Record-Journal
08-29-2007, 01:00 AM
After months of waiting, Meriden native Frank D. Wuterich will have his first day in court Thursday to answer to charges that he murdered 18 Iraqis in November 2005 in the village of Haditha.
Wuterich, 27, a Marine staff sergeant, was the most senior of four enlisted men charged last December in connection with the killings, which occurred after the death of a squad member from a roadside bomb.
Four officers were also charged for failure to investigate the deaths.
At the pretrial hearing, which will likely wrap up in the middle of next week, Lt. Col. Paul Ware will decide if the evidence against Wuterich is strong enough for him to face a court martial, or military trial.
So far, Ware has recommended dismissing all charges against two other enlisted men, Lance Cpls. Justin Sharratt and Stephen Tatum, and one of the officers.
Ware’s recommendations are non-binding, but Lt. Gen. James Mattis upheld Ware’s ruling for Sharratt, citing awareness of the pressure troops face.
Mattis is considering Tatum’s fate and will decide on Wuterich once Ware issues his recommendation, which is expected in mid-September.
Neal A. Puckett, a former military judge who is one of Wuterich’s four attorneys, said he’s very optimistic about the hearing based on the results in the other cases.
“It appears to us the processes have been very open, fair and have explored all the issues,” Puckett said Tuesday by phone from Southern California, where the hearing will take place. “I think it’s an indication that the investigating officer understands from the evidence the situation they were facing that day.”
There was an international outcry after news emerged in the spring of 2006 that the troops allegedly massacred civilians, including 11 women and children. But the evidence presented at the hearings thus far has supported the Marines, who contend they thought they were under attack and reacted accordingly.
At issue is whether Wuterich, the squad leader that day, and his men followed the military’s rules of engagement. Those rules require troops to identify targets as hostile before using deadly force.
But Ware was sympathetic to Tatum, who raided two houses with Wuterich that were filled with civilians.
Tatum shot and killed civilians “because of his training and the circumstances he was placed in, not to exact revenge and commit murder,” Ware wrote in his recommendation.
“I believe…Tatum’s real life experience and training on how to clear a room took over and his body instinctively began firing while his head tried to grasp at what and why he was firing.”
Wuterich’s hearing will contain some of the same evidence presented at Tatum and Sharratt’s hearings, but much of the new evidence will surround allegations that Wuterich shot five men who had approached the bomb scene in a taxi.
Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, who was facing five murder charges, was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony.
Dela Cruz has alleged that Wuterich shot the men while they were lined up outside the cab, but Wuterich says it was Dela Cruz who opened fire after the men began to flee.
“The forensic evidence doesn’t support Dela Cruz’s version of the events,” Puckett said. “Frank’s version is simply that the guys were not complying by Sgt. Dela Cruz’s orders and began to flee, which he perceived as a threat. Dela Cruz opened fire and Frank fired in support of him.”
Dela Cruz, who will testify at the hearing, has also said that Wuterich told him to lie to authorities about the killings that day, a charge that Wuterich also faces.
But Puckett said no other Marine has made a similar accusation, and that Dela Cruz said this after authorities questioned his own statement about the events.
Wuterich is not expected to testify, although he will reserve his right to make an un-sworn statement that cannot be cross-examined.
Puckett said the military allows such statements at pretrial and sentencing hearings for the accused to provide any additional information, something civilian courts do not permit.
Wuterich joined the Marines upon his graduation from Platt High School in 1998, and was an infantry instructor for troops coming out of basic training before his deployment to Iraq in September 2005. Haditha was his first combat experience.
Wuterich will receive a little more scrutiny for being in charge during the raids, Puckett said, but the same standards of evidence will apply.
The defense will learn early on if the military will dismiss one of the murder charges related to a killing that occurred in the same house Wuterich and Sharratt cleared.
Puckett said it would seem incongruent for the military to exonerate Sharratt for his actions there but not Wuterich.
A married father of three girls, Wuterich has been working at Camp Pendleton Marine Base since he returned from Iraq last April.
He had planned to leave the Marines in June and go to school for music production, but his status is on hold because of the charges.
His parents, David and Rosemarie Wuterich, who live on Meriden’s west side, were scheduled to arrive in Southern California Tuesday to be with their son, Puckett said.
Back in Meriden, residents voiced support for Wuterich.
"He was in charge of a group of men, Marines, and it was his job to protect them," said Ronald Perry, a Vietnam-era Marine. "As the sergeant in charge, he did, I think, what he was supposed to do. I've been in situations relatively close to that in Vietnam, and we did the exact same thing."
Perry and Bill Hesse, another Marine, have donated to Wuterich’s defense fund and helped convince the local Marine Corps League to do the same.
Jim Bancroft, with the pro-war group Gathering of Eagles, said the group approached Wuterich's parents about organizing a rally or fundraiser and were instead directed to a Web site to donate money, www.frankwuterich.com.
"When push comes to shove, people do support his actions, and the actions of the other Marines over there,” he said. “We all regret the deaths of innocent civilians, but there is no proof that anyone meant to kill any civilians."
Paul Damato, 38, was surprised when he learned of the accusations, but acknowledged the troops must be under intense pressure and fear, never knowing when a roadside bomb will go off.
"It's just a big mess," Damato said. "I could tell you, 'Yeah they need to be nice to the people there,' but me, I'd shoot anything that moved."
Hesse said he believes Wuterich is being made a scapegoat, and he said that is the real crime.
"You can hate the president or Congress, and love this country," he said. "You can hate war, and love a Marine."
Material from the Associated Press is included in this report.
Wuterich, 27, a Marine staff sergeant, was the most senior of four enlisted men charged last December in connection with the killings, which occurred after the death of a squad member from a roadside bomb.
Four officers were also charged for failure to investigate the deaths.
At the pretrial hearing, which will likely wrap up in the middle of next week, Lt. Col. Paul Ware will decide if the evidence against Wuterich is strong enough for him to face a court martial, or military trial.
So far, Ware has recommended dismissing all charges against two other enlisted men, Lance Cpls. Justin Sharratt and Stephen Tatum, and one of the officers.
Ware’s recommendations are non-binding, but Lt. Gen. James Mattis upheld Ware’s ruling for Sharratt, citing awareness of the pressure troops face.
Mattis is considering Tatum’s fate and will decide on Wuterich once Ware issues his recommendation, which is expected in mid-September.
Neal A. Puckett, a former military judge who is one of Wuterich’s four attorneys, said he’s very optimistic about the hearing based on the results in the other cases.
“It appears to us the processes have been very open, fair and have explored all the issues,” Puckett said Tuesday by phone from Southern California, where the hearing will take place. “I think it’s an indication that the investigating officer understands from the evidence the situation they were facing that day.”
There was an international outcry after news emerged in the spring of 2006 that the troops allegedly massacred civilians, including 11 women and children. But the evidence presented at the hearings thus far has supported the Marines, who contend they thought they were under attack and reacted accordingly.
At issue is whether Wuterich, the squad leader that day, and his men followed the military’s rules of engagement. Those rules require troops to identify targets as hostile before using deadly force.
But Ware was sympathetic to Tatum, who raided two houses with Wuterich that were filled with civilians.
Tatum shot and killed civilians “because of his training and the circumstances he was placed in, not to exact revenge and commit murder,” Ware wrote in his recommendation.
“I believe…Tatum’s real life experience and training on how to clear a room took over and his body instinctively began firing while his head tried to grasp at what and why he was firing.”
Wuterich’s hearing will contain some of the same evidence presented at Tatum and Sharratt’s hearings, but much of the new evidence will surround allegations that Wuterich shot five men who had approached the bomb scene in a taxi.
Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, who was facing five murder charges, was granted immunity in exchange for his testimony.
Dela Cruz has alleged that Wuterich shot the men while they were lined up outside the cab, but Wuterich says it was Dela Cruz who opened fire after the men began to flee.
“The forensic evidence doesn’t support Dela Cruz’s version of the events,” Puckett said. “Frank’s version is simply that the guys were not complying by Sgt. Dela Cruz’s orders and began to flee, which he perceived as a threat. Dela Cruz opened fire and Frank fired in support of him.”
Dela Cruz, who will testify at the hearing, has also said that Wuterich told him to lie to authorities about the killings that day, a charge that Wuterich also faces.
But Puckett said no other Marine has made a similar accusation, and that Dela Cruz said this after authorities questioned his own statement about the events.
Wuterich is not expected to testify, although he will reserve his right to make an un-sworn statement that cannot be cross-examined.
Puckett said the military allows such statements at pretrial and sentencing hearings for the accused to provide any additional information, something civilian courts do not permit.
Wuterich joined the Marines upon his graduation from Platt High School in 1998, and was an infantry instructor for troops coming out of basic training before his deployment to Iraq in September 2005. Haditha was his first combat experience.
Wuterich will receive a little more scrutiny for being in charge during the raids, Puckett said, but the same standards of evidence will apply.
The defense will learn early on if the military will dismiss one of the murder charges related to a killing that occurred in the same house Wuterich and Sharratt cleared.
Puckett said it would seem incongruent for the military to exonerate Sharratt for his actions there but not Wuterich.
A married father of three girls, Wuterich has been working at Camp Pendleton Marine Base since he returned from Iraq last April.
He had planned to leave the Marines in June and go to school for music production, but his status is on hold because of the charges.
His parents, David and Rosemarie Wuterich, who live on Meriden’s west side, were scheduled to arrive in Southern California Tuesday to be with their son, Puckett said.
Back in Meriden, residents voiced support for Wuterich.
"He was in charge of a group of men, Marines, and it was his job to protect them," said Ronald Perry, a Vietnam-era Marine. "As the sergeant in charge, he did, I think, what he was supposed to do. I've been in situations relatively close to that in Vietnam, and we did the exact same thing."
Perry and Bill Hesse, another Marine, have donated to Wuterich’s defense fund and helped convince the local Marine Corps League to do the same.
Jim Bancroft, with the pro-war group Gathering of Eagles, said the group approached Wuterich's parents about organizing a rally or fundraiser and were instead directed to a Web site to donate money, www.frankwuterich.com.
"When push comes to shove, people do support his actions, and the actions of the other Marines over there,” he said. “We all regret the deaths of innocent civilians, but there is no proof that anyone meant to kill any civilians."
Paul Damato, 38, was surprised when he learned of the accusations, but acknowledged the troops must be under intense pressure and fear, never knowing when a roadside bomb will go off.
"It's just a big mess," Damato said. "I could tell you, 'Yeah they need to be nice to the people there,' but me, I'd shoot anything that moved."
Hesse said he believes Wuterich is being made a scapegoat, and he said that is the real crime.
"You can hate the president or Congress, and love this country," he said. "You can hate war, and love a Marine."
Material from the Associated Press is included in this report.