Air Force Wife Guilty in Spouse’s Fatal Stabbing

An Air Force spouse accused of fatally stabbing her husband in their quarters on a military base in Turkey was convicted of voluntary manslaughter Friday by a Los Angeles federal court jury.

Latasha Arnt, 24, of Moreno Valley faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The same jury acquitted her of second-degree murder, which carries a maximum life sentence.

Arnt was the first person to be prosecuted under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, which provides for civilians who accompany military personnel abroad to be returned to the United States for trial if the host country declines to prosecute.

The law, which was enacted in 2000, closed a loophole that allowed some American civilians to go unpunished for serious crimes committed overseas.

This was Arnt’s second trial in the death of her husband, Staff Sgt. Matthias A. Arnt III, a 24-year-old military police officer at Incirlik Air Base. A mistrial was declared in July after a jury deadlocked with a 7-5 split for acquittal.

Arnt testified that she grabbed a steak knife and stabbed him in self-defense as he was about to punch her in the face during a quarrel in their small apartment on the air base on May 26, 2003.

Prosecutors contended that she killed him in an act of rage and jealousy after discovering love letters and a provocative photo recently sent to him by a former girlfriend at his request.

Arnt denied that was the reason. She said her husband had returned home drunk from a party. In an ensuing argument, she said, she told him that she was fed up with his drinking and planned to return to the United States with their infant daughter.

She said her husband, who was 6 feet, 3 inches and weighed 250 pounds, tried to strike her with a large wrought-iron candlestick holder and then chased her into the kitchen, where she stabbed him.

After the verdict, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson ordered Arnt taken into custody. However, he agreed to hear a defense motion Wednesday to allow her to remain free on bail until she is sentenced Jan. 31.