Keiffer P Wilhelm

Charges have been dropped against one of four U.S. soldiers accused of mistreating others in their platoon in Iraq following an investigation into the suicide of an Ohio serviceman, the military said Friday. Spc. Daniel Weber of Frankenmuth, Mich., resigned from the Army and is expected to testify against two of his unit supervisors, said Maj. Myles Caggins, a spokesman for Multinational Division-South. An investigation into the death of Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm led to cruelty and maltreatment charges against Weber and the three others. Allegations included verbal abuse, physical punishment and ridicule of other soldiers. The military has determined there is no direct evidence ... Read Full Story

A military official says charges have been dropped against one of four U.S. soldiers accused of mistreating others in their platoon. The charges came following an investigation into the suicide of an Ohio serviceman in Iraq. A military spokesman said Friday that Spc. Daniel Weber of Frankenmuth, Mich., has submitted his resignation from the Army and that he'll probably testify against two of his unit supervisors. Weber and the others were charged in August after investigators began looking into the death of Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, who grew up in Willard, Ohio. The military says there is no direct evidence that the soldiers' alleged misconduct ... Read Full Story

The investigation into the death of a U.S. soldier in Iraq revealed cruelty and maltreatment by other soldiers who have been charged with treating soldiers in their platoon inappropriately, the U.S. military said Saturday. The evidence of maltreatment became clear during the investigation into the death of Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, Multi-National Division-South spokesman Lt. Col. Kevin Olson wrote in an e-mail. Olson also said there is no direct evidence that the soldiers' alleged misconduct caused Wilhelm's death, which remains under investigation. Wilhelm, 19, of Plymouth, Ohio, died Aug. 4 in Maysan province in southern Iraq, of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related incident, the military ... Read Full Story

The mother of a soldier whose suicide in Iraq led to cruelty charges against four men says her son made two final phone calls to tell her of abuses he was suffering in his platoon. Kathe Wilhelm has told The Associated Press that her son, Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, called her the day before he died and said he was being forced to run for miles with rocks in his pockets that smashed against his knees. She says he also said his belongings were disappearing and he had no one to turn to for help. Wilhelm grew up in Ohio. He had been in Iraq ... Read Full Story

Court martial of 2 soldiers weighed in Iraq discipline cases By Steve Ruark, AP - posted on USAToday.com Soldiers carry the remains of Pvt. Keiffer Wilhelm, who committed suicide in Iraq in August. By Aamer Madhani, USA TODAY CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq — The U.S. Army is weighing whether to prosecute two soldiers charged with maltreatment and cruelty of their troops, including a soldier who committed suicide just four days after joining the unit in Iraq. Ten soldiers testified over the weekend that Staff Sgt. Bob Clements and Sgt. Enoch Chatman regularly punished them with verbal abuse and grueling exercise. The soldiers also ... Read Full Story