The hidden cost of US military adventures abroad

Friday March 21, 2003 17:07

by Mr. Blowback

Fort Bragg probes new domestic violence report

The U.S. Army is probing allegations that another Fort Bragg soldier tried to kill his wife just after returning from Afghanistan. Carol Branch told United Press International that on Dec. 21, her husband, Sgt. Marvin Lee Branch, tried to strangle her after slamming her against the back door of the couple's house on Fort Bragg, seven days after he returned from six months in Afghanistan. Carol Branch said the attack, in front of her three young daughters and 69-year-old mother, was so violent that her 7-year-old daughter tried to defend her with a kitchen knife. "He came at me like a linebacker. He rushed in from the front door to the back door and my back hit the back door," Branch said in a telephone interview from Florida, where she and her three daughters are staying with a friend.

The alleged incident comes just three months after the Army released a report expressing "great concern" about a wave of domestic homicides at Fort Bragg this past summer. The Army said it is investigating this latest incident.
Four Fort Bragg soldiers -- three of whom had been to Afghanistan -- allegedly killed their wives this past summer. Two of those soldiers killed themselves.

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The gory details ...

Fri Mar 21, 2003 17:11

Fort Bragg Domestic Homicides

The string of domestic homicides at Fort Bragg began on June 11 when Sgt. 1st Class Rigoberto Nieves shot and killed his wife Nancy, and then killed himself. Sgt. Nieves had been serving in Afghanistan, but returned home before the murder to “resolve family problems,” reports the Washington Times.

On June 29, Master Sgt. William Wright allegedly strangled his wife Jennifer. He reported her missing two days later. Master Sgt. Wright was charged with murder in July after leading investigators to his wife’s body. Master Sgt. Wright had been back from Afghanistan for approximately a month before he allegedly murdered his wife. He had recently moved out of the family’s home and was living in the Army barracks.

On July 9, Sgt. Cedric Ramon allegedly stabbed his estranged wife, Marilyn, at least 50 times and then set her house on fire. Sgt. Ramon, a member of the 37th Engineer Battalion, has been charged with the murder.

The fourth murder occurred on July 19, when Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Floyd shot and killed his wife and then killed himself in the couple’s home. Sgt. Floyd was a member of the Delta Force, an anti-terrorism unit stationed at Fort Bragg, and he had returned from Afghanistan in January.

The final domestic homicide took place on July 23. Joan Shannon allegedly shot her husband, Major David Shannon, while he slept. Joan Shannon was charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder – she originally told police than an intruder had shot Major Shannon. The couple’s four children were in the house when the murder took place.

Criminal proceedings in the Wright, Ramon and Shannon cases are pending.

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The hidden cost of US military adventures abroad

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