Murder in Mali: The trials of a Navy SEAL and Marine Raider get postponed

The trials of two commandos accused of the murder of an Army Green Beret have been postponed for later this year.

More specifically, Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator Tony E. DeDolph and Marine Gunnery Sergeant Mario Madera-Rodriguez will have their day in court in July and September, respectively.

If found guilty, both are looking at a life sentence without parole.

In 2017, Chief DeDolph, a Navy SEAL who was assigned to SEAL Team 6, and Gunny Madera-Rodriguez, a Marine Raider, alongside three others, a SEAL (Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Matthews), Raider (Staff Sergeant Kevin Maxwell), and an unnamed British commando, attacked and murdered Army Staff Sergeant Melgar Logan, a Special Force operator assigned to the 3^rd Special Forces Group.

SOC Dedolph is facing charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for “Conspiracy, Assault; Conspiracy, Obstruction of Justice; Burglary; Felony Murder; Involuntary Manslaughter; Hazing; and Obstruction of Justice.”

Gunny Madero-Rodriguez is facing charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for “Conspiracy, Assault; Conspiracy, Obstruction of Justice; Burglary; Felony Murder; Involuntary Manslaughter; Hazing; and False Official Statements.”

Military prosecutors are seeking to add rape charges in the aforementioned indictments.

Surprisingly, Chief DeDolph was promoted to his current rank by the Navy after the story had broken and despite his role in the murder case.

Retired Brigadier General Donald Bolduc had said in an interview with the Daily Beast that DeDolph’s promotion “is another failure of leadership. I mean senior leadership. It’s unfortunate. He should have never been promoted. The investigation was started right away. I’m disappointed. But not surprised. It’s utter bullshit.”

Brigadier Gen. Bolduc was the head of the Special Operations Command Africa (SOCAFRICA).

SOC Matthews and Staff Sgt. Maxwell have already pleaded guilty and reached an agreement to testify for the government. The former received one year in confinement; the latter four years in prison.

“The misbehavior comes in waves, and please, believe me, I’m not being partisan when I say this, the SEALs have a tough time with it,” had added Brigadier Gen. Bolduc. “It always happens in warfare. You always have some of those guys who [are] waiting all their life to show that they’re a psychopath or they’re trying to impress one another — it’s juvenile that they’re trying to show how tough they are in a perverted manner.”

Alongside Staff Sgt. Melgar, the accused were part of a joint Special Operations team that was providing counterterrorism support and protection to the American embassy in Bamako, Mali.