Eight marines charged over Iraqi murders

A US Marine Corps squad leader has been charged with murdering 12 people and ordering other Marines under his command to kill six people during an incident that left 24 civilians dead in the Iraqi town of Haditha last year.

The squad leader was one of eight Marines charged in the biggest US criminal case involving killings in the war in Iraq.

The others included four officers accused of failures in investigating and reporting the incident, the Marine Corps said.

The highest-ranking defendant, Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Chessani, was accused of failing to obey an order or regulation, encompassing dereliction of duty.

The squad leader, Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich, 26, was charged with unpremeditated murder of 18 Iraqi civilians, including six people inside a house that members of his squad cleared with deadly force.

Wuterich also faces one charge of making a false official statement and one charge of soliciting another sergeant to make false official statements.

Wuterich allegedly ordered Marines under his charge to “shoot first and ask questions later” when they entered the house.

Wuterich’s lawyer Neal Puckett said his client carried out the killings in accordance with his training.

“There’s no question that innocent people died that day, but Staff Sergeant Wuterich believes, and I believe, they did everything, they were trained to do,” Puckett said. ”We look forward to the opportunity to bring the facts out.”

Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz, 24, was accused of the unpremeditated murders of five people and making a false official statement with intent to deceive.

Lance Corporal Justin Sharratt, 22, was accused of the unpremeditated murder of three Iraqis.

Lance Corporal Stephen Tatum, 25, was charged with the unpremeditated murders of two Iraqis, negligent homicide of four Iraqi civilians and a charge of assault upon two Iraqis.

In addition to Chessani, officers charged in connection with how the incident was investigated or reported included 1st Lieutenant Andrew Grayson, 25; Captain Lucas McConnell, 31; and Captain Randy Stone, 34, a military attorney.

The case sparked an international outcry when it was first reported, and is one of several instances of alleged US misconduct to have emerged from the Iraq war. This is the second time in six months that Pendleton officials have held a press conference to say they are charging their own in allegedly unlawful killings.

The Marines, who all belonged to Kilo Company of the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines Regiment, have been under investigation since March for the deaths.

The Iraqis were killed in the hours following a roadside bomb that rocked a Marine patrol on the morning of November 19 last year. The blast killed one Marine and injured two others.

In the aftermath, five men were shot as they approached the scene in a taxi and others – including women and children – died as Marines went from house to house in the area, clearing homes with grenades and gunfire.

Defence lawyers have said their clients were doing what they had been trained to do: responding to a perceived threat with legitimate force. The Marines remained in combat for months after the killings.

In Meriden, Connecticut, Wuterich’s father, Dave, said his son and daughter-in-law are expecting their third child any day. “We’re kind of devastated right now,” he said. “We stand right behind him.”

Jack Zimmerman, Tatum’s attorney, said his client ”responded as he was trained to respond. The prosecution acknowledges this convoy was ambushed and responded to an armed enemy attack.”

Sharratt’s lawyer, Gary Myers said, “Our view has been and continues to be that these are combat-related deaths.”

None of the Marines will be placed in pretrial confinement, because they are not deemed a flight risk or a danger to themselves or others, said Colonel Stewart Navarre, chief of staff for Marine Corps Installations West.

Navarre read a statement by Lieutenant General James Mattis, commanding general of the Marine Corps Central Command, that conceded that the initial Marine Corps press release of November 20, 2005, which stated that the civilians in Haditha had been killed by an improvised explosive device (IED), was incorrect. Why it was misreported is under investigation, said Navarre.