{"id":12050,"date":"2021-11-09T17:48:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-09T17:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/11\/09\/fort-bragg-paratroopers-death-moves-to-cold-case-status\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:25:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:25:31","slug":"fort-bragg-paratroopers-death-moves-to-cold-case-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/11\/09\/fort-bragg-paratroopers-death-moves-to-cold-case-status\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Bragg paratrooper\u2019s death moves to cold case status"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>This story was first published in&nbsp;<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fayobserver.com\/story\/news\/2021\/11\/08\/decapitated-fort-bragg-paratrooper-case-remains-unsolved\/6121020001\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>the Fayetteville Observer<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A California&nbsp;congresswoman and the family of a decapitated Fort Bragg paratrooper are upset that the Army&nbsp;is considering his death a \u201ccold case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spc. Enrique&nbsp;Roman-Martinez, 21, of Chino, California, was reported missing May 23, 2020, at Cape Lookout National Seashore in Carteret County. His severed head washed ashore six days later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the time of his death, Roman-Martinez was a human resource specialist assigned to Headquarters Company, 37th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAfter exhausting hundreds of leads and thousands of hours of investigation, there are no more credible investigative leads remaining at this time, but the case itself is not \u2018closed,\u2019 it is in a cold case status,\u201d Jeffrey Castro, an Army Criminal Investigation Division spokesman, said in an email this week. \u201cAs always, if new information pertinent to any of our investigations becomes available, CID can and often does reopen investigations if warranted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roman-Martinez\u2019s family lives&nbsp;in the congressional district of Rep.&nbsp;Norma Torres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Torres has been in contact with Roman-Martinez\u2019s family since his death and was with them when his partial remains were flown back to California.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/08\/02\/in-rare-move-army-cid-raises-reward-to-50k-to-solve-paratroopers-mysterious-death\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/enrique-roman-martinez.png.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">In rare move, Army CID raises reward to $50K to solve paratrooper\u2019s mysterious death<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">\u201cThis is the first one to hit this level in more than 10 years,\u201d a CID spokesman said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis young man was a hero,\u201d Torres said&nbsp;during a phone interview Thursday. \u201cAt 17 years&nbsp;old, he really wanted to serve his country, and had to get permission from his mother to do so \u2026 I think that we owe our&nbsp;personnel at the very least&nbsp;and&nbsp;their families the respect of giving them answers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Torres wrote an Oct. 19 letter to the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General raising&nbsp;questions about the investigation,&nbsp;along with&nbsp;the concern that there\u2019s been \u201cno justice for Roman-Martinez or his family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m not satisfied that the Army&nbsp;CID&nbsp;has done everything in their power to solve this case,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roman-Martinez\u2019s sister&nbsp;Griselda Martinez spoke to&nbsp;a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.univision.com\/local\/north-carolina-wuvc\/familiares-del-soldado-enrique-roman-martinez-estan-decepcionados-con-la-investigacion-video\">&nbsp;Univision North Carolina station<\/a>&nbsp;last month and said&nbsp;that she is angry and disappointed that the case seems to be closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Martinez&nbsp;said investigators have told the family they\u2019ve found no evidence in the case, which she believes is because&nbsp;of delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She previously told The Fayetteville Observer in May&nbsp;that it&nbsp;took three days for an official search to be launched,&nbsp;and that in that time rain possibly destroyed evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI feel like no one took it seriously until they found my brother\u2019s remains,\u201d she said in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the case is still not solved,&nbsp;Martinez&nbsp;told Univision&nbsp;the family hired a private investigator two months ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe are hopeful that he will be able to help&nbsp;us&nbsp;more, much better than&nbsp;the Army,\u201d&nbsp;she&nbsp;said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Investigation review<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the family hiring a private investigator,&nbsp;Martinez&nbsp;said they still want authorities to investigate the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Torres said she&nbsp;thinks&nbsp;another&nbsp;official&nbsp;set of eyes&nbsp;should be&nbsp;on the investigation and its processes, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFrom the delays in reporting this young man as a missing person,&nbsp;to potential jurisdiction issues, to determining who was on site and when divers&nbsp;got in the water to begin to search for the rest of the remains, I think there have been gaps in this&nbsp;investigation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Torres said she doesn\u2019t want to hinder the investigation or any future investigations the Army has but said she does want the inspector general to evaluate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf the Army does not have jurisdiction but may have capabilities of investigating a crime \u2026 it would probably be a good idea to work with a local agency,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But in the case of Roman-Martinez, she wants to know who made the call to give the Army jurisdiction of the crime scene, since it was miles off post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"810\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FB_IMG_1589219126214.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FB_IMG_1589219126214.jpg.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FB_IMG_1589219126214.jpg.jpg?resize=300,225 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FB_IMG_1589219126214.jpg.jpg?resize=768,576 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/FB_IMG_1589219126214.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,768 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Spc. Enrique Roman-Martinez pictured with his mother, niece and nephew. (Courtesy photo\/Martinez family)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said she understands that a local agency might not have resources but thinks the FBI or another agency should have been contacted to&nbsp;investigate instead of the Army, which may have a conflict of interest \u201cwith seven military personnel that may or may not have had involvement,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She is asking the inspector general to&nbsp;review:&nbsp;the timeline of the investigation including how long it took for investigators to arrive at the scene&nbsp;and when it was determined to use divers; if any logistical or jurisdictional hurdles impacted the speed of the investigation; coordination with other&nbsp;local, state and federal law enforcement; communication with the family&nbsp;and how language barriers were addressed; requirement for soldiers reporting colleague missing; and&nbsp;how the Army treats a person of interest during an investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Authorities announced in December 2020 \u2014&nbsp;nearly seven months after Roman-Martinez\u2019s head was found&nbsp;\u2014 that divers were searching waters for evidence and the rest of the remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Castro said the Army\u2019s Criminal Investigation Division has&nbsp;a mandatory thorough review process that all cases are subjected to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHighly-trained investigators review all cases conducted by field agents to ensure the findings are supported and accurate, and that all possible leads have been properly exhausted,\u201d he said. \u201cThis can take time, but is critical to the investigative process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An August news release stated that Army CID special agents have coordinated with&nbsp;the FBI, the National Park Rangers, the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Patrol, the Mocksville Police Department, the Carteret County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the Wayne County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the North Carolina National Guard, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner and the 82nd Airborne Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the news release, a specialized task force comprised of CID agents, FBI employees and the FBI\u2019s Behavioral Analysis Unit has executed more than 100 warrants and subpoenas, conducted more than 400 interviews and returned to the island seven times to conduct air, land and sea searches for additional evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Investigators have traveled to Michigan, Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and California for interviews and to follow up on all investigative leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There have been searches of evidence from cellphones and vehicles along with more than 130 items analyzed at the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory in Atlanta, Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">None of the items revealed any trace of blood, DNA, or other forensic evidence, the CID news release stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Not a missing soldier<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Roman-Martinez was last seen alive May 22, 2020, when he was camping with seven other soldiers, the Army CID\u2019s news release stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Griselda Martinez&nbsp;told The Fayetteville Observer in May that&nbsp;investigators&nbsp;told the family there doesn\u2019t seem to be a motive for the other soldiers her brother was camping with to harm him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She questioned why those soldiers waited so long to report her brother missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to the 911 call, the man who reported Roman-Martinez missing on May 23, 2020, told the dispatcher that the group went to bed about midnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The caller said he woke up at 8:30 a.m., and that the group searched for Roman-Martinez all day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A park ranger previously told media that a ranger encountered the group earlier during the day, and they did&nbsp;not&nbsp;mention Roman-Martinez being missing at that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou still don\u2019t do that \u2014 especially in the Army,\u201d Griselda Martinez said. \u201cFrom what\u2019s been explained to me, everyone sticks together and watches out for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The soldier who called 911 told the dispatcher that the group was concerned Roman-Martinez hurt himself and implied he had&nbsp;suicidal&nbsp;tendencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Griselda Martinez said when she heard that, it upset her because her brother was not suicidal and months later an autopsy report revealed&nbsp;that&nbsp;a \u201csomewhat crescent-shaped, incised vs. chop wound\u201d &#8230; \u201cabout \u00be of an inch deep,\u201d was found on Roman-Martinez\u2019s neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3872\" height=\"2592\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cape_Lookout_Lighthouse_view_-_2013-06_-_2.jpeg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cape_Lookout_Lighthouse_view_-_2013-06_-_2.jpeg.jpg 3872w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cape_Lookout_Lighthouse_view_-_2013-06_-_2.jpeg.jpg?resize=300,201 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cape_Lookout_Lighthouse_view_-_2013-06_-_2.jpeg.jpg?resize=768,514 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cape_Lookout_Lighthouse_view_-_2013-06_-_2.jpeg.jpg?resize=1024,685 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cape_Lookout_Lighthouse_view_-_2013-06_-_2.jpeg.jpg?resize=1536,1028 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cape_Lookout_Lighthouse_view_-_2013-06_-_2.jpeg.jpg?resize=2048,1371 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3872px) 100vw, 3872px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A segment of the Core Banks as viewed from the Cape Lookout Lighthouse looking North East. (Jarek Tuszy\u0144ski\/Wikipedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The autopsy&nbsp;report notes that the soldiers&nbsp;camping with Roman-Martinez provided no explanation of his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The medical examiner wrote that&nbsp;because of the&nbsp;lower half of Roman-Martinez has not yet been found, officials couldn\u2019t definitively say if decapitation was the cause of death&nbsp;or&nbsp;if&nbsp;he died another way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However,&nbsp;the examiner&nbsp;wrote, \u201cthe&nbsp;findings, in this case, are most consistent with death due to homicide.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the&nbsp;CID\u2019s&nbsp;August news&nbsp;release,&nbsp;CID special agent Steve Chancellor&nbsp;suggested the death could have been intentional or unintentional, using the example of someone running over a person with a boat while they were in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Torres said Roman-Martinez\u2019s body was mutilated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThere were seven people camping with him,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to tell me nobody saw or heard anything? I refuse to accept that as an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She said he should be home with his family planning his next career move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cInstead, we buried partial remains,\u201d Torres said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>What\u2019s next<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Castro said special agents working on the case are&nbsp;personally&nbsp;invested in finding the truth about what happened to Roman-Martinez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey will not let this case go unsolved,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Torres, whose son is an Air Force veteran, said&nbsp;she refuses to have Roman-Martinez\u2019s case placed in a box and not looked at again unless someone comes forward with information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf this were your son or daughter, you would be in the same position as this family demanding answers and seeking answers where there hasn\u2019t been any,\u201d Torres said. \u201cThere should be no stone unturned to find out what happened to this man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Castro said the $50,000 reward for information about Roman-Martinez\u2019s&nbsp;death is still active.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Anyone with information about his death is asked to contact Army special&nbsp;agents at 910-396-8777 or the Military Police Desk at 910-396-1179.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They can also anonymously submit&nbsp;information&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cid.army.mil\/report-a-crime.html\">online<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Torres encouraged anyone with information to also consider contacting their local law enforcement agency&nbsp;or to reach out to her office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A California congresswoman and the family of a decapitated Fort Bragg paratrooper are upset that the Army is considering his death a \u201ccold case.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":26268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":70,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news","middle-column","home"],"primary_category":"your-military"}}},"categories":[100,23,92,12,25,70],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3815],"class_list":["post-12050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-left-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-army"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"JAAOMTS5SRGGRMYUBFAPM45C6I","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-army\/2021\/11\/09\/fort-bragg-paratroopers-death-moves-to-cold-case-status\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fort Bragg paratrooper\u2019s death moves to cold case status - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A California congresswoman and the family of a decapitated Fort Bragg paratrooper are upset that the Army is considering his death a \u201ccold case.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fort Bragg paratrooper\u2019s death moves to cold case status\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A California congresswoman and the family of a decapitated Fort Bragg paratrooper are upset that the Army is considering his death a \u201ccold case.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2021\/11\/09\/fort-bragg-paratroopers-death-moves-to-cold-case-status\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-09T17:48:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T01:25:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachael Riley, The Fayetteville Observer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachael Riley, The Fayetteville Observer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            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