Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Here was a story from KansasCity.com on 28 August 2009:
Soldier accused of killing set for trial, The Associated Press
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. | A soldier at Fort Leonard Wood is set to go on trial on charges of killing another soldier’s wife.
Spc. Jermaine Johnson was originally to face a court martial trial in May, but the trial date was changed a couple times. The proceeding is scheduled to start today at the mid-Missouri Army base.
And here’s some follow-up news:
Soldier at Fort Leonard Wood pleads guilty to murdering woman
Spc. Jermaine Johnson pleaded guilty to the murder of Myria Silva, the wife of another soldier who was deployed in Iraq. Johnson and Silva had reportedly been having an affair, and he killed her last October, then hid her body in an abandoned farmhouse. Johnson was sentenced to 30 years in a military prison.
Posted by James Hart on Monday, August 31, 2009, on Crime Scene KC.
And here’s a report of the family reaction from OzarksFirst.com:
Murder Victim’s Family Unhappy With Suspect’s Sentence
The family that lost its daughter to a brutal murder is not happy with the killer’s sentence.
Late Friday night, a judge sentenced Army Specialist Jermaine Johnson to 30 years confinement. He was also reduced to the rank of E1 with no benefits and dishonorable discharge.
Johnson pleaded guilty Friday to murdering 23-year-old Myria Silva.
In October, Silva’s body was found in an abandoned home in Webster County. Her husband was in Iraq at the time she was killed.
Silva’s family members say they don’t understand why Johnson got such a short sentence. Johnson also gets credit for time served
Picture credit to Ozarks First.