Duty, Death, Dishonor

A Soldier Returns From War And Vanishes

(CBS) 
However, he did make sure Burgoyne's secret was passed around and on November 7, 2003, Army investigators finally heard the story, and found Richard’s remains.

Because the crime happened off the base, the Columbus Police Department took over. And the four soldiers who were last with Davis — Jacob Burgoyne, Alberto Martinez, Mario Navarette and Douglas Woodcoff — were charged with murder.

Detective Andrew Tyner says Alberto Martinez refused to talk. "And I attempted to interview Woodcoff, and he said 'I have no idea as to what you're talking about,' " he recalls.

But Det. Tyner had no trouble getting Burgoyne to talk about the night of July 14. Tyner says Burgoyne was very open, right from the beginning.

Burgoyne now admits the fight he started with Richard outside the strip club continued when the five soldiers drove away.

Burgoyne tells Moriarty that Martinez was driving, and that he pulled over in a wooded area miles from Fort Benning, and everyone got out.

"And that's when I thought, 'Well hell. We're gonna fight. We're gonna do it right here,' " Burgoyne explains.

Burgoyne says he started hitting Richard again. Richard asked Burgoyne to leave him alone and covered his face.

But what happened next, Burgoyne says, took him completely by surprise: Martinez pulled a knife. "And that's when Martinez came out and just — thump — stuck him right in his side. His left side," Burgoyne tells Moriarty.

Asked why, Burgoyne said Martinez didn't give an answer. After being stabbed, Burgoyne says Richard fell to the ground.

Navarette says he tried to intervene. "I'm like, 'Whoa, what are you doing Martinez? You can't do this, man. We got to get 'em to a hospital. We can still save him.' And he's like, 'Nah, man, he's gonna report us. If we take him to a hospital he's gonna report us and we're gonna get in trouble.' And I'm over here, I'm losing it. I'm telling Burgoyne, 'Please man, stop it,' " Navarette says.

"We started talking to him, and trying to plead with him," Burgoyne says.

"And then Burgoyne tells me, he grabs my shoulder and he said, 'Calm down. Promise me to calm down. I'll take care of this little brother. I'll talk to Martinez.' So I turned around and I walked towards the car," Navarette tells Moriarty.

Navarette claims he saw nothing of what happened next and Woodcoff claims he had drunkenly wandered away, and heard only a muffled argument. This left Burgoyne as the only witness.

"I looked around, I seen him on top of Davis, he hit him, he stuck him and he was hittin' him all in the back area in the kidney area and the lung area back in the back and the neck and skull area. He just started goin' on a rampage with him like I ain't never seen a man do. Never seen a man do that," Burgoyne says.

Asked what Richard was saying, Burgoyne says, "Said he had a family, screamin'. Said he had a family."

Burgoyne says he just stood there. "Last thing he said was he was dead. He was dead. He said it twice. And then I didn't hear no more sounds. Martinez kept stickin' him. Takin' his time just kept stickin' him and stickin' him and stickin' him. And he was puttin' the blade in and then churnin' it. That was it. It was over."

"You could've stopped him," Moriarty says. "You didn't even try."

"No," Burgoyne replies. "I explained to him verbally but not physically, no I didn't. Not when I saw his eyes. I saw the blood in his eyes and all you can do is see red. That was it. And he wanted to kill that guy. He wanted to. That was his thing. It scared the s--- outta me."