Paratrooper Convicted of Murder in Sniper Attack

An Army paratrooper who claimed that his fellow soldiers called him crazy and pulled pranks on him was convicted of premeditated murder Tuesday for killing an officer in a sniper attack on his own unit.

The court-martial jury that convicted Sgt. William Kreutzer then began hearing evidence on whether to sentence him to death. Defense attorneys read a statement in which Kreutzer tried to explain why he did it.

“My reasons then don’t make good sense now,” the statement read. “I wanted to send a message to the chain of command that had forgotten the welfare of the common soldier. I don’t know why I thought my actions would accomplish this . . . I’m truly sorry for the damage I caused.”

Also at the sentencing hearing, one of the 18 soldiers wounded in the attack Oct. 27 testified from a wheelchair because he was paralyzed from the waist down by a bullet fired by Kreutzer.

“There’s nothing that I can do on my own anymore,” said Chief Warrant Officer Abraham Castillo, a former helicopter pilot. “Somebody has to be with me at all times.”

The jury deliberated for slightly less than two hours before finding Kreutzer guilty of premeditated murder in the death of Maj. Stephen Badger. Kreutzer was also convicted on attempted murder charges for each of the 18 fellow members of the 82nd Airborne Division who were wounded as 1,300 members of the elite unit prepared for a four-mile run.

Kreutzer’s lawyers contended he was under stress and suffering from a personality disorder.

Prosecutors argued that Kreutzer carefully planned the attack.

Kreutzer talked often about shooting people, said William Knight, a former sergeant who served with Kreutzer in the 82nd Airborne in the Sinai Peninsula in 1994 and at Ft. Bragg.

During the Sinai assignment, Kreutzer talked about wanting to kill members of his squad because they put sand in his boots and rigged cords to trip him on his way to the toilet, Knight said.

Kreutzer, who loved guns and had no social life, was called names like “Crazy Kreutzer” and “Silence of the Lambs,” said defense attorney Capt. Stephen Stokes.