Army Investigator Testifies That Sergeant Admitted To Mercy Killing

An Army investigator testified Tuesday that a staff sergeant accused of murder in the mercy killing of an Iraqi teen admitted to the killing in a written statement.

Staff Sgt. Andrew Sims is facing a court martial at Fort Bliss in the 2006 death, which took place at the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Iraq. Sims is currently a nurse assigned to Beaumont Army Medical Center. He faces the possibility of life in prison.

On Tuesday, Special Agent James Suprynowicz, with the Army’s criminal investigations division, testified that Sims admitted to the killing.

But Sims’ attorney, Lenny Morales, said his client was coerced into admitting to the killing.

“I want all of our soldiers to come back heroes,” Suprynowicz said. “I’d rather he never have said this to me.”

Several years after the death of the teen, who was severely burned, Sims’ roommate and fellow nurse, Sgt. Candi Pepper, accused Sims of killing the teen by giving him a deadly dose of a medication mixture.

After a break, the defense called to the stand Dr. William Omohundro, who reviewed the medical records. He testified that the teen died from the burns.

“My opinion by looking at the chart is that he died from organ failure because of the burns sustained,” Omohundro said.

Morales asked if the drugs killed the young man, to which Omohundro replied, “No evidence of that.”

After Suprynowicz’s testimony, the judge had to reiterate the court rules regarding outside communication. During a break, a juror told the judge that he had received a posting of a KVIA story on his Facebook page. The judge reminded jurors to stay off Facebook and all other social media. The jury member said he read only the headline and could remain impartial, and the trial continued.

Closing arguments continue Wednesday morning. Unlike civilian juries, a court martial panel doesn’t have to find Sims guilty by a unanimous verdict; it needs only six of the nine to agree on the verdict.