How Did Specialist Ciara Durkin Die?

Soldier In Finance Unit At Bagram Air Base Said To Have "Discovered Things" Is Found Dead

(CBS/AP)  Exactly how Ciara Durkin died remains a mystery. The Army National Guard soldier from Massachusetts was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in Afghanistan last week, and now her family is demanding answers from the military.

Initially the Pentagon reported that Durkin, part of a finance unit deployed to Afghanistan in November 2006, had been killed in action, but then revised its statement to read she had died of injuries "suffered from a non-combat related incident" at Bagram Airfield. The statement had no specifics and said the circumstances are under investigation.

Durkin had a desk job doing payroll in an office about three miles inside the secure Bagram Air Base. About 90 minutes after she left work last Friday, her family says she was found dead near a chapel on the base with a single gunshot wound to the head.

The 30-year-old soldier, who was born in Ireland and came to the U.S. as a little girl, felt safer deployed in Afghanistan over Iraq, her family told CBS News correspondent Kelly Wallace. Yet she was found dead within a highly secure base, with few answers.

"The family has been informed that she was in the compound, and she was shot in the head," Durkin's sister, Fiona Canavan, told the Boston Globe. "She was in a secure area of the compound, which, even though the investigation is not complete, leads the family to believe it was what is called friendly fire," she said.

Adding to the mystery is something the Army Specialist told her family: if something happened to her in Afghanistan, they should look into it. She was concerned about things she was seeing over there, one of her eight brothers and sisters said in an interview.

Canavan told the Quincy, Mass. Patriot Ledger on Wednesday that when her sister was home three weeks ago, she told her about something she had come across that raised some concern with her: "She was in the finance unit and she said, 'I discovered some things I don’t like and I made some enemies because of it.'"

Canavan revealed that Durkin said if anything happened to her, to make sure it was investigated.

"At the time we thought it was said more as a joke," Canavan told the paper.

The family is also wondering whether Durkin's sexual orientation - she was gay - played a role in her death.

"We just want full disclosure, that's all we want - to know what happened to our sister," Diedre Durkin said.

Massachusetts Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry and Rep. William Delahunt are pressing for answers.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Kerry said the circumstances need to be uncovered expeditiously and thoroughly.

Durkin's extended family has also asked for help from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.

The family doubts suicide, pointing to an upbeat "Happy Birthday" voicemail Durkin left for her brother just hours before she died.

"I thought it was cute at the time," Pierce Durkin said. "Now it's priceless."

The family's grief, made more torturous by the limited information being released and rumors, is not helped by remembrances of past instances where misinformation followed the deaths or injuries of service members.

The military initially said Army Ranger Pat Tillman was killed in an enemy firefight in Afghanistan in 2004, even after evidence came to light that he had been killed by friendly fire.

There were also reports circulated that captured Army pfc. Jessica Lynch had bravely fired upon insurgents after being wounded, though she testified later that that was not so.

Sgt. Patrick McCaffrey and 1st Lt. Andre Tyson, killed in Iraq in 2004, were first reported to have been killed in an insurgent ambush, when they were actually killed by two Iraqi soldiers they were training.

[slim1h2o]

Probably caught someone embezzling our tax dollars, so she had to be kept quiet. HHMMM Haliburton?

[zootallures2]

"actually killed by two Iraqi soldiers they were training."

You send the Iraqis to defuse a bomb with knife and US troops get a whole bomb squad. So I guess that was more mission accomplished psyops.

[fiteit1]

An independent inquiry needs to be done on two fronts, her death and the finances that she was responsible for. I''ll be surprised if the government doesn''t pin it on suicide to further cover up embezzlement or misappropriated funds.

[muzzlebush]

This investigation needs to be prosecuted by someone other than the current administration or the military. Their track record would make any findings meaningless.

[gunownerdan]

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."
- Joseph Goebbels, Hitler''s Propaganda Minister

[robaloer]

Contractors like Blackwater and the others, especially those contracted by the CIA are hired because they will do whatever is necessary to keep the gravy train rolling. Blackwater even recruited "soldiers" of Pinochet and Milosevic, obviously because they wanted people who would have no qualms about killing anybody and who would be loyal to company and not our country.

[robaloer]

Tilman took 3 bullets to the head. He was against expanding the war into Iraq, and people around him knew he wouldn''t keep his opinion to himself.

[demonik2]

No surprise that someone with insight into finances and concern about the tremendous waste, profiteering, and terrible management going on during war time winds up dead. No surprise that she wouldn''t reveal details. This is status quo for military operations. The only thing that changes is VOLUME. The soldiers have nothing to do with it.

[barbaraf4]

Under similar circumstances, I would have left a sealed envelope with orders to open upon my death.

[jsmithcsa]

Reading the comments of others, it appears you''ve seen too many conspiracy movies ;)

My first thought is that it is a suicide. Typically, the Army will not declare a suicide until the investigation is completed confirming it.

[forthepeopl1]

hey JSMITHCSA, DO YOU REALLY THINK OUR GOVERNMENT DOES NOTHING LIKE KILL OR MURDER SOMEONE TO KEEPS THING GOING?????

PLEASE BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN IT...HAVE YOU

[us5555]

Hey vbnvbn,

"I and the rest of the people with Intelligence decided to make something of ourselves instead of selling ourselves into slavery to become state run murderers."

I find it odd how you demean those who serve in the military. If it were not for the brave soldiers serving our country and fighting foreign wars, we wouldn''t be enjoying the very freedoms that allow you to speak such venom. I''d suggest you get a life and actually post some insightful comments.

[gabeh73]

it''s not just the republicans, thh democrats are only too happy to cover up the corruptness of this war. Hillary is in the CFR like the rest of them and gets her Israel and military industrial complex dolalrs too.

[werna73]

This is disgraceful! You all should be ashamed of yourselves saying her death is her own fault. And saying that the military is not a respectable profession. My husband has been in the Army for 11 years and served proudly and honorably and I take offense to anyone who claims differently. This young woman should not be dead, and it doesn''t sound like suicide, why would she do it where she did. You don''t have to support the war, I don''t, but why can''t you be supportive of the military, they didn''t choose this war, but they do it because they want to. Those of you criticizing the soldiers, why don''t you take a walk in their boots for a day, you couldn''t would be my guess.

[Krazcarl]

robaloer..I wasn''t aware of that and it is very troublesome. Yes people would listen to the man I pray your wrong but you do make a excellent point.

[jcyk58]

Let me guess: "thebloodlet" and "vbnvbn" are compassionate conservatives. The first states that "Anyone who is gay has no morals. Period." Period. End of subject. When ignorance speaks it is usually with this arrogant assumption of authority, based on nothing but personal opinion, in turn, based on nothing objectively verifiable. And notice the illiteracy, again, usual among these know-it-alls. Paranoia is just "there" nature. I suggest that ignorance is just in theirs.

vbnvbn declares that "she got what she deserved." Isn''t that a lovely sentiment. Perhaps he would have given her what he thought she deserved, given the opportunity.

I would be willing to bet that these two are part of the base Republican base and that helps explain why we have Bush and Cheney in office. There is never a dearth of ignorant voters, and unfortunately, most of them claim to be Christians. This is the "moral" majority that we have to endure when religion and politics become bedfellows. Our founding fathers knew human nature and respected the power of ignorance among those who vote with their so-called morals rather than with objective intelligence. That was why they insisted on the separation of church and state. Even Jesus did this when he said, "Render unto Caesar..." but the Right insists on setting up a Religious State, religion being defined as Christian.

Heaven protect us from the narrow-minded moral majority out there! Some of them are positively dangerous.

[Krazcarl]

Why are we so scared to admit someone is a hero and took it upon themselves to be honest she should get a madle though this is one of the few times outside battle I aprove of it. I just can''t wrap my mind around that those in power wouls sanction her killing it had to be a culprit. To be honest I''m getting scared of the goverment.

[prinzowhales]

Another soldier who has died under suspicious circumstances--like the murdered Pat Tillman and the official lies surrounding his murder...or the suicide of the IG officer in Iraq...this in the face of the open criminality of the Washington Regime and its private contractors--these are America''s real enemies! Bush, Cheney and the rest of this vile Administration...this vapid Pelosi led House, the Nine Monkey Court and the Senate of murderers, liars and human garbage like Warner, Lieberman, Schumer, Clinton, Craig, Graham, Rockefellar et al....

[us5555]

vbnvbn,

For starters, don''t call me, sweetie. I''m not your girl friend, although, judging from you comments, I highly doubt someone from the opposite *** (or same *** if that''s your preference) would be able to stand you for even a second. But I digress...

Interesting how you refer me to gunownerdan''s post, which had absolutely nothing to do with me condemning you for demeaning those who so bravely serve in the military. So unless you can defend yourself without referring me to someone else''s irrelevant quotes, I''d suggest you stop posting.

Also, thank you for the heads up cognitive dissonance. Again, not exactly sure how it relates to your offensive comments, but something tells me you got that catchy phrase of wikipedia this morning. . .

[jcyk58]

Actually, vbnvbn, since you stated that this soldier
got what she deserved," I meant that perhaps you could have put a bullet in her head, yourself. I had nothing sexual in mind.

Would you mind informing the rest of us what you thought she did to deserve to die?

[signof4]

OMG....another Area 51 conspiracy theory! Perhaps she discovered who REALLY killed Kennedy. Or maybe where Jimmy Hoffa is buried? Or maybe she found Elvis!

[newsreader2]

Man, what a bunch of heartless low life losers making light of a person''s death. She had a lot more guts than any of you. Do the world a favor...go put a bullet in your own head.

[kellllllyk]

To you people being rude and heartless... omg.. you will pay one day.

I knew Ciara ... and this was NOTTTTTTTTT suicide!!!! She has an amazing girlfriend who was waiting for her at home and she had EVERY reason in the world to live!!! She was an amazing woman- funny as hell and so fun to be around... she would give you her last penny if you needed it. The world has lost a good soul :(

And there was absolutely NO reason for this to happen.. other than to cover up someone else''s DIRTY LITTLE SECRET!! And of course- I''m sure it concerned the world''s number one evil- MONEY.

I hope Ciara has peace now... and I know her family will not stop until the truth is found out. I will help in any way I can.

For those of you who had kind words- thank you. To the others who are spamming/trolling, or otherwise being ignorant- picture the person that was killed being a member of YOUR family. How would it feel?

R.I.P. Ciara... your mission is complete.

[godblessher]

JSmithCSA--As someone who knows of the soldier. There was no reason for suicide. She was about to come home and see her fiance in only a few short months. She loved her family very much and was not depressed nor anything else. If it were suicide..there would have been a gun or something.

This was work from the inside...why else would she have told them to investigate.

I would have also left a letter to the family or someone telling what I saw and why it is possible im on a hit list as well.

[lvam]

for all of you saying the military is not a respectable position...let''s see how you feel about that if there is a draft and YOU get drafted. your comments are repulsive.

[johnny_chaos]

LVAM, its obviously not attracting the best and brightest. being drafted implys unwilling participation. so the postion still sucks, you just have to do it. to me, it appears your saying something along the lines of being raped isnt so bad, once your the one being raped.

if it wasnt a *** job, the draft wouldnt be an issue. the ranks would be full. just like if this war was really justified, not only those who were without options and only qualified to follow orders would signup. say what about the officers corps? most graduates from ROTC dont want to touch the military. one or two obligatory tours and its off to civilain life.

[johnny_chaos]

look, obviously she figured out someone was ripping the US taxpayer off and got capped for it. anyone that actually thinks its ok to waste taxpayer money is a welfare recipient, or jealous of one. for those that think this isnt happening, explain paying richard cheneys old company 7x the amount of the first gulf war to this point. thats a lot of your cash in private hands. basically fraud and theft.

to paraphrase enron, bite me bytch...

[johnny_chaos]

oh, what exactly is a liberal? or a conservative? from what i can tell, liberals seem to think there may be more than one point of view and course of action. conservatives seem to tend to be opinionated and think whatever they believe is correct, and force is a fine way to get things right again. in other words, are we talking nuanced, vs simple minded world views?

[speakinup]

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy was pressing for answers on a suspicious death - now THAT''s rich!

Does he think ANYONE has forgotten Mary Jo Kopechne and Chappaquick ? What about us pressing for better answers on his manslaughter.

[kansas1946]

If she worked in finance, told her family on her last leave that she had run across something troubling, told them if anything happened to her to have it investigated, I would be very suspicious if I were her family, and I would think the military would be also.
I doubt her being gay had anything to do with it though. I imagine many women in the military are gay and it is probably pretty well accepted and tolerated.

It is really sad though. Tough way to lose a daughter and a sister.

[r_lamprey]

When the soldier, in the finance department, is shot on a secure base, that is murder, not friendly fire. Only MP''s or security patrols are allowed to have loaded weapons on a secure base. It sounds like she uncovered some of corruption that has allowed billions of dollars and thousands of weapons to go missing in Iraq. Obviously, the Iraqis are not the only ones involved in corruption. This reminds me of the other officer in Iraq that supposedly "committed suicide" after claiming to uncover corruption in his supply command. Unfortunately, Bush and the GOP have encouraged corruption at the expense of our troops.

[kesac4650]

If she found something suspicious, that had her scared in Afghanistan, why didn''t she report it when she was in the States, bandying that story about?
Now all the silly children have to play pretend about the subject.

[Krazcarl]

Just watched the tape why on gods green earth would a g*y woman choose the military for a career she should have figured this is not the place for alternate lifestyle. I''m not condoning or condeming but this is the poorest place for you to hang your hat. At first I thought she may have uncovered some dubious activity but now I wonder if her lifestyle may have played a role,

[oldpilot954]

We want the truth from the government but I notice we don''t want to give investigators time to find out what the truth really is. This isn''t an episode of CSI where week of investigation are crammed into an hour show. It amazes me at the conspiracy theories that hit the blog with so few facts available. Yeah she might have discovered graft and corruption or she might have stumbled onto a drug trafficing or prostitution or some other kind of illegal activity that had nothing to do with her official job. The only facts we really have is that she was shot and it was probably done by someone else. It could have been to shut her up but it could have been something as common as robbery or to protect and illegal drug operation.

[savetheus]

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[lloydbest1]

Posted by oldpilot954 at 09:02 PM

I would much rather believe she was offed because she uncovered massive corruption or some other evil conspiracy leading to the Bush regieme but my instincts tell me it was a "routine" killing. The ol'' flyer is probably correct; or if not, at least makes the most sense given what we know now. My only difference with him (her?) is she was certainly murdered. If there is any absolute in this world it would be her death is the result of foul play.
A secure base. In a capacity as far removed from combat as a soldier can get. Doing what''s essentially common garden club accounting. There is no way she was not murdered.
But REGARDLESS of how Ciara died, her family deserves all the support they can get. It must be horrible and I hope they gain closure and soon....

[zootallures2]

Because you blew up your own towers, lied and showed fake videos. Case closed!

[cfin5]

Hmmmm, definitely something very crooked going on there. Awhile back I heard on the news about the big poppy crop and couldn''t help wondering when some dirty business was gonna start showing up. Sounds like an honest soldier was straight on to something and wouldn''t go along with their program. I don''t believe she killed herself either. The Lord reveal and avenge what happened to her......My condolences to her family and friends.

[middleman8]

pure and simple

It was censorship by the powers behind all this mess.

[j_flood]

In her birthplace there is high interest as to her death. Most here are cynical about US interests anywhere outside of the north America - I doubt there will be a clear result to this investigation. CBS - Please continue to give this matter your attention.
Dublin, Ireland

[cbs_oliver]

The officer core of the US military is covered in dishonor and disgrace for their repeated lies and depraved actions. They can hardly tell the truth about the sun rising in the east let alone the repeated mysterious deaths of soldiers under their care.

[signof4]

Obviously Bush and Cheney did it. She discovered all the oil money going in to their bank accounts and they had her bumped off - ala Norma Jean! It was done using pygmies with blow guns from the grassy knoll.

[signof4]

USA Unimaginable Sadistic *********
Posted by zootallures2 at 11:24 PM : Oct 04, 2007

Oh wow.....you are really, really clever. Did you make that up all by yourself? What a pathetic little piece of horse squeeze you are.

[robertkjjj]

zootallures2, you''re an unimaginable as*hole. You''re lucky I''m not the President, because otherwise you''d be in Guantanamo Bay by tomorrow. And you''d never be heard from again, you incendiary traitor.

[robertkjjj]

Look, suicide is not uncommon in war zones. Whether Afghanistan or Iraq or Vietnam. Anywhere. It%u2019s depressing to fight in a war, see the horror, and be so far from home. Many cannot handle this. The military is not really comfortable discussing it, because of (1) the morale factor and (2) families would prefer their loved ones died in "action" rather then shoot themselves in the head. As someone who has studied suicide, it''s not unheard of for people to leave no warning or note when they do this. They go off and shoot themselves, and then those left behind are baffled. My gut tells me this will be ruled a suicide.

[robertkjjj]

Parrots, the day you write something on CBS that is longer than 20 words, and appears that it was composed with some thought, intelligence, and a higher-than-6th-grade education, the rest of us will pay attention. Until then, everything you write comes across like the sound of a bee buzzing by. Buzzzzzzzzzzz.

[signof4]

And you wonder why REPUGS are called FASCISTS ... LOL
Posted by parrots7 at 12:25 PM : Oct 05, 2007

We only talk about it. The libs are actually trying to silence people with lies. Or haven''t you been keeping up with current events? Of the two, YOUR bunch are the true nazis.

[outgirlla]

Follow the money....

[jcyk58]

It probably is pointless to speculate, since we have few details, but this should be kept in the public forum. Her parents and other loved ones deserve to know what happened and if Ciara was murdered. We deserve to know what Ciara may have known that got her killed, if that was the case.

My heart goes out to her family and friends. It would be bad enough to lose a loved one in the war from enemy fire, but to think that someone, one of us, at that, may have murdered her has got to add to their grief. I hope they get answers soon, one way or the other.

Those on here who are posting hateful,disrespectful, and flippant comments need to stop it. This is a human being we''re talking about, here, and a soldier. Have some respect, if you can''t have any compassion.

[kellllllyk]

Will you negative people PLEAAAAAAAAAASE just go post elsewhere!?!?!?!?!

ciara''s loved ones DO NOT deserve to listen to your propaganda and JUNK!!!!!!

HAVE RESPECT AND LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!