The US Navy promoted Chief Petty Officer Tony DeDolph four months after he allegedly admitted that he choked a Green Beret to death in West Africa.

The Green Beret, army staff sgt Logan Melgar, was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group and near the end of his deployment when the Navy Seal allegedly killed him, in circumstances that have led to his being charged for murder.

Mr DeDolph is set to return to court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing, and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The alleged murder took place in Mali in June 2017, when Melgar was a part of an intelligence operation supporting counterterrorism against a local al Qaeda affiliate.

Shortly after Melgar’s death, Mr DeDolph reportedly admitted to a witness that he had choked him “to get back” the victim for a perceived slight, according to NBC News.

US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter Show all 11 1 /11 US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter US Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher leaves court with his wife Andrea 17 June 2019. He is on military trial at San Diego Naval Based accused of murdering a wounded Isis fighter in Iraq in 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter US Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher leaves court with his wife Andrea 18 June 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter U.S. Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, charged with war crimes in Iraq, is shown in this undated photo provided May 24, 2019. Courtesy Andrea Gallagher/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVE HANDOUT Andrea Gallagher via REUTERS US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter US Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher poses with his wife Andrea. Andrea Gallagher via REUTERS US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter U.S. Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, charged with war crimes in Iraq, is shown in this undated photo provided May 24, 2019. Courtesy Andrea Gallagher/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVE HANDOUT Andrea Gallagher via REUTERS US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter This undated selfie provided by Andrea Gallagher shows her husband, U.S. Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who has been charged with allegedly killing an Islamic State prisoner in his care and attempted murder for the shootings of two Iraq civilians in 2017. Gallagher is scheduled to go on trial Monday, June 17, 2019. (Edward Gallagher/Courtesy of Andrea Gallagher via AP, File) Edward Gallagher Andrea Gallagher via AP US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter Former US Army member King Cohn arrives at court to support US Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher during the first day of jury selection on 17 June 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter Former U.S. army member King Cohn arrives at court to support U.S. Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher during the first day of jury selection at the court-martial trial at Naval Base San Diego in San Diego, California , U.S., June 17, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake MIKE BLAKE REUTERS/Mike Blake US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter FILE PHOTO: U.S. Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, charged with war crimes in Iraq, is shown in this undated photo provided May 24, 2019. Courtesy Andrea Gallagher/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES, NO ARCHIVE/File Photo Handout . Andrea Gallagher via REUTERS US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter Defence attorney Timothy Parlatore, representing US Navy SEAL Special Operations Chief Edward Gallagher, speaks with reporters at a pre-trial hearing. Earnie Grafton/REUTERS US Navy SEAL on trial accused of murdering wounded Isis fighter FILE - This 2018 file photo provided by Andrea Gallagher shows her husband, Navy SEAL Edward Gallagher, who has been charged with murder in the 2017 death of an Iraqi war prisoner. Lawyers for Gallagher are seeking to have the charges dismissed for alleged prosecutorial misconduct. Attorneys for Special Operations Chief Gallagher are scheduled to argue in military court Wednesday, May 29, 2019, that the case against him has been tainted by lies, withholding evidence and conducting surveillance on the defense. (Andrea Gallagher via AP, File) Andrea Gallagher Andrea Gallagher via AP

But before that, Mr DeDolph had told investigators that he was wrestling with the victim at around 4am, before a fellow Navy Seal — Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator Adam Matthews — entered the room and they all toppled onto a bed. Once they were up, they said Melgar had stopped breathing and that they attempted CPR.

In the days after Megar died, Mr DeDolph — who was then a petty officer first class — was flown back to his home base in Virginia Beach, under the suspicion of murder. Matthews, last year, pleaded guilty on charges of battery, unlawful entry, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit assault in connection to Melgar’s death.

On 15 September of 2017, Mr DeDolph reportedly began wearing an insignia on his uniform indicating a higher rank had been achieved, according to Defence Department officials who spoke with the Daily Beast.

He began receiving the higher pay associated with a chief in December of that year.

That promotion came just three days after the medical examiner’s report on Melgar’s death was signed, indicating that the cause of death was asphyxiation and the manner of death a homicide, according to documents reviewed by the Daily Beast.

The reports that Mr DeDolph was promoted in spite of the concerns that he may have murdered a fellow American serviceman, come just after a separate report by the Daily Beast indicating that Melgar had discovered that some Seals were pocketing money form a counterterrorism fund intended to pay local informations for information.