Family seeking justice after Greek Officials removed heart of Marine

Family seeking heart of dead Marine son loses round in court
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Jeremy Roebuck
Published: July 15, 2014

PHILADELPHIA — A Coatesville, Pa. family seeking to learn how their son's heart went missing after his death in Greece two years ago will have to find answers outside of a courtroom, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell tossed out the family's claims against the Greek government and an Athens hospital, saying they had not met the high burden required to sue a foreign government in American courts.

In a ruling Thursday, the judge did, however, clear the way for the parents of Marine Sgt. Brian LaLoup to pursue a claim of negligent infliction of emotional distress against the U.S. government, which the family says withheld information about their son's incomplete remains.

The LaLoups filed their suit last year against Greece and Evangelismos General Hospital in Athens, alleging the autopsy in which their son's heart went missing was conducted over objections from U.S. military and diplomatic officials.
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Also from last year

Greek Government 'Harvested' Dead U.S. Marine’s Heart
Family says the Defense Department lied to them about the missing heart and that the Greek government later sent a heart that was not their son’s back to United States
NBC 10 News
By Vince Lattanzio
Saturday, Dec 7, 2013

The family of a U.S. Marine who committed suicide inside a U.S. Embassy in Greece says their son was buried without a heart, after the Greek government performed an illegal autopsy on his body and “harvested” the organ.

Craig and Beverly LaLoup, of Coatesville, Pa., filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday against the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Navy and U.S. government for negligence, emotional distress and alleged mistreatment of their son’s body.

U.S. Marine Sgt. Brian LaLoup, who was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Athens, Greece, shot himself following a night out drinking in the Greek capital on Aug. 12, 2012, according to the court filing.

The 22-year-old allegedly had been at an off-duty party when he told a fellow officer he was considering ending his life.

“I don’t have anyone who loves me,” he allegedly said. He then apparently told the officer he was planning to shoot himself in the face with a shotgun.

That officer notified a superior, listed in the suit as Staff Sgt. Martinez, about Brian’s intentions. But instead of getting him medical care, the commander allegedly took him out to drink more – a violation of Marine Corps protocol, the lawsuit claims.
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Greek officials offer clue on dead Marine's missing heart
The Philadelphia Inquirer
By Jeremy Roebuck
Published: December 12, 2013

COATESVILLE, Pa. — The missing heart of a dead Marine sergeant from Chester County was removed during an autopsy last year for toxicology testing, Greek consular officials said Wednesday.

But that explanation - offered without comment on where the organ is now - only begins to answer the questions raised by the Marine's parents in their lawsuit, filed last week in federal court in Philadelphia.

On Wednesday, Craig and Beverly LaLoup of Coatesville, parents of Sgt. Brian LaLoup, added the Greek government and the Athens hospital that conducted the autopsy to the list of defendants in their suit, which previously included the U.S. Department of Defense and the Navy.
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