Deliberations to begin in Ranger murder trial

[unhappycamper]

Deliberations to begin in Ranger murder trial
By Stephen Manning - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Apr 1, 2008 21:51:06 EDT

ROCKVILLE, Md. — A Maryland jury will decide whether a former Army Ranger committed suicide after serving several tours in Afghanistan or if he was killed by his roommate, a fellow member of the elite fighting force.

The Montgomery County Circuit Court jury was set to begin deliberations Wednesday morning after hearing closing arguments Tuesday on a first-degree murder charge against Gary Smith, 25, for allegedly shooting Michael McQueen in September 2006. The two men had served together in a Ranger intelligence unit in Afghanistan.

Smith’s lawyers say McQueen, 22, likely shot himself once in the temple with a .38-caliber revolver because he was despondent over a break up with his girlfriend, worried about his job prospects, and drinking heavily.

Prosecutors did not provide a clear motive during the trial for their theory of the crime — that Smith, shot McQueen as he watched football in the Gaithersburg apartment they shared, then dumped the gun in a nearby lake to cover his tracks.

But Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Hill suggested in closing arguments that Smith may have shot McQueen because he was upset that McQueen, a man Hill said Smith idolized, planned to move out. Hill said McQueen was anything but suicidal. He had been accepted to college, planned to attend a job fair, talked often with his family and wanted to be a lawyer.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_rangerkilled_040108/