Investigators pay respects to slain veteran at Fla. funeral
By Patricia Burkett
WBTW Anchor/ Reporter
Published: June 22, 2009
FLORENCE — Friends, family and even strangers spent Monday remembering one of America’s heroes.
World War II veteran Clair C. Chaffin was shot to death June 8 as he packed his car to leave the Thunderbird Inn in Florence.
Chaffin, of Archer, Fla., was 83. He fought at Iwo Jima and Saipan, and earned the Silver Star in his lifetime.
Although Chaffin’s life was taken during an attempted robbery, it was what happened to him before that day that made a lasting impression on those working on the case. He made an impact on the entire community as well as local law enforcement, all of whom recognized the great service he gave to the country.
Florence County Sheriff’s Office investigators were so moved by Chaffin’s family and the story of his life, they felt it fitting to fly hundreds of miles to pay their final respects Monday.
“A decorated veteran, who served his country and gave his life — a majority of his life — for this country, 83 years old and had been through what he had to go through and then had to come back to this country and die like he did, it’s unacceptable,” Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone said.
Powers Aviation officials made the flight possible for the investigators, providing the plane and pilot for the trip to Gainesville, Fla., for Chaffin’s funeral.
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Investigators pay respects to slain veteran at Fla. funeral
Showing posts with label murdered. Show all posts
Showing posts with label murdered. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, August 18, 2008
Pfc. LaVena Johnson's life ended but how? Murder or suicide?
U.S. Army says suicide; Parents seek investigation
By Ashahed M. Muhammad
Assistant Editor
Updated Aug 18, 2008, 12:37 am
(FinalCall.com) - The U.S. Army says it was a suicide resulting from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head from an M-16. The parents say it was murder.
Three years later, instead of celebrating their daughter’s birthday, the parents of Pfc. LaVena Johnson are continuing their investigation into what they believe is a cover-up of the suspicious circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death.
U.S. Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead on a military base in Balad, Iraq on July 18, 2005 just a few days before her 20th birthday.
LaVena’s mother Linda said she was always against her daughter going to the military, but since she was in charge of telecommunications for her unit in Iraq, LaVena was able to call her parents just about every day and that would ease her mind, hearing her daughter’s voice.
“It was a pain that hit my heart that has not gone away,” Mrs. Johnson told The Final Call as she described the scene at 7:30 a.m. on July 19, 2005 when she first heard that her daughter was dead. Mrs. Johnson does not believe her daughter committed suicide.
“There’s no way that my daughter would have done that to herself, she loved life, she had dreams and hopes and plans, she loved her family.”
The details of her daughter’s death have been gradually told to Mrs. Johnson by her husband John Johnson in order to ease the pain. She was just recently told one of the most graphic details in the case—that her daughter was set on fire.
“It was like her death all over again to know that my sweet baby was laying somewhere with no one to help her. Being murdered and then set on fire—it was the worst most horrific thing I have ever heard,” said Mrs. Johnson fighting back tears. “We were making plans to be together, and she was making plans to do things with her family.”
On July 27, 2005, when LaVena was to turn 20 years old, they were instead at her wake.
“On her 20th birthday, I was looking at my daughter in a box,” said Mrs. Johnson. “We should have been celebrating her life, but it was stolen from her.”
Mr. Johnson, LaVena’s father, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology and has 25 years of experience as an administrator working for the Army in a civilian administrative capacity, said every time his daughter called, he would speak to her first so that he could check out her state of mind. In his years working with the military, he is trained to identify soldiers with suicidal thoughts, and he said his daughter did not display any of the symptoms typical of one preparing to take their own life.
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http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_5113.shtml
By Ashahed M. Muhammad
Assistant Editor
Updated Aug 18, 2008, 12:37 am
(FinalCall.com) - The U.S. Army says it was a suicide resulting from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head from an M-16. The parents say it was murder.
Three years later, instead of celebrating their daughter’s birthday, the parents of Pfc. LaVena Johnson are continuing their investigation into what they believe is a cover-up of the suspicious circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death.
U.S. Army Private First Class LaVena Johnson was found dead on a military base in Balad, Iraq on July 18, 2005 just a few days before her 20th birthday.
LaVena’s mother Linda said she was always against her daughter going to the military, but since she was in charge of telecommunications for her unit in Iraq, LaVena was able to call her parents just about every day and that would ease her mind, hearing her daughter’s voice.
“It was a pain that hit my heart that has not gone away,” Mrs. Johnson told The Final Call as she described the scene at 7:30 a.m. on July 19, 2005 when she first heard that her daughter was dead. Mrs. Johnson does not believe her daughter committed suicide.
“There’s no way that my daughter would have done that to herself, she loved life, she had dreams and hopes and plans, she loved her family.”
The details of her daughter’s death have been gradually told to Mrs. Johnson by her husband John Johnson in order to ease the pain. She was just recently told one of the most graphic details in the case—that her daughter was set on fire.
“It was like her death all over again to know that my sweet baby was laying somewhere with no one to help her. Being murdered and then set on fire—it was the worst most horrific thing I have ever heard,” said Mrs. Johnson fighting back tears. “We were making plans to be together, and she was making plans to do things with her family.”
On July 27, 2005, when LaVena was to turn 20 years old, they were instead at her wake.
“On her 20th birthday, I was looking at my daughter in a box,” said Mrs. Johnson. “We should have been celebrating her life, but it was stolen from her.”
Mr. Johnson, LaVena’s father, who holds a Ph.D. in psychology and has 25 years of experience as an administrator working for the Army in a civilian administrative capacity, said every time his daughter called, he would speak to her first so that he could check out her state of mind. In his years working with the military, he is trained to identify soldiers with suicidal thoughts, and he said his daughter did not display any of the symptoms typical of one preparing to take their own life.
go here for more
http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_5113.shtml
Monday, April 7, 2008
'I want women to be better protected' by the military
Mother of slain Marine: 'I want women to be better protected'
Story Highlights
Maria Lauterbach wanted to spend career in Marines, she says in video
Lauterbach accused fellow Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean of rape
Laurean faces murder charges in Lauterbach's death
Marines should have transferred Lauterbach to another base, her mother says
From Susan Candiotti
CNN National Correspondent
DAYTON, Ohio (CNN) -- Early on, Maria Lauterbach knew exactly what she wanted to do in life.
"After high school, I am going into the Marines," a smiling Lauterbach, dressed in her high school soccer uniform, says in a video made available exclusively to CNN. "I'll probably be doing that for 20 or 25 years, and then hopefully after that, becoming a cop."
Lauterbach became a Marine, but her dreams were cut short.
Her body was found buried in the backyard of a fellow Marine, Cpl. Cesar Laurean, near Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in January. Watch Lauterbach talk about her future plans »
Mary Lauterbach, Maria's mother, wants to know why the Marines didn't do more to protect her daughter from Laurean, whom Maria Lauterbach had accused of rape in May 2007.
"My concern is I want women to be better protected," Lauterbach, of Dayton, Ohio, told CNN. Watch how mother wants answers from Marines »
Laurean now faces murder charges. He fled the Camp Lejeune area on January 11. The FBI says he went to his native Mexico, and a cousin of Laurean's reported seeing him in Zapopan, Mexico, in mid-January.
Mary Lauterbach has sent a list of more than 30 questions to the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, Gen. James Conway, through her congressman.
She says she's unconvinced her daughter's rape allegation against Laurean was treated seriously.
Maria Lauterbach was 20 years old and eight months pregnant when she was reported missing after she failed to report for duty at Camp Lejeune in mid-December.
Her body was found nearly a month later beneath a fire pit in Laurean's backyard. It is unclear whether he was the father of her unborn child.
After Maria Lauterbach accused Laurean of rape, she was moved to another office, and military protective orders were issued to keep the accused from the accuser. But Mary Lauterbach and her congressman, Rep. Mike Turner, say the Marines didn't do enough to protect her.
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/07/murdered.marine/index.html
Story Highlights
Maria Lauterbach wanted to spend career in Marines, she says in video
Lauterbach accused fellow Marine Cpl. Cesar Laurean of rape
Laurean faces murder charges in Lauterbach's death
Marines should have transferred Lauterbach to another base, her mother says
From Susan Candiotti
CNN National Correspondent
DAYTON, Ohio (CNN) -- Early on, Maria Lauterbach knew exactly what she wanted to do in life.
"After high school, I am going into the Marines," a smiling Lauterbach, dressed in her high school soccer uniform, says in a video made available exclusively to CNN. "I'll probably be doing that for 20 or 25 years, and then hopefully after that, becoming a cop."
Lauterbach became a Marine, but her dreams were cut short.
Her body was found buried in the backyard of a fellow Marine, Cpl. Cesar Laurean, near Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in January. Watch Lauterbach talk about her future plans »
Mary Lauterbach, Maria's mother, wants to know why the Marines didn't do more to protect her daughter from Laurean, whom Maria Lauterbach had accused of rape in May 2007.
"My concern is I want women to be better protected," Lauterbach, of Dayton, Ohio, told CNN. Watch how mother wants answers from Marines »
Laurean now faces murder charges. He fled the Camp Lejeune area on January 11. The FBI says he went to his native Mexico, and a cousin of Laurean's reported seeing him in Zapopan, Mexico, in mid-January.
Mary Lauterbach has sent a list of more than 30 questions to the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, Gen. James Conway, through her congressman.
She says she's unconvinced her daughter's rape allegation against Laurean was treated seriously.
Maria Lauterbach was 20 years old and eight months pregnant when she was reported missing after she failed to report for duty at Camp Lejeune in mid-December.
Her body was found nearly a month later beneath a fire pit in Laurean's backyard. It is unclear whether he was the father of her unborn child.
After Maria Lauterbach accused Laurean of rape, she was moved to another office, and military protective orders were issued to keep the accused from the accuser. But Mary Lauterbach and her congressman, Rep. Mike Turner, say the Marines didn't do enough to protect her.
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/07/murdered.marine/index.html
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