The trial for a soldier accused of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit premeditated murder and obstruction of justice will begin March 30 the Rose Barracks Courthouse in Vilseck, Germany, the Army announced last week.

The charges against Sgt. 1st Class Joseph P. Mayo, formerly assigned to 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, stem from the 2007 killing of four Iraqi detainees while in custody of the unit. The detainees were bound and blindfolded before being shot. Their bodies were dumped in a Baghdad canal.

Last month, Sgt. Michael Leahy, a medic assigned to Mayo’s unit, was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killings. First Sgt. John E. Hatley has also been charged.

The Army dropped its case against two other soldiers originally charged with conspiracy in the men’s deaths.

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