

Dela Cruz claimed that Wuterich had, following a bombing in which Marines were injured and that took place about one week prior to the Haditha incident, instructed his men to kill any nearby Iraqi in case of another bombing to "teach them a lesson". Dela Cruz also contradicted Wuterich's account that the five unarmed men from a nearby car, which Wuterich is accused of having shot to death, were trying to run away, and instead said that they were "just standing around", and that some of them held their hands behind their heads when Wuterich opened fire. He claimed that Wuterich then fired them in the chests at close range to ensure their death. Dela Cruz admitted to having fired upon the men himself but claimed that by the time they had already been dead. He also admitted to having urinated on one of the bodies, and said that at the time he thought the men responsible for the bombing, and that his emotions had taken over due to the death of Lance Corporal Terrazas and the injuries the IED inflicted on two other Marines.

Dela Cruz also testified that Wuterich later instructed him to tell anyone who asked that the men had tried to run away, and were consequently shot by the "Iraqi Army". Dela Cruz admitted to having lied to investigators on at least two occasions and claimed that he could not tell the truth until prosecutors dropped the charges against him.[citation needed]

Aerial footage of the area that an unmanned drone shot minutes after the IED explosion put the claim that the men had tried to flee into question, but also cast doubt about Dela Cruz's account of his role in the shooting.[15]

Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, one of Wuterich's defense attorneys, disputed Dela Cruz's account of the incident and questioned his credibility for changing his story several times during the investigation.

On 2 September 2007, an updated re-airing of 60 Minutes, narrated by Scott Pelley, disclosed that Wuterich did not have to go to Iraq, but went because "he wanted to see war". Pelley also revealed that all charges had since been dropped against Sanick Dela Cruz and two others.

[edit] Charges levelled

On 21 December 2006, the US military charged Wuterich with 12 counts unpremeditated murder against individuals and one count of the murder of six people "while engaged in an act inherently dangerous to others".[16]

When announcing the charges, Colonel Stewart Navarre said, "We now know with certainty the press release was incorrect and that none of the civilians were killed by the IED (improvised explosive device) explosion".

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mark Walker, Officer: Drop murder charges against Haditha Marine, North County Times, September 3, 2007.
  2. ^ Alex Roth and Rick Rogers, Evidence against Marines called weak, San Diego Union Tribune, July 12, 2007.
  3. ^ Chedekel, Lisa. "In Defense Of A Son", Hartford Courant, 13 June 2006. Accessed 13 June 2006.
  4. ^ Tanner, Adam. “Family, colleagues praise Marine in Haditha probe”, Reuters, 14 June 2006. Accessed 16 June 2006.
  5. ^ Ricks, Thomas. "White House braces for damning report on Haditha", The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 June 2006. Accessed 4 June 2006.
  6. ^ Duffy, Michael, McGirk, Tim, and Ghosh, Aparisim. “The Ghosts of Haditha”, Time Magazine, 4 June 2006. Accessed 16 June 2006.
  7. ^ White, Josh. "Marine Says Rules Were Followed", The Washington Post, 11 June 2006. Accessed 16 June 2006.
  8. ^ McGirk, Tim. "Collateral Damage or Civilian Massacre in Haditha?", Time Magazine, 19 March 2006. Accessed 22 June 2006.
  9. ^ Zielbauer, Paul von. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/world/middleeast/15haditha.html "Forensic Experts Testify That 4 Iraqis Killed by Marines Were Shot From a Few Feet Away"], NY Times, 15 June 2007.
  10. ^ Eaton-Robb, Pat. "Father Supports Marine in Haditha Probe", Washington Post, 12 June 2006. Accessed 16 June 2006.
  11. ^ Tanner, Adam. "Family, colleagues praise Marine in Haditha probe", Reuters, 14 June 2006. Accessed 16 June 2006.
  12. ^ Transcript of Hannity and Colmes, 19 June 2006. Accessed 22 June 2006.
  13. ^ "Marine Names Murtha in Defamation Suit"
  14. ^ The Washington Post, "Witness Describes Iraq Killing" Accessed 2 September 2007
  15. ^ PBS FRONTLINE, "Rules of Engagement", original air date Feb 19, 2008.
  16. ^ "U.S. Marines charged with murder in Haditha". Reuters AlterNet. Accessed 22 December 2006.
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