{"id":24742,"date":"2021-07-01T13:50:18","date_gmt":"2021-07-01T13:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/07\/01\/lawyer-marine-played-minor-role-in-soldiers-hazing-death\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:19:11","slug":"lawyer-marine-played-minor-role-in-soldiers-hazing-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2021\/07\/01\/lawyer-marine-played-minor-role-in-soldiers-hazing-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawyer: Marine played minor role in soldier’s hazing death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) \u2014 A defense attorney for a U.S. Marine told jurors Wednesday that he played a minor role in the hazing of a U.S. Green Beret<\/a> and should not be found guilty of murder and other crimes in the soldier\u2019s death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking inside a Navy base in Virginia, Marine Lt. Col. Timothy Kuhn said that Mario Madera-Rodriguez<\/a> never touched Staff Sgt. Logan Melgar during the fatal hazing incident in Africa in 2017 until he tried to help revive him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFacts have been manipulated and moved around like a puzzle to fit the government\u2019s theory,\u201d Kuhn said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kuhn spoke during closing arguments at the trial for Madera-Rodriguez. The Marine is the last of four American servicemembers to face a court-martial in Melgar\u2019s killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madera-Rodriguez, who belongs to a special operations group in the Marines known as the Raiders, is the only one of the four men to plead not guilty. The others, who include another Marine and two Navy SEALS, have already made plea deals with military prosecutors.<\/p>\n\n\n\t