Army Sgt. James Musack death leaves family with questions

Tuesday, March 18, 2008


Family questions investigation into soldier's death

By Kathryn Fiegen
Iowa City Press-Citizen


The family of a fallen Riverside soldier said they still have unanswered questions after receiving the results recently of an investigation into his death that concluded he killed himself in Iraq.

Initial reports said U.S. Army Sgt. James Musack, 23, of Riverside, was killed in a non-combat related incident Nov. 21, 2006, in Samarra, Iraq. He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq with the 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command investigated the death and concluded in December 2007 that it was a suicide.

However, Musack's sister, Morgan Rorex, 20, of Coralville, said her family doesn't believe Musack killed himself just days before he was supposed to come home from Iraq.

"We didn't think that's what happened," she said. "There's too many inconsistencies."

Musack's family received the results of the investigation in the mail two weeks ago. The report is more than 100 pages long and includes interviews with unit members, the family and friends who last spoke to Musack, the results of forensic tests and diagrams of where his body was found. Many of the details, including the names of who was interviewed, were redacted.

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