Jacksonville-area Navy captain on trial for charges related to death of civilian at Gitmo

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — UPDATE Jan. 17 1:05 p.m.: Nettleton has been found guilty of six charged including obstruction of justice charges.

Original story:

Capt. John Nettleton had a successful military career, rising through the ranks. He enlisted in the Marine Corps at 18 years old, before becoming a helicopter pilot in the Navy.

In 2012, he was asked to command the U.S. Navy Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, commonly called Gitmo. Nettleton was married with three children. The family lived in a white two-story home on the island.

In 2015, Christopher Tur, a civilian working on base as a loss-prevention manager, would be found floating in the waters off Gitmo. He had drowned, but investigators have never determined how he got there.

Investigators discovered troubling events in the days leading up to Tur’s death. Nettleton was indicted on several charges, including obstruction of justice, concealment, falsifying records and making false statements during the investigation into Tur’s death.

Nettleton allegedly did not report Tur accusing him of having an affair with Tur’s wife.

Opening statements and testimony about Jan. 9, 2015

Tur, his wife, and Nettleton were attending a party at the Bayview, an officers’ club on the base. It was there, attorneys for the government say, Tur confronted Nettleton about having an affair with his wife Laura. As Nettleton was leaving the club, prosecutors say Tur went after him and an XO (second in command on base) got in between them. Nettleton went home.

Prosecutors say Tur went to Nettleton’s home. Nettleton’s teenage daughter was upstairs texting her boyfriend, when she heard voices and banging downstairs. Prosecutors say the two had a serious fight and investigators found blood in several parts of the home. Nettleton’s lawyer said Nettleton was defending himself and punched Tur in the nose. The public information officer for Gitmo Kelly Wirfel, testified she got a call from Tur that night, and he said he had knocked Nettleton out. Wirfel testified she assumed it was a joke.

Opening statements and testimony about Jan. 10, 2015

Tur was reported missing the next day. His wife was staying at Wirfel’s home. Wirfel went looking for Tur throughout the base, including at Nettleton’s home.

This was the exchange Wirfel described.

Wirfel: “Did he come here?”

Nettleton: “Yeah, last night, but I told him to get out of my house.”

Wirfel said Nettleton never mentioned a physical altercation. Laura Tur and Wirfel met with Nettleton later that day to discuss Tur since he had not turned up. Wirfel said she and Tur’s wife believed Tur was hiding out. Nettleton eventually ordered a search for Tur. According to testimony, Tur had hidden out on base before and was suicidal in the past, something Nettleton’s attorney said Nettleton was not aware of.

Opening statements and testimony about Jan. 11, 2015

Tur was found dead floating in waters off of Gitmo. An autopsy determined he drowned, but it was not clear how he got to the water. Investigators say they found alcohol and Prozac in his system.

Prosecutors told a jury Nettleton concealed information from the Navy and had a duty to protect those in his command. He made over a dozen false or misleading statements in the ten days after Tur’s death. Nettleton was removed from command and retired soon after.

Captain John Nettleton testifies in his own defense Jan. 15, 2015

Captain John Nettleton testified in his own defense over the course of two days in federal court.

In January 2015, Nettleton was the commander of GITMO. In the days before Tur was found dead, drowned off base waters, prosecutors said Tur and Nettleton had a fight. It began at a party at an officer’s club, where Tur had accused Nettleton of messing with his wife. Witnesses said Tur’s wife and Nettleton were “close” at the bar. Nettleton admitted on the stand he had a brief affair with Tur’s wife in Jacksonville while on a work trip.

Nettleton’s defense team said he did not tell anyone about the fight because Tur would lose his job on base and be kicked out. Prosecutors alleged Nettleton was not forthcoming because he wanted to hide the affair with Tur’s wife.

“The truth caught up with him in this courtroom. It’s all about what he was hiding: the affair.” Prosecutors said.

Prosecutors used text message evidence of conversations from Nettleton’s teen daughter who had texted her boyfriend saying her father and another man were in a fight downstairs. His daughter said she heard a man accusing her father of doing something with his wife, and she hoped they did not break anything in the home. The fight was information prosecutors said Nettleton never told the Navy or NCIS during the course of their search for Tur. The Government also presented various emails Nettleton sent around the time Tur disappeared. Emails where he never outlined the altercation he and Tur had the night before.

Nettleton had requested a base wide search and met with Tur’s wife and other officers on base, Nettleton said in the meeting Tur’s wife said Tur had gone into hiding on the base before. He also learned Tur had tried to commit suicide in the past. Nettleton and Tur’s wife at the time believed they would find Tur alive.

While Nettleton was cross-examined by the Government, there was heated discussion.

At one point the judge said they needed to slow down and stop talking over each other. Nettleton also said during questioning “I want the jury to know I am not lying.”

Nettleton spent close to two days on the stand before closing statements were made by attorneys.

The jury is scheduled to begin deliberations Thursday. ​

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