Fellow airman held in death of Barksdale airman on Guam

The suspect in the death of Barksdale Air Force Base airman Bradley Hale is a fellow airman, reports the Pacific Daily News.

Linda Card, chief of the public affairs for the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, told the paper that the person's name would be withheld until charges are proffered.

"The subject was read his rights and placed in pretrial confinement on suspicion of Article 118 (Murder or manslaughter)," Card said in an email.

The airman does not face any charges in local court. The investigation into Hale's death remains open, Card said.

"The legal process, as in justice actions, results from the investigation," Card said. "(The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations) strives to be as accurate as possible with respect to completion of investigations. Therefore, a precise timeline for concluding this investigation cannot be given."

Hale, 20, was on a six-month deployment to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam when he was found unresponsive March 27 in base quarters. He was pronounced dead at 3 a.m.

His death at was ruled a homicide by the island's chief medical examiner, Dr. Aurelio Espinola. Earlier this week, an autopsy report showed that Hale suffered three cuts to his neck.

His father, Rodney Hale, said in an interview Wednesday with The Times that his son was ambitious and friendly and loved the Air Force.

"He was a friend of everybody," Rodney Hale said. "He was very friendly. He could walk into a room and not know anybody, but yet he'd come out with a new friend."