Army lays out case against soldier in wife’s death

FORT LEWIS, Wash. – Army prosecutors have outlined their case against a 19-year-old infantryman accused in the brutal stabbing death of his young wife last summer.

Nabila Bare, 18, was stabbed at least 71 times with knives and a meat cleaver.

Spc. Brandon Bare, 19, of Wilkesboro, N.C., was charged with one count of premeditated murder and two counts of indecent acts related to the mutilation of her remains.

The July 12 killing happened after he returned from the Iraq war to the Army post south of Tacoma and received a Purple Heart for being wounded.

“The murder was premeditated, deliberate and savage,” the lead prosecutor, Capt. Scott DiRocco, told a judge Tuesday. “He did not stop after he killed her.”

While admitting the soldier killed his wife, Bare’s lawyer said it wasn’t planned.

“What this looks like … is an act of rage, or some sort of other unexplainable act,” defense attorney Capt. Patrick O’Brien said. “There’s nothing to show it was premeditated.”

Bare, a machine-gunner with the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, was sent home to recuperate after suffering cuts and internal ear injuries in a March 24 grenade attack on his Stryker brigade unit in Mosul.