Tecumseh soldier faces murder charge in death of Afghan man

A master sergeant in the U.S. Army and Tecumseh resident, Joseph D. Newell, 38, could face a court martial on a murder charge in the killing of an Afghan civilian on March 5, according to a story in the Detroit Free Press.

A witness has testified that Newell “grinned as he held the ear of an Afghan man” he thought might have been an insurgent after he shot the man in the desert.
The witness, Sgt. Ricky Derring, said his team, led by Newell, a 20-year member of the military, stopped two civilian cars while traveling in a convoy. Newell, through an interpreter, asked the Afghan man if he was an insurgent or had improvised explosives devices. The man reportedly said no.

Derring said that he, Newell and the interpreter believed the man was an insurgent because he had a cell phone in his possession. Taliban insurgents often communicate with cell phones, according to the story.

“Newell drew his gun and shot him, left him in the desert, then returned and cut off his ear,” the Free Press quoted Derring in his testimony.