Navy SEALs Allegedly Killed Green Beret in Mali Over Thefts
Sources say the Army soldier suspected his Special Ops comrades were pocketing money from a fund to pay informants.
By Alexa Lardieri, Staff Writer
U.S. News
Nov. 13, 2017, at 10:42 a.m.
Two Navy SEALs being investigated in the death of a Green Beret in Mali in June are accused of killing him because the soldier discovered they had been stealing, The Daily Beast reported.
On June 4, Staff Sgt. Logan J. Melgar, a 34-year-old Afghanistan combat veteran was found dead in the U.S. embassy house he shared with other Special Operations forces in the West African country. His death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation.
Melgar's Army superiors in Stuttgart, Germany dispatched an investigating officer to Mali 24 hours after his death and the two suspected SEALs were placed on administrative leave and flown out of the country shortly after. The SEALS who have not been identified, were first described as "witnesses" in Melgar's death, but as the investigation unfolded, they became "persons of interest."
According to The Daily Beast, part of the anti-terrorism intelligence-gathering operations in Mali involved a cash fund used to pay informants.
Two Special Operations members told the publication Melgar discovered the SEALs were stealing from this fund, pocketing the money. When they found out Melgar knew, they offered to cut him in on their scheme. However, Melgar declined, according to the sources.
The events leading up to Melgar's death on the night of June 4 are still not entirely known, but according to accounts from three officials familiar with the investigation told The New York Times Melgar and the two SEALs were grappling when one of the sailors put Melgar in a chokehold and he passed out.
When they couldn't revive him, the SEALs rushed Melgar to an emergency clinic, where he was pronounced dead.
The SEALs told their superiors Melgar was drunk during the incident. However, a former U.S. Africa Command official who saw the autopsy report said no drugs or alcohol were found in Melgar's system, The Daily Beast reported.
Melgar's wife, Michelle Melgar, gave investigators emails her husband sent her about problems he was having with the SEALs. She said her husband told her he "had a bad feeling" about two of his partners who were members of SEAL Team Six, a decorated commando unit, but said he would tell her the whole story when he returned home, officials familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast.
By Alexa Lardieri, Staff Writer
U.S. News
Nov. 13, 2017, at 10:42 a.m.
Two Navy SEALs being investigated in the death of a Green Beret in Mali in June are accused of killing him because the soldier discovered they had been stealing, The Daily Beast reported.
On June 4, Staff Sgt. Logan J. Melgar, a 34-year-old Afghanistan combat veteran was found dead in the U.S. embassy house he shared with other Special Operations forces in the West African country. His death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation.
Melgar's Army superiors in Stuttgart, Germany dispatched an investigating officer to Mali 24 hours after his death and the two suspected SEALs were placed on administrative leave and flown out of the country shortly after. The SEALS who have not been identified, were first described as "witnesses" in Melgar's death, but as the investigation unfolded, they became "persons of interest."
According to The Daily Beast, part of the anti-terrorism intelligence-gathering operations in Mali involved a cash fund used to pay informants.
Two Special Operations members told the publication Melgar discovered the SEALs were stealing from this fund, pocketing the money. When they found out Melgar knew, they offered to cut him in on their scheme. However, Melgar declined, according to the sources.
The events leading up to Melgar's death on the night of June 4 are still not entirely known, but according to accounts from three officials familiar with the investigation told The New York Times Melgar and the two SEALs were grappling when one of the sailors put Melgar in a chokehold and he passed out.
When they couldn't revive him, the SEALs rushed Melgar to an emergency clinic, where he was pronounced dead.
The SEALs told their superiors Melgar was drunk during the incident. However, a former U.S. Africa Command official who saw the autopsy report said no drugs or alcohol were found in Melgar's system, The Daily Beast reported.
Melgar's wife, Michelle Melgar, gave investigators emails her husband sent her about problems he was having with the SEALs. She said her husband told her he "had a bad feeling" about two of his partners who were members of SEAL Team Six, a decorated commando unit, but said he would tell her the whole story when he returned home, officials familiar with the investigation told The Daily Beast.
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