The Army will try in military court one of five soldiers accused of killing civilians in Afghanistan for sport, it said Monday, despite an investigator's recommendation to drop the murder and conspiracy charges.
Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparrotti decided to proceed with a court-martial against Spc. Michael Wagnon II on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit assault and assault with a dangerous weapon, according to a statement from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. If convicted, Wagnon could be sentenced to life in prison. No trial date was set.
The Army dismissed two charges one alleging that Wagnon kept a piece of a skull from an Afghan corpse and the other accusing him of trying to obstruct the Army's investigation into his platoon's alleged misconduct by destroying images of Afghan casualties on his computer.