US army stunned by spate of murders at special forces' base

Sergeant 1st Class Rigoberto Nieves had asked to come home early.

There were issues he had to deal with, he told his special forces commanders in Afghan-istan. Domestic problems, private matters between a man and his wife. He really needed to get back to Fort Bragg and sort things out.

Just two days after he got back to North Carolina it became tragically clear just how troubled he was.

Mr Nieves, 31, and his wife Teresa, 28, had been arguing all day and went to bed early, closing the door to their bedroom at 8.30pm. Alerted by relatives staying at their Fayettesville home who heard a strange noise from behind the locked door, police broke into the bedroom and found Mr Nieves and his wife slumped dead. Both had been killed by a single shot to the head from a .40 calibre Glock semi-automatic pistol.

The police's judgement: murder-suicide.

"As far an investigation, there was the bare minimum in regard to who, what and where at the crime scene," Sgt Alex Thompson, of the Fayettesville police department, said yesterday. "The case is really closed.

That was on 12 June. Since then there have been three more alleged murders and one further murder-suicide involving special forces soldiers and their wives at Fort Bragg, stunning the local community in the historic town of Fayettesville and forcing the military command to ask some uncomfortable questions as to what may have triggered the killings.

What has made the deaths even more curious is that three of the five cases involved special forces soldiers who had served in recent US-led military operations in Afghanistan.

News of the most recent killing at the base emerged earlier this week after police charged Joan Shannon with the murder of her husband, David, a major attached to the US Special Operations Command and who was shot in his bed as he slept on 23 July.

It may be that the murder of Mr Shannon does not quite fit the pattern of the earlier killings that took place this summer at Fort Bragg. Though Mr Shannon had been attached to special forces for two years he had not served in Afghan-istan and police believe his murder may have had a specific motive. "We believe financial gain in one of the primary motives of the crime," said Lt Tom Guilette.

Either way, the killing of Mr Shannon has added to the growing impression that something is badly amiss at the base, famed throughout the US as being home to two of America's elite fighting units – the 82nd Airborne Division and the Special Forces Command – as well as headquarters of the ultra-secretive Delta anti-terrorism unit, whose existence is not formally acknowledged.

It has also forced the base's authorities to examine whether they are doing enough to provide emotional and psychological support for young men of an average age of 24 and living apart from their friends, who are yet expected to carry out dangerous and often deadly missions in enemy territory and then return home as though nothing has happened.

"It's mind-boggling," said Henry Berry, manager of an Army family support programme. "To be honest, I was completely caught off guard [by what has happened]."

Experts believe there must be some sort of link between the killings. The incident involving Mr and Mrs Nieves was followed on 29 June by the alleged murder of Jennifer Wright by her husband, Master Sgt William Wright, 36, who is charged with strangling his wife a month after he returned from Afghanistan.

On 9 July, Sgt Cedric Ramon, 28, allegedly stabbed his wife, Marilyn, more than 50 times and then set fire to their house. On 19 July, Sgt 1st Class Brandon Floyd shot his wife, Andrea, before turning his gun on himself.

Military forces told the Fayettesville Observer that Mr Floyd, 30, was a member of Delta Force. He returned from Afghanistan in January.

Crystal Black, the domestic violence programme director with the Cumberland County care centre, attends weekly meetings at Fort Bragg to discuss potential domestic violence cases. Yesterday she said that none of the couples involved had a known record of domestic violence.

"Normally there is something of a history of domestic violence," she said. "It would be a far leap to say these soldiers just went off to Afghanistan and then came back and killed their wives. Normally you would be looking for a history."

Ms Black said Fort Bragg was considered "high risk" for domestic abuse because of the relative young average age of the personnel and because of the additional "stressers" created by military life. Asked whether there could have a common factor that triggered the killings, she said: "I have no idea. [The deaths] have shocked the whole community.

"Last night at our 'Batterers' Class' we were discussing it. They were also shocked by what has happened."

Perhaps inevitably, the military authorities are playing down any suggestion that the killings may be linked to the men's tour of duty in Afghan-istan and the Pentagon has described them as "an anomaly". The base itself – home to more than 40,000 soldiers – prides itself on being a supportive community and a pleasant place to live. The base's website boasts: "Fort Bragg was voted winner of the Army Times Best Post 2001 Award. This award... recognises the army post achieving a superior level of quality of life, community spirit and support for soldiers and their families."

Major Gary Kolb of the Special Forces Command, who had three of the men under his command, said: "Can you say going to Afghanistan caused this? I think that's a reach."