Prosecutors: Ex-soldier accused of killing Iraqi family, raping teen was 'chatterbox'

By BRETT BARROUQUERE |Associated Press Writer

2:40 PM EDT, October 22, 2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ A former Army soldier accused of raping and killing an Iraqi teen and slaying her family was a "chatterbox" after his arrest, voluntarily making nearly two dozen statements while in custody, prosecutors said in court documents filed Wednesday.

Pfc. Steven D. Green, 22, told FBI agents that "George Bush and Dick Cheney ought to be the ones that are arrested," according to court documents. He also said "You probably think I'm a monster" and "Guess I'm looking at spending the rest of my life in jail," the documents said.

He never specifically addressed the allegations against him.

Federal Public Defender Scott Wendelsdorf has said a judge should throw out Green's statements because he asked for an attorney.

But prosecutors said Green made the statements voluntarily and was not questioned after asking for an attorney.

"The fact of the matter is that Steven Green was a chatterbox during his transportation," prosecutors said.

Green, 22, faces 16 charges that include premeditated murder and aggravated sexual assault. He has pleaded not guilty and claims he was insane at the time of the March 2006 attack.

He was arrested a few months later at his grandmother's house in Nebo, N.C., about 80 miles northwest of Charlotte. Eventually he was brought back to Kentucky his unit was based. Green had been deployed in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, which is based at Fort Campbell, an Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border about 185 miles southwest of Louisville. His remarks to the FBI agents came as he was being taken to jail, then to court in Charlotte, N.C. after his arrest.

Four other soldiers pleaded guilty or were convicted for their roles in targeting the girl from a checkpoint near Mahmoudiya, a village 20 miles south of Baghdad, and helping rape and kill her.

Two of the soldiers testified they took turns raping the girl while Green shot and killed her mother, father and younger sister. They also testified that Green raped the girl and shot her.

Green is being prosecuted in federal court because he was discharged from the military before being charged.

A judge has scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday on whether to allow Green's statements.

Green's trial is scheduled for April.