Posted on 08/07/2006 12:41:28 PM PDT by MizSterious
By RYAN LENZ, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago
U.S. soldiers accused of raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl drank alcohol and hit golf balls before the attack, an investigator said Monday at a U.S. military hearing to determine whether they should stand trial.
Criminal investigator Benjamin Bierce said he interviewed one of the accused, Spc. James P. Barker, on June 30, and recorded graphic and brutal details of the alleged assault on March 12.
Bierce was testifying on the second day of the hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand trial in the rape-slaying of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killing of her father, Qassim Hamza; her mother, Fikhriya Taha; and her 5-year-old sister, Hadeel Qassim Hamza, in the town of Mahmoudiya, one of the most violent areas in Iraq.
The rape and murders are among the worst in a series of cases of alleged misconduct by U.S. service members that have tarnished the American military.
Barker's sworn and signed statement was submitted as evidence during the hearing and Bierce revealed portions during his testimony.
Barker is accused along with Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, Pfc. Jesse V. Spielman, Pfc. Bryan L. Howard of rape and murder. Another soldier, Sgt. Anthony W. Yribe, is accused of failing to report the attack but is not alleged to have been a direct participant.
Former Pfc. Steven D. Green was discharged from the Army for a "personality disorder" after the incident and was arrested in North Carolina in June on rape and murder charges. He has pleaded not guilty in federal court and is being held without bond.
At Monday's hearing, Pfc. Justin Watt testified that Howard told him before the incident that Green, Cortez and Barker had planned to rape a girl, and Howard was to be the lookout.
"There's nothing I've read that says what to do if your buddies have raped and murdered a family," Watt said.
Another investigator, Michael Hood, testified that he interviewed Spielman, who denied shooting or having sex with anyone in the house. Spielman passed a lie detector test, Hood said.
According to Barker's sworn statement cited by Bierce, Green not only raped the girl but also shot her and her family members after telling his comrades repeatedly that he wanted to kill some Iraqis.
Bierce testified that on the day of the attack, Barker, Cortez, Spielman and Green had been playing cards and drinking Iraqi whiskey mixed with an energy drink. Afterward, they practiced hitting golf balls, Bierce quoted Barker as saying in his statement.
Bierce said Barker's statement made it clear that Green was very persistent about killing some Iraqis and kept bringing up the idea. At some point, they decided to go to the house of Abeer, whom they had seen passing by their checkpoint earlier.
According to Bierce, Barker told him that when they arrived at the house, Abeer and her father were outside. Spielman grabbed Abeer while Green seized her father and took them into the house, Bierce said, quoting Barker. Cortez and Barker also went in.
Green took the father, mother and the younger sister into the bedroom and closed the door, while Abeer remained in the living room with the others.
Barker wrote that Cortez pushed Abeer to the floor, lifted her dress and tore off her underwear while she struggled, Bierce said. Cortez appeared to rape her, according to Barker's statement, Bierce said.
Barker then tried to rape the girl, Bierce said. Suddenly, the group heard gunshots. According to Barker's statement, which was read by Bierce, Green came out of the bedroom, holding an AK-47 rifle, and declared: "They're all dead. I just killed them."
Green put the gun down, then raped Abeer while Cortez held her down; Barker claims Green picked up the AK-47 and shot her once, paused, then shot her several more times, Bierce said.
Barker confirmed he got a kerosene lamp and poured the fuel on the girl's body, Bierce said. The body was set on fire, but Barker does not say who did it. Barker's statement also does not say if Howard or Spielman participated in the rape.
Barker's statement says he grilled chicken wings when they got back to their checkpoint, Bierce testified. A few hours later, Barker wrote, Iraqi soldiers came to report they had found a family murdered.
Since the case became public last month, U.S. officials have said they were concerned it could strain relations with Iraq's new government if Iraqis perceive that the soldiers receive lenient treatment.
The Americans have offered assurances that the case will be pursued vigorously and that the soldiers will be punished if convicted.
The case has already increased demands for changes in an agreement that exempts U.S. soldiers from prosecution in Iraqi courts. And Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demanded an independent investigation into the case.
Mahmoudiya pinglist--if you want on or off, let me know via freepmail.
A similar story was posted earlier; this one contains a few more details of the testimony.
The scenario sounds eerily like "Casualties of War" with Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn.
Just heard on FOX that one of the accused passed a polygraph.
Defense lawyers contended the bodies were staged for the photographs of the crime scene. They also questioned whether the victims were shot to death, suggesting they may have already been dead when the bullets were fired.
You mean for innocence, or...?
Yes for innocence.
Good to hear at least one piece of good news. Thanks, TH.
This is a tough defense strategy, given that both Barker and Cortez gave sworn statements testifying to Green's murder of the entire family.
This is a tough defense strategy, given that both Barker and Cortez gave sworn statements testifying to Green's murder of the entire family.
Yes, it's a tough defense strategy. Barker's lawyer also claims much of Barkers testimony was coerced and wants to challenge (and I assume is doing so legally) his alleged confession.
Naturally. It's all he's got left.
Members of the media were allowed to hear the testimony of the medic and of the soldiers' battalion commander, Lt. Col. Thomas Kunk. The other two witnesses were unidentified Iraqis, and reporters were not permitted to hear their testimony, The Associated Press said.
(snip) In his testimony, Kunk described his interrogations of Yribe, Barker and Green.
Kunk said he was first made aware of the incident after a telephone call from company commander Capt. John Goodwin on June 19. He testified that Goodwin informed him of the alleged murders and asked him for guidance.
Immediately after that phone call, Kunk said, he made plans to travel to Yusifiya, where Goodwin was stationed, to investigate the incident.
Kunk recalled interviewing Yribe, whom he described as the first coalition soldier to get to the scene of the killings. He described the sergeant as straightforward and said Yribe "said he didn't have any participation that day."
Kunk said Yribe showed him photographs of the scene that he said he took.
Kunk also recalled questioning Barker, whom he described as "very flippant, very confident, and more than willing to answer the questions I had."
"He said, 'No sir, no coalition soldier was responsible for the ... murder of that family and the rape and murder of that little girl,' " Kunk testified.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/08/07/iraq.main/
I doubt that. The prosecution doesn't even know what day these people were killed.
That sounds real fair
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,205039,00.html<
In the end, that they were killed, and that two of those involved said they participated and identified the killer will matter much more than a few hours' difference on an affidavit.
Other interesting tidbits from the Mayor of Mahmudiya via Reuters, July 3:
"They were found killed and burnt on the morning of March 12," Fadhil said, just after he met a U.S. military officer at his municipal office in the small town south of Baghdad.
Hospital director Dawood al-Taie said his morgue received four burned bodies that day and showed death certificates made out on March 13 for the four named as the victims by the mayor.
"Gunshot to the head and chest. Face unrecognisable due to burns," read the certificate for Abeer Qasim Hamza, who the mayor said was 16 when she died and had been raped.
Taie said he had no record that evidence of rape was found.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/MAC343659.htm
Now supposedly, according to the Iraqi medic who arrived on the scene who testified yesteday ...
In the opening day of testimony in the military hearing in Baghdad to determine if there is enough evidence to hold a court-martial for five U.S. soldiers, the medic, whose name was withheld for security reasons, testified that he saw smoke when he arrived at the family's home in Mahmoudiya on the afternoon of March 12. Inside, on the floor of the living room, a 14-year-old girl lay dead on her back, her legs spread, her clothes torn off, her body burned from her waist to her head, a single bullet hole under her left eye, he said.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/08/07/MNG9SKCCJU1.DTL
The defense should call in the Janabi boys too, the guys that told our investigators and the press that they were the first ones on the scene. And one said her clothes were still on. Hmmmmm
This doctor was not conducting an autopsy, was he?
You could be correct. But then if confessions were coerced, who knows. Barker's lawyer sure thinks so.
Look at post 13 and see what Barker told his commanding officer.
Speilman said he did not participate in rape or murder and passed a lie detector test.
Green plead not guilty.
I could be completely wrong about this, but methinks there is more to the story than what we've seen so far.
He said that twelve hours after he said that "the event" was the result of "combat stress."
Defense lawyers have to throw stuff against the wall to see what sticks. You know that.
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