Wednesday, November 12, 2003

Jeebus

I don't even know what to make of this:

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) - Four soldiers at Fort Benning have been arrested and accused of stabbing to death a member of their infantry unit, setting the body on fire and leaving it in the woods just days after their return from Iraq.

Police said the soldiers had gotten mad at Spc. Richard R. Davis for insulting a dancer at a strip club and getting them kicked out of the place.

Davis, 24, of St. Charles, Mo., was stabbed repeatedly in July. His skeletal remains were found Friday, nearly four months after he was reported missing. Fort Benning investigators had received a tip to search the woods near the Army post.

Three of the soldiers - Jacob Burgoyne, Mario Naverrete and Douglas Woodcoff - were arrested Friday and charged with murder. A judge on Monday reduced the charges against them to concealing a body, though prosecutors said they will press for murder charges.

The fourth suspect, Alberto Martinez, is awaiting extradition from California on murder charges. Police said it was Martinez who stabbed Davis while he fought with Burgoyne and Naverrete. All of the suspects are 24.

All five soldiers belonged to same company and had returned to Fort Benning from Iraq just days before the slaying. Their unit is part of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which led the assault on Baghdad.