How Did Specialist Ciara Durkin Die?
Soldier In Finance Unit At Bagram Air Base Said To Have "Discovered Things" Is Found Dead
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Military Death Questioned
The family of Ciara Durkin, who was killed under suspicious circumstances while on deployment in Afghanistan, is demanding answers from high-ranking military officials. Kelly Wallace reports.
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Spc. Ciara Durkin worked in the finance unit at Bagram Air Base. She'd told her sister a few weeks ago, "I discovered some things I don't like and I made some enemies because of it." Durkin was later found dead from a gunshot wound within the air base. (CBS)
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Photo Essay
Pat Tillman
A look at the former NFL player who died fighting as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.
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.
We just want full disclosure, that's all we want — to know what happened to our sister.
Diedre Durkin, sister of CiaraDurkin'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.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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.
- Joseph Goebbels, Hitler''s Propaganda Minister
My first thought is that it is a suicide. Typically, the Army will not declare a suicide until the investigation is completed confirming it.
PLEASE BECAUSE I HAVE SEEN IT...HAVE YOU
"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.
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.
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. . .
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?
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.
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.
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.
to paraphrase enron, bite me bytch...
Does he think ANYONE has forgotten Mary Jo Kopechne and Chappaquick ? What about us pressing for better answers on his manslaughter.
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.
Now all the silly children have to play pretend about the subject.
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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....
It was censorship by the powers behind all this mess.
Dublin, Ireland
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.
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.
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.
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by kellllllyk
October 6, 2007 2:11 PM PDT
- Will you negative people PLEAAAAAAAAAASE just go post elsewhere!?!?!?!?!
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Reply to this comment
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See all 50 Commentsciara''s loved ones DO NOT deserve to listen to your propaganda and JUNK!!!!!!
HAVE RESPECT AND LEAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!