Fort Drum, N.Y. — A soldier assigned to Fort Drum killed a fellow member of his unit who was also his roommate, military officials said Monday.
The soldier, U.S. Army Spc. Riley F. Birbilas, was charged Monday with premeditated murder and obstruction of justice, according to a Monday evening news release from Katherine Wright, a Fort Drum spokesperson.
Spc. Jacob Ashton, 21, of Perry, Ohio, was found dead last Monday at the expansive base near Watertown, officials previously said.
Ashton was found dead in his car in a parking lot on the base, according to his aunt, Michelle Ustupski. Officials told her that Ashton died from blunt force trauma.
Birbilas, 22, of Kodiak, Alaska, was arrested at some point last week. He spent the weekend in the Oneida County jail in Oriskany, about two hours southeast of Fort Drum, records show.
Birbilas will be prosecuted through the military justice system, officials said. Charges were “preferred” against him Monday, the equivalent of filing a criminal indictment. He now awaits a preliminary hearing, which functions similarly to an arraignment.
Birbilas may face a court-martial, the equivalent of a criminal trial. If convicted of murder, he can be sentenced either to life in military prison or death.
Both men served in a unit of the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team. They deployed last summer for nine months to the Middle East.
Officials haven’t offered a possible motive for the…
