Army: No Bullet Found In Beaumont Hospital Soldier Skype Death

Army investigators said Monday they found no bullet wound nor evidence of foul play in the death of a soldier in Afghanistan who died during a Skype video chat with his wife.

Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark collapsed while speaking to his wife on May 1 from his base in Tarin Kot, Afghanistan, southwest of Kabul. His wife, Susan Orellana-Clark, has suggested that Clark was shot, citing a hole visible in the closet behind him that she believed was a bullet hole. Investigators said an initial probe showed only that Clark broke his nose when he fell forward. Orellana-Clark said he didn’t seem alarmed before he collapsed.

Christopher Grey, a spokesman for the Army Criminal Investigation Command, said Monday that no bullet wound was found in Clark’s body. An autopsy is being done to determine the cause of death and the investigation is still under way, Grey said.

“But the important thing is that there was no bullet wound, no trauma,” except that Clark’s nose was possibly broken when he fell on his desk, Grey said in a telephone interview.

“We can positively say that Captain Clark was not shot,” Grey later said in a statement.

Clark’s family released a statement Sunday describing what his wife saw in the video feed recording her husband’s death.

“The closet behind him had a bullet hole in it,” the statement said, adding that others, including a member of the military who came to Orellana-Clark’s Texas home also believed it was a bullet hole.

The statement says the Skype link remained open for two hours after Clark collapsed as family and friends in the U.S. and Afghanistan tried to get Clark help. Although it was the night of Monday, April 30, at his El Paso, Texas, home, Clark’s time of death is officially listed as May 1, the date in Afghanistan at the time.

“After two hours and many frantic phone calls by Mrs. Clark, two military personnel arrived in the room and appeared to check his pulse, but provided no details about his condition to his wife,” the statement said.

In the statement, Orellana-Clark said she was providing details of what she saw “to honor my husband and dispel the inaccurate information and supposition promulgated by other parties.”

Reached Monday after the Army issued its statement, Bradley Taber-Thomas, a brother-in-law who has been acting as a spokesman for Clark’s family, said the family had not been officially informed by the Army that a bullet wound had not been found in the captain’s body and had no immediate comment.

Grey said investigators will “consider all available evidence” before reaching a final determination.

“Although we have not completely ruled it out to ensure a complete and thorough investigation is conducted, we do not suspect foul play in the death of Captain Clark at this point,” Grey said. “We will continue to keep the next of kin updated as the investigation continues.”

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, commonly referred to as CID, a statement on Monday in regards to Clark’s death.

“We express our sincere condolences to the family, friends, and fellow Soldiers of Captain Bruce Clark who recently died in Afghanistan and we know this is a very traumatic and difficult time for all involved. Although the investigation into his death is open and ongoing by Special Agents from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, we can positively say that Captain Clark was not shot. Agents conducting the investigation, found no trauma to the body beyond minor abrasions and a possible broken nose most likely caused from Captain Clark striking his face on his desk when he collapsed. The investigation into the death of Captain Clark will continue and we will consider all available evidence before reaching a final determination. Although we have not completely ruled it out to ensure a complete and thorough investigation is conducted, we do not suspect foul play in the death of Captain Clark at this point in our ongoing investigation. We will continue to keep the next of kin updated as the investigation continues,” Grey said in the statement.

Clark grew up in Michigan and previously lived in Spencerport, N.Y., a suburb of Rochester, his wife’s hometown. He joined the Army in 2006 and was stationed in Hawaii before he was assigned to the medical center in El Paso. He deployed to Afghanistan in March.

Clark’s body was returned Thursday to Dover Air Force Base.

He is survived by his wife and two daughters, aged 3 and 9.