FORT LEWIS, Wash., May 27 (UPI) -- An Army lawyer urged a hearing officer to ignore his client's statement that he provided the drugs that caused the overdose death of a Seattle-area teenager.
Capt. Don-Michael Barbour said the Fort Lewis soldier was distraught and sleep-deprived when he told investigators about his role in the death of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Leah King, on Valentine's Day.
Pvt. Timothy Bennitt told an investigator a few days later that he had supplied the anti-depression medication Xanax and the pain-killer Opana that King took before dying in Bennitt's barracks.
The Seattle Times said Barbour urged Maj. Rebecca Connelly Tuesday to dismiss the manslaughter charge due to a lack of evidence rather than refer Bennitt for court martial where he could receive up to 82 years in prison if convicted.
Barbour also argued although Bennitt was known around Fort Lewis as a drug dealer, witness statements concluded he was out of those particular pills on the day King died.
