US soldier dies during Skype chat with wife

US Army investigators have found no bullet wound and have no evidence of foul play in the death of a soldier in Afghanistan during a Skype video chat with his wife.

Captain Bruce Kevin Clark’s wife said her husband fell forward during the video session last week and that she saw a bullet hole in the closet behind him, raising the question of whether he had been shot.

But Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command, said today that no bullet wound was found in Capt Clark’s body.

A post-mortem examination is being conducted to determine the cause of death and the investigation is still under way, Mr Grey said.

“But the important thing is that there was no bullet wound, no trauma,” except that Capt Clark’s nose was possibly broken when he fell on his desk, Mr Grey said.

Capt Clark’s family released a statement describing what his wife saw in the video feed recording her husband’s death in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan.

“The closet behind him had a bullet hole in it,” the statement said, adding that “others individuals, including a member of the military, who rushed” to the Texas home of Capt Clark’s wife also believed it was a bullet hole.

The statement said the Skype link remained open for two hours on April 30 as family and friends in the US and Afghanistan tried to get help.

“After two hours and many frantic phone calls by Mrs Clark, two military personnel arrived in the room and appeared to check his pulse, but provided no details about his condition to his wife,” the statement said.

In the statement, Susan Orellana-Clark said she was providing details of what she saw “to honour my husband and dispel the inaccurate information and supposition promulgated by other parties”.

Capt Clark deployed to Afghanistan from the US in March.


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