Spc. Kamisha Block's death in Iraq, murder

Military Told Media and Family That It Was 'Friendly Fire' -- But It Was Murder

By Greg Mitchell

Published: June 20, 2008 10:25 PM ET updated Friday

NEW YORK For five years now, E and P has been chronicling the disturbing number of “noncombat” deaths in Iraq, often suicides, which usually come to light only due to the diligence of local newspapers. As part of that effort, last August I briefly described yet another case, involving a 20-year-old Texas woman named Kamisha Block, who apparently was much loved in her Vidor hometown. It was said to be death by “friendly fire,” which officially is fairly rare in Iraq, so I kept an eye on it for days, in case of an update.

Many more nonhostile deaths arrived, and so I forgot about Kamisha. Today, a reader sent me a link to a report on Vidor, Texas, TV station, which in turn led me to a news article in yesterday’s Beaumont Enterprise.

Forget friendly fire. It turns out that Spc. Block was actually murdered, and the killer, another soldier, Staff Sgt. Brandon Norris, then turned the gun on himself.

And more: Her parents were misled at the start, and only after the mother noticed a suspicious head wound at the funeral (it turns out she was shot five times) and asked why, were they informed a few days later about the murder angle.

In fact, the Enterprise, too, was lied to by the Pentagon. Last August 21, the paper reported: “The U.S. Defense Department has confirmed two fatalities on Aug. 12 by friendly fire, but has not officially released names or the cause of death.”
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