Incident On Hill 192 - WikiMili, The Best Wikipedia Reader

Aftermath

Storeby initially reported the crime. At first, the chain of command, including the company commander, took no action. Despite threats against his life by the soldiers who took part in the rape and murder, Storeby was determined to see the soldiers punished. His persistence in reporting the crime to higher authorities eventually resulted in general courts-martial against his four fellow squad mates. [6] It was during those proceedings that the victim was identified by her sister as Phan Thi Mao. [9]

Thomas, Cipriano Garcia, and Joseph Garcia were each convicted of unpremeditated murder in March and April 1967. Gervase was found guilty on the count of premeditated murder. [10] At the trial of Thomas, who committed the actual stabbing and shooting, the prosecutor asked the jury to impose a death sentence. [6] The court sentenced Thomas to life imprisonment with hard labor. This sentence was first commuted to 20 years, then reduced to eight, which made him eligible for parole after half that time. He was paroled on June 18, 1970. [11]

Gervase's initial sentence of ten years with hard labor was reduced to eight. [12] He was paroled on August 9, 1969. [11] In 1968, Joseph Garcia was acquitted on the appeal of his initial 15-year sentence and his dishonorable discharge was reversed after it was determined that his Fifth Amendment rights were violated, and his confession was ruled as inadmissible. Cipriano Garcia's 4-year sentence was shortened to 22 months. All soldiers (excluding Storeby) were dishonorably discharged from the Army. [12] [13] Gervase died on March 23, 1981. He was 34 years old. [14] [15]

In 1992, former PFC Thomas gained further notoriety when he was charged with being an accessory after the fact in the murder trial of George Loeb, who was charged with the 17 May 1991 shooting death of an African-American USS Saratoga sailor named Harold J. Mansfield. Both Thomas and Loeb were leaders of the Church of the Creator, a white supremacist group. Thomas remained free on bond during the trial, and court records showed that in exchange for his testimony he would only serve one year's probation. [16] [17]