Army investigators: no foul play suspected in captain’s death
May 7, 2012
Military investigators said Monday that they do not suspect foul play in the death of an Army captain who suddenly collapsed during a video chat with his wife.
Capt. Bruce Kevin Clark, 43, was using the video chatting service Skype to speak with his wife, Susan Orellana-Clark, on April 30 when he suddenly slumped forward and collapsed. He was dead when military personnel arrived two hours later.
Orellana-Clark said in a statement Sunday that she saw what appeared to be a bullet hole on the wall behind her husband after he collapsed, leading to speculation he had been shot.
While the cause of Clark’s death is not yet known, investigators have ruled out a gunshot, Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey said in a statement.
“Agents conducting the investigation, found no trauma to the body beyond minor abrasions and a possible broken nose most likely caused from Captain Clark striking his face on his desk when he collapsed,” Grey said in the statement.
“Although we have not completely ruled it out to ensure a complete and thorough investigation is conducted, we do not suspect foul play in the death of Captain Clark at this point in our ongoing investigation.” he said.
In a statement released Sunday, Orellana-Clark said that her husband seemed to be in no distress or alarm when he was suddenly “knocked forward,” revealing what she said appeared to be a bullet hole in the closet door behind him.
Orellana-Clark said she was releasing the details “to honor my husband and dispel the inaccurate information and supposition promulgated by other parties.”
Clark was assigned to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, but deployed with a medical unit from Fort Hood.
He was stationed at Tarin Kowt, about 85 miles (140 kilometers) north of Kandahar.
— CNN’s Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report.