Washington – Five U.S. Marines will be charged in connection with the killings of 24 Iraqis in the city of Hadithah a year ago, according to a news report, but the attorney for a superior officer said he does not expect Colorado native Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, who commanded the battalion involved in the incident, to be charged.
National Public Radio reporter Tom Bowman, citing unnamed Pentagon sources, said Tuesday that the investigation into the Hadithah killings is wrapping up, and that Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich and four members of his Marine squad will be charged.
The NPR report did not specify what crimes they would be charged with, but indicated prosecutors have looked at murder and negligent homicide, and are weighing the Marines’ state of mind at the time of the incident.
The investigation examined allegations that members of a Marine company killed civilians, including women and children, on Nov. 19, 2005, in Hadithah.
Marine officials reported the Hadithah deaths the next day as the result of a roadside bomb blast and a subsequent firefight with insurgents. But earlier this year, eyewitness accounts emerged of a lethal rampage by Marines against civilians after one of their own was killed.
NPR reported that military prosecutors are “struggling” to determine whether any officers should be charged and said they believe commanders “should have at least asked more questions.”
But attorney Kevin Barry McDermott said his client, company commander Capt. Lucas McConnell, is not expected to face charges. He added that he does not expect that battalion commander Chessani, formerly of Rangely, will be charged, either.
At this point, McDermott said he is trying to clear McConnell’s name.
“His actions will be vindicated, as will Chessani’s,” McDermott said. “If this was what it now appears to be – not a massacre but a snap judgment by a half dozen 18-, 19-, 20-year-olds – I don’t think you’re going to hold the captain, the lieutenant colonel, or the colonel responsible.”
Chessani has not responded to The Post’s requests for comment and does not have an attorney, though he’s been investigated for dereliction of duty in connection to the shootings and how they were reported.
Chessani was relieved of command in April, though the Marine Corps has never linked that action with the Hadithah killings.
McConnell and Chessani passed a full account of the shootings up the chain of command, McDermott said.
Marine Corps officials stress there is has been no official announcement on the investigation’s findings.
“The bottom line is no decisions have been announced,” said Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson.
Mike Soraghan can be reached at 202-662-8730 or msoraghan@denverpost.com.
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