CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Marines forced to testify against a squad leader accused in the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians will likely offer conflicting accounts of the killings, a military prosecutor said Wednesday.
The Marines “are begrudging in their testimony,” Capt. Nicholas Gannon told a judge Wednesday during a pretrial hearing for Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich, who faces voluntary-manslaughter and other charges for his role in the Nov. 19, 2005, shooting deaths in Hadithah, Iraq.
Four enlisted Marines were initially charged with murder and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges against several have been dropped, and none will face murder charges.
The incident began when the squad’s convoy was struck by a roadside bomb, killing one Marine and wounding another. In the aftermath, squad members killed 24 Iraqi civilians, authorities have said.
In a neighboring courtroom, a two-day pretrial hearing was underway for Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani of Rangley, Colo.
Among the motions the judge was hearing were requests to compel the deposition of Rep. John Murtha over comments the congressman made about Marines killing “in cold blood” in Hadithah and motions to dismiss charges.
Chessani is the highest-ranking U.S. serviceman to face a combat-related court-martial since the Vietnam War. He has been charged on allegations that he mishandled the aftermath of the shooting deaths.
Chessani has said he never ordered a formal investigation because he believed the deaths resulted from lawful combat.
