8 Marines face charges in Haditha killings

Story Highlights

• Four enlisted men, four officers charged in 24 civilian deaths
• Charges: murder, dereliction of duty, false statement, obstruction
• Marines won't be detained pending trial, colonel says
• Marine Corps files multiple murder counts against sergeant

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Four Marines have been charged with murder in the 2005 killings of 24 Iraqi civilians, and four officers are accused of failing to investigate and report the deaths properly, the Marine Corps announced Thursday.

A Marine investigation into the killings found initial reports -- including a press release that blamed the civilian deaths on a roadside bomb -- were "inaccurate and untimely," Marine Col. Stewart Navarre told reporters.

"We now know with certainty the press release was incorrect, and that none of the civilians were killed by the IED," Navarre said. (Watch Navarre outline the charges )

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz and Lance Cpls. Justin Sharratt and Stephen Tatum have been charged with unpremeditated murder in the civilian deaths. Wuterich also is charged with making a false official statement and trying to get another Marine to make a false statement.

Haditha, located along the Euphrates River, was the target of previous Marine campaigns aimed at rooting out insurgents. Wuterich was leading a patrol through the city on November 19, 2005, when the unit was hit by a roadside bomb that killed one of its members. (Map)

The service launched its investigation in March, after an Iraqi human rights group raised allegations that the Marines had gone on a house-to-house rampage after the bombing.

None of the men charged Thursday will be held in the brig before trial, Navarre said.

Neal Puckett, one of Wuterich's attorneys, told reporters Wuterich was on two weeks' leave with his family at Camp Pendleton. His wife, Marisol, is expecting a baby any day. He has previously denied wrongdoing, and specifically denies allegations that he asked Dela Cruz to lie, Puckett said.

According to a Time magazine report, the Marines said they faced threats from the houses where the Iraqi civilians were killed and responded with appropriate force. (Read the Time magazine report on Haditha)

"There's no question that people died that day, innocent civilians died that day," Puckett said. "But Staff Sgt. Wuterich maintains, and quite frankly I believe, that they did everything they were supposed to do that day in protecting themselves."

Sharratt's attorney, Gary Myers, told CNN, "Our view has been and continues to be that these were combat-related deaths."

Wuterich's detachment was part of Kilo Company, from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, based at Camp Pendleton. Their battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, "wrongfully failed to accurately report and thoroughly investigate a possible, suspected, or alleged violation of the law of war by Marines under his command," the Marines announced.

Chessani has been charged with one count of violating a lawful order and two counts of dereliction of duty. Three other officers -- Capt. Randy Stone, Capt. Lucas McConnell and 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson -- also face charges in the case: Grayson is charged with obstruction of justice, dereliction of duty and making a false statement; McConnell and Stone are charged with dereliction of duty; and Stone faces an additional count of violating a lawful order.

In addition to the murder charges, which carry a possible life sentence, Dela Cruz is charged with making a false statement and Tatum is charged with negligent homicide and assault.

If convicted, the accused officers face sentences ranging from administrative punishment, such as loss of rank and pay, to prison terms of up to five years for obstruction of justice.

Although more than a year has passed since the raid, Navarre defended the pace of the investigation.

"The investigations and the referral of charges have been done as quickly as possible, but no quicker -- no slower, no faster," he said. "The intent is to move through the process as quickly as we can, making sure that we take the necessary time to ensure a complete, full, impartial execution of the process."

Wuterich has sued anti-war congressman John Murtha for libel, accusing the Pennsylvania Democrat and former Marine colonel of falsely accusing the Marines of killing civilians in "cold blood." Puckett said Thursday that if that were true, the men would have been charged with premeditated murder.

CNN's Barbara Starr, Bill Mears and Lindy Hall contributed to this report.

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