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Verdict: Navy Captain guilty of obstructing Gitmo death investigation, lying to officials

Former commander of Naval Base Guantanamo Bay is guilty of 6 of 8 counts stemming from the 2015 disappearance and death of Christopher Tur.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Former Navy Captain John Nettleton was found guilty of six of eight criminal counts stemming from the 2015 disappearance and death of Christopher Tur, a civilian worker on Naval Base Guantanamo Bay. 

Nettleton was charged with lying to federal investigators to conceal both an extramarital affair with Tur’s wife, and the fact that he and Tur had a bloody fistfight shortly before he went missing.

Nettleton was never charged in Tur’s death, but his intransigence was blamed for delaying and misdirecting the search for Tur, whose body was found floating in the waters of Guantanamo Bay.

Nettleton remained stoic as the verdict was read. The Tur family held hands and wept.

"We miss him every day," his sister Aline Byrnes said after court. "This has been an emotional, draining and traumatic time for our family."

She added, "We have waited over 5 years for answers on what happened to our brother. Unfortunately, this trial has brought us more questions. While this trial has come to an end this is far from over. We will not stop... until we know what happened to Christopher."

The 10-woman, 2-man jury began deliberating at 9:42 Thursday morning. They concluded their deliberations around 12:30 p.m.

Nettleton was found guilty of two charges of obstruction of justice related to investigations by NCIS and a federal grand jury.

He was found guilty of one count of concealment of material facts in those investigations.

He was found not guilty of one count of falsification of records and guilty of a second, including emails to his superior officers. And he was found guilty of two counts of making false statements. 

However, he was found not guilty of disclosing his affair with Tur’s wife.

The charges taken together carry a potential maximum punishment of 75 years in prison, though federal sentencing guidelines are far lower than that.

 

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