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Accused sergeant's wife not convinced her husband was involved
By Susan Heavey, Reuters March 27, 2012
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The wife of a U.S. army sergeant accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians said she does not believe her husband could have carried out the massacre and that she was confident he was fine before his latest deployment.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a decorated 38-year-old veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been charged with 17 counts of murder for killing eight adults and nine children and six counts each of assault and attempted murder for attacking two other adults and four children.
The incident has further strained U.S.-Afghan relations after more than 10 years of war.
Karilyn Bales, speaking publicly for the first time since the March 11 shootings in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, said in an interview on NBC's Today show Monday she firmly does not believe her husband was involved in the attack.
"I don't think anything will ever change my mind in believing he did not do this, that this is not what it appears to be," she told NBC. "I just don't think he was involved. I don't know enough information. This is not him. It's not him."
Bales is being held at Leavenworth military prison in Kansas, where his wife has spoken with him twice by telephone.
"He seemed a bit confused as to where he was and why he was there," she said of his detention, adding she did not directly ask him if or how he was involved in the killing spree.
Bales's lawyer John Henry Browne has suggested he might use the soldier's mental state as a defence.
Karilyn Bales said her husband's latest mission seemed "more intense" than his past tours in Iraq but he had been screened mentally and physically before this latest deployment to Afghanistan and did not have any issues.
While on one of his tours, Bales suffered a traumatic brain injury during a vehicle rollover, which his wife said she did not know about until he got back.
"He shielded me from a lot of what he went through. He's a very tough guy," she said.
While she was not completely familiar with all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, Bales said her husband did not appear to suffer from nightmares, difficulty concentrating or erratic behaviour.
"I would say a lot of people who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have seen a lot of things that affected them. It can't not affect you," she said.
Bales insisted her husband was a great father who would not have harmed children.
"He loves children. He's like a big kid himself. I have no idea what happened but he loved children and he would not do that," she said. "It's heartbreaking."
It was unknown where Karilyn Bales was and NBC would not disclose the interview location. She and the couple's two children have been moved into military lodging at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Wash., and her blog on her pregnancy and life with their first child has now been blocked from public view.
The couple, who met through an online dating service and married in 2005, have a history of financial trouble at home. There is also a $1.5 million fraud judgment against Bales and a brokerage where he worked and various police reports. At the same time, Bales received several military commendations during three tours in Iraq.
Accused sergeant's wife not convinced her husband was involved
By Susan Heavey, Reuters March 27, 2012
Tweet
The wife of a U.S. army sergeant accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians said she does not believe her husband could have carried out the massacre and that she was confident he was fine before his latest deployment.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a decorated 38-year-old veteran of four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been charged with 17 counts of murder for killing eight adults and nine children and six counts each of assault and attempted murder for attacking two other adults and four children.
The incident has further strained U.S.-Afghan relations after more than 10 years of war.
Karilyn Bales, speaking publicly for the first time since the March 11 shootings in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, said in an interview on NBC's Today show Monday she firmly does not believe her husband was involved in the attack.
"I don't think anything will ever change my mind in believing he did not do this, that this is not what it appears to be," she told NBC. "I just don't think he was involved. I don't know enough information. This is not him. It's not him."
Bales is being held at Leavenworth military prison in Kansas, where his wife has spoken with him twice by telephone.
"He seemed a bit confused as to where he was and why he was there," she said of his detention, adding she did not directly ask him if or how he was involved in the killing spree.
Bales's lawyer John Henry Browne has suggested he might use the soldier's mental state as a defence.
Karilyn Bales said her husband's latest mission seemed "more intense" than his past tours in Iraq but he had been screened mentally and physically before this latest deployment to Afghanistan and did not have any issues.
While on one of his tours, Bales suffered a traumatic brain injury during a vehicle rollover, which his wife said she did not know about until he got back.
"He shielded me from a lot of what he went through. He's a very tough guy," she said.
While she was not completely familiar with all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, Bales said her husband did not appear to suffer from nightmares, difficulty concentrating or erratic behaviour.
"I would say a lot of people who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have seen a lot of things that affected them. It can't not affect you," she said.
Bales insisted her husband was a great father who would not have harmed children.
"He loves children. He's like a big kid himself. I have no idea what happened but he loved children and he would not do that," she said. "It's heartbreaking."
It was unknown where Karilyn Bales was and NBC would not disclose the interview location. She and the couple's two children have been moved into military lodging at Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Wash., and her blog on her pregnancy and life with their first child has now been blocked from public view.
The couple, who met through an online dating service and married in 2005, have a history of financial trouble at home. There is also a $1.5 million fraud judgment against Bales and a brokerage where he worked and various police reports. At the same time, Bales received several military commendations during three tours in Iraq.
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