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Wash. State Soldier Held in Wife's Death

Soldier in Washington State Held in Wife's Death; Relatives Say Mind Snapped in Iraq

LAKEWOOD, Wash. April 22 — An Army sergeant who recently returned from Iraq was arrested in the death of his wife, and relatives said something caused his mind to snap while he was deployed.

James Kevin Pitts, 31, turned himself in late Wednesday and was booked for investigation of murder, according to booking records.

Tara Pitts, 28, who earlier this month obtained a temporary restraining order against her husband, was found dead Wednesday in her apartment, police said.

Pierce County sheriff's Detective Ed Troyer said she had been dead several hours and an autopsy was planned. Troyer said there was no indication Pitts had been shot or stabbed.

It was not immediately clear if Pitts had a lawyer.

The soldier called his family on Wednesday and confessed, said his brother, Joshua Pitts. "He's been a totally changed person. Obviously it (Iraq) did something to him," he said.

James Pitts is a sergeant first class who operated heavy equipment for the 555th Combat Engineer Group, his brother said. He returned in March after nearly a year in Iraq.

"This has devastated me," Pitts' father, also named James, told KIRO-TV of Seattle. "My son called and said, 'I just killed my wife.' ... He's not my son anymore. I feel my son is still in Iraq. You can thank George W. Bush for this."

Fort Lewis civilian spokesman Jeff Young said Army personnel sent to combat receive help dealing with the stress of deployment.

The Army beefed up its postwar counseling programs after three soldiers from commando units at Fort Bragg, N.C., were accused of killing their wives in the summer of 2002 after returning from fighting in Afghanistan.

Posted by thinkum at April 22, 2004 08:44 PM