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The front gate at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., where Pfc. Jahcorrie Nealy, 22, is charged with murder in the death of a girl younger than 16 years old, according to Army officials.

The front gate at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., where Pfc. Jahcorrie Nealy, 22, is charged with murder in the death of a girl younger than 16 years old, according to Army officials. (Stars and Stripes)

A 22-year-old soldier was arraigned last week on a murder charge in connection with the death of a young girl, according to court records from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Pfc. Jahcorrie Nealy is accused of physically shaking a girl younger than 16 years old, which caused her death, according to his charge sheet. The incident took place at the base May 17. He was arraigned Thursday in the courtroom of Lt. Col. Jessica Conn, a military judge, according to the online Army court docket.

The names of victims were redacted from the charge sheet.

Nealy faces several charges including murder while engaging in an act inherently dangerous to another, unpremeditated murder, involuntary manslaughter and domestic violence, according to the court record.

Nealy, who is not being held in pretrial confinement, is also accused of throwing a girl younger than 16 into her room between May 6 and 16, though it is not clear from the information provided in the court document whether it is the same child. The incident injured the child’s liver, according to the charge sheet.

The document describes the victim of the domestic violence charge as Nealy’s immediate family member.

Nealy pleaded guilty and will face a judge for sentencing April 11, according to the court docket.

Col. Joey Sullinger, spokesman for I Corps and JBLM, declined to specify to which charges Nealy pleaded guilty.

Nealy enlisted in January 2020 and is assigned to the 24th Composite Supply Company of the 13th Combat Sustainment Battalion, according to his charge sheet.

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Rose L. Thayer is based in Austin, Texas, and she has been covering the western region of the continental U.S. for Stars and Stripes since 2018. Before that she was a reporter for Killeen Daily Herald and a freelance journalist for publications including The Alcalde, Texas Highways and the Austin American-Statesman. She is the spouse of an Army veteran and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in journalism. Her awards include a 2021 Society of Professional Journalists Washington Dateline Award and an Honorable Mention from the Military Reporters and Editors Association for her coverage of crime at Fort Hood.

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