Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death in Iraq

Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death
Man Killed In ‘Non-Hostile Incident’ In Iraq

POSTED: Thursday, April 2, 2009
UPDATED: 8:04 am EDT April 3, 2009

MIAMI -- A mystery is brewing from Miami to Iraq, where a local member of the U.S. Marine Corps was found dead at a military facility.

The Department of Defense said Thursday that 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua of Miami died on Tuesday in Anbar province.

Lantigua was found shot to death, face down, in a bed inside the military facility to which he was assigned in Iraq, Local 10's Terrell Forney reported.

Officials said Lantigua died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. But no other details have been released. The incident is under investigation.

Military officials have called it a non-hostile incident and non-combat related, which raises questions for Lantigua's family. The 20-year old joined the U.S. Marines after graduating high school in Miami and was nearing the end of his first deployment to Iraq when he died.
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Mystery Surrounds Local Marine's Death
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