Seven soldiers who went camping with a Fort Bragg paratrooper whose severed head later washed up on a beach are being court-martialed.
The New York Post reports that a group of North Carolina-based soldiers were the last to see Specialist Enrique Roman-Martinez, 21, alive. The soldiers were visiting Cape Lookout National Seashore to celebrate Memorial Day when the paratrooper disappeared in 2020.
Spc Martinez was reported missing on 22 May, and six days later his severed head washed onto the shore. His body has never been recovered.
While the investigation into Spc Martinez's death remains open, it was eventually designated a cold case, according to the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
The soldiers being court-martialed have not been charged with his death. Military officials made clear that the charges are not directly related to the homicide.
The group has been charged with conspiracy and failure to obey a direct order or regulation related to travel during a travel ban, according to reporting from the Fayetteville Observer.
They are Sergeant Samuel Moore, Private First Class Samad Landrum, Private Annamarie Cochell, and Specialists Juan Avila, Alex Becerra, Joshua Curry and Benjamin Sibley.
Three of the soldiers were also charged with using the hallucinogen LSD. Spc Martinez was sober when he died, according to his autopsy.
Fort Bragg – where Army and Marine special forces units train – has been a common denominator in a number of strange deaths in recent years.
The same year Spc Martinez disappeared two men – Master Sergeant William Lavigne and Timothy Dumas – were found dead at the site of an unexplained gun fight near the base's training area. Sgt Dumas was a former soldier, though not special forces. Sgt Lavigne was a Green Beret and Delta Force member.
Over the course of 18 months between 2020 and 2021, more than 80 military members stationed at the base died from "sudden" and "unexplained" causes. Only 11 of the deaths were determined to have been from natural causes.
Last month another soldier from the base was found unresponsive in his vehicle and was later pronounced dead.
Major Eric "Adam" Ewoldsen was found dead in his car in Fayetteville. Fort Bragg officials said he had formerly been deployed multiple times ot Afghanistan and Iraq. His death is reportedly still being investigated.
A cause of death has not been made public.
