Frank D. Wuterich (born February 28, 1980) is a former United States Marine Corps Staff Sergeant who pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty as a result of his actions during the Haditha killings where multiple innocent civilians were murdered. As a result of the plea agreement, he was reduced in rank to Private. He was given a general discharge in February 2012. Background Wuterich grew up in Meriden, Connecticut. In Hawaii, he met and married former wife Marisol with whom he has three daughters. Wuterich was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when the Haditha incident occurred. Haditha incident According to news reports Wuterich was the senior Marine on patrol (no commissioned officers being present), and after the killings, allegedly lied to his commanding officers by stating that 15 of the dead Iraqi civilians were killed in the same IED explosion that touched off the incident. Time magazine has reported that military investigators had placed Wuterich in at least two of the houses in which the killings took place. On June 11, 2006, the Washington Post reported a detailed account of Wuterich's version of events as relayed via his attorney, Neal A. Puckett. Many news reports have contradicted Wuterich's version of events, claiming that the Marines entered several houses and deliberately killed civilians. Besides photographic evidence of the killings provided by Iraqi journalism student Taher Thabet, there was also testimony from a young Iraqi girl who survived by hiding. The girl described having watched the Marines shoot her family members systematically. The photographs and forensic evidence were later used to corroborate the Marines' version of events. Since being named in news reports in connection with the killings, several of Wuterich's family members have spoken out in his defense. Wuterich's father, Dave Wuterich, told the Associated Press that “I just don't believe that he [Frank Wuterich] would do something like that.” Previously, Wuterich's former wife, Marisol, had praised Wuterich in blog postings. On June 19, 2007, Marisol Wuterich and her father-in-law were interviewed on Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes, both said that they back Frank Wuterich “100 percent”. 10-years-veteran Captain James Kimber (born 1973), Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey R. Chessani, and Captain Luke McConnell, according to a report by The Times on May 29, 2006, were all relieved of their duties on suspicion of inadequate reporting of or investigation into the Haditha incident. Unsuccessful defamation suit On August