# Soldier confesses to killing his wife



## Trebor (Apr 23, 2010)

Soldier confesses to killing wife, body found - Breaking News - The Olympian - Olympia, Washington

just....damn


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## Colin1 (Apr 24, 2010)

Hmmm
he rang a friend and asked the best way to dispose of a body

He's either monumentally stupid or he wanted to be caught


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Apr 24, 2010)

What a shame. He obviously was a troubled man. I honestly believe the Army needs to do better with helping soldiers psychological wise returning from deployments.


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## evangilder (Apr 24, 2010)

Sad that they still aren't doing enough for these guys. PTSD is one of those things that doesn't always manifest itself right away and effects everyone different. I recently found out that PTSD also effects a body physically. During the traumatic event, your body releases a huge amount of adrenaline. Then when the event is over, you body releases a big amount of serotonin to counteract the adrenaline and balance the body chemistry. That can cause the serotonin levels to be permanently out of whack, causing all kinds of mood swings, rage, etc.

Couple that with dissociative disorders that happen to a lot of combat vets and you have a recipe for things like this to happen. 

SSRIs (Selective Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors) can provide huge benefits to those who suffer (I know first hand). Unfortunately, there are stigmas attached with anti-depressants.


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## Wayne Little (Apr 24, 2010)




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## RabidAlien (Apr 24, 2010)

Agree with all of the above. Seems like once our guys get back stateside, they just kinda forget about em unless its a physical disability they come back with. Much harder to hide those, so they get treated.


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## N4521U (Apr 25, 2010)

What government Does do enough. I read today Rudd has gone back on providing dental care for military dependents, go figure!


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Apr 25, 2010)

RabidAlien said:


> Agree with all of the above. Seems like once our guys get back stateside, they just kinda forget about em unless its a physical disability they come back with. Much harder to hide those, so they get treated.



It is the "Suck It Up and Drive on Syndrome". There are no problems in the military...


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## RabidAlien (Apr 28, 2010)

I went and talked with a chaplain once, when I was still in A-school, after a friend of mine died back home. His "help" was to basically quit thinkin about it and concentrate on your schoolwork. Can't imagine what they're telling guys who had to live with the constant stress of "where's death coming from today"?


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Apr 29, 2010)

RabidAlien said:


> Can't imagine what they're telling guys who had to live with the constant stress of "where's death coming from today"?



"Drink water and drive on..."


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## Thorlifter (Apr 29, 2010)

Very sad.

Question for Adler...

I know you served in Desert Storm and/or Desert Shield. Anyway, when it's all done and your rotating back, what kind, if any, debriefing do you go through? Just a pat on the back and carry on? Is it made clear that counseling is available if needed?


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## mikewint (Apr 29, 2010)

From the VN era, i got off the plane into a line of protestors who took turns spitting on us calling us "baby killer" and every other foul name they could think of. the girl i had thoughts of marrying had dumped me in VN and along with my other old friends would not speak to me. Parents told me to quit thinking about it, it was over, get back to important stuff. At the VFW no one wanted to speak to me cause "you have not been in a real war" and "you viet guys were just druggies and hippies anyway"
to say that i was crazy would not be an understatement


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## Colin1 (Apr 29, 2010)

Thorlifter said:


> Very sad.
> 
> Question for Adler...
> 
> I know you served in Desert Storm and/or Desert Shield. Anyway, when it's all done and your rotating back, what kind, if any, debriefing do you go through? Just a pat on the back and carry on? Is it made clear that counseling is available if needed?


Actually
question for anyone who served in Desert Storm

I'm not aware of any individual debriefing system. None was offered and no-one asked for any. I guess if anyone felt they needed it then they probably could have asked for it.

In the case of this individual, there seems to be no mention of any mood swings or unpredictable behaviour during his tours or on his return to Lewis-McChord. Out of work, his neighbour Ms Gibson didn't know him well but found him friendly enough when enountered. No mention of repeated anti-social behaviours in bars etc.

He murders his wife, stuffs her body in a plastic container, creates a lie about her whereabouts and pawns off her jewelry. He then phones a friend days after a previous meeting and continues a conversation about how best to dispose of a body. Sorry, this doesn't sound irrational or unpredictable, it sounds like someone trying to cover their tracks, I'm not seeing any of the remorse here that usually accompanies the consequences of mood swings and after a month, he'd had plenty time enough to cool off.

He was a Signals guy, multi-channel transmission systems? What traumatic event was he exposed to, on any tour, in his line of work, that might cause him to go over the edge?

Relationship between Plummer and his wife described as 'volatile'; Plummer booked into Thurston on suspicion of second-degree murder, domestic violence - sorry, but sounds about right.

I hope I'm wrong, because if I'm not that will be two lives destroyed.

And you're right, this is very sad.


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## Thorlifter (Apr 29, 2010)

Colin1 said:


> Actually
> question for anyone who served in Desert Storm



True Colin. I didn't mean to ignore others that served......


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Apr 29, 2010)

Thorlifter said:


> Very sad.
> 
> Question for Adler...
> 
> I know you served in Desert Storm and/or Desert Shield. Anyway, when it's all done and your rotating back, what kind, if any, debriefing do you go through? Just a pat on the back and carry on? Is it made clear that counseling is available if needed?



I was not in Desert Storm, I was in the 2nd Gulf War (Operation Iraqi Freedom).

Things have gotten a lot better over time. When I returned from Iraq, we had a mandatory 7 day Reintegration Period. We had to be at "classes" every day for about a half a day on how to readjust back to a normal life in Garrison. We also had medical screenings and so forth. Then after 7 days we were allowed to take up to 30 days of Block Leave with our families. Then the next 60 days were a stabilization period. After these initial 90s days, the training for the next tour started.

As for counseling, there is none. If you request it, you will receive it, but there is none offered straight up.


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## Colin1 (Apr 29, 2010)

Thorlifter said:


> True Colin. I didn't mean to ignore others that served......


No worries Thor
didn't feel ignored, just wanted to throw the question out there

I fricken' hate doing contentious or unpopular posts especially over sensitive issues like this one but there's just the fact that there is room for holes in his story here. If the relationship was volatile, as described, he could conceivably have killed her, playing the PTSD card could, in his mind, get him off a more serious charge. 

A totally cynical line to take, but someone back at that Sheriff's Office, doing his job right, is probably going to take it.


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## evangilder (Apr 29, 2010)

Dissociation is one of the big things that people miss. Combat often leads to dissociative behaviors. You find yourself disconnected from everything and everybody. It's hard to explain if you haven't been there. 

No one here knows all of the things that happened that lead to this and it is very difficult to speculate. I can't speak for guys returning from overseas tours now, but back in the 80s, there weren't any kinds of assistance given. Asking for any assistance often led to more trouble than it was worth. The advice given at the time was pack it in a shoebox and deal with it later. The problem with that is years later, you have a truckload of shoeboxes.


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## CharlesBronson (Apr 29, 2010)

Excuse me but this is On-topic ?, shoulnt go in other section ? I mean is not about any modern weapon system or conflict.


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## Matt308 (Apr 30, 2010)

The true travesty is asking these volunteer professionals to serve in theater for entirely too long. One cannot remain in condition ORANGE for such extended periods and not bring back violent tendencies in reaction to normal civil scenarios. I feel for these vets.


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## Matt308 (Apr 30, 2010)

CharlesBronson said:


> Excuse me but this is On-topic ?, shoulnt go in other section ? I mean is not about any modern weapon system or conflict.




Sure CB, it might be appropriate for this to be in the SitRep subforum. But the modern forum is not just technical. The forum topics are a bit blurred in some areas.

Surely you aren't really offended by this being located in the MODERN section... right?


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## evangilder (Apr 30, 2010)

What happens to folks after the battle is something that is as old as warfare itself, but it is also something that is current. In this case, I think it is fine where it is.


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