Episode 9: Safa

After nearly six and a half years, Frank Wuterich, a Marine staff sergeant charged with 18 counts of murder, finally goes to trial. But after three weeks of confusing and often contradictory testimony from his fellow Marines, prosecutors walk away from their own case, offering Wuterich a plea to a single count of negligent dereliction of duty. The longest, most expensive criminal investigation in U.S. military history ends with no one being held accountable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the eve of his court-martial, Epstein and Wuterich travel back to Haditha in the hopes that visiting the crime scene will finally jog Wuterich’s memory. What Wuterich tells the camera in the back bedroom of House 2 changes everyone’s understanding of the entire case.

Frank Wuterich remembers the fort he built in the woods with his childhood best friend. He remembers having pea soup with his mother after coming home from Kindergarten. He can evenremember the name of the first girl he ever kissed. What he can't remember is whether or not he murdered a roomful of women and children in Haditha. This episode takes us back to Frank’s hometown as we explore the enigma that is Frank Wuterich.

NCIS Special Agent Mike Maloney prepares a forensic test to answer one question: was a three-year-old girl in the back bedroom of House 2 executed at point-blank range? But then his superiors inexplicably order Maloney to shut down his protocol before he can determine the truth. This isn't the only instance of the government interfering with Maloney’s findings. It isn’t even the worst.

Private First Class Humberto Mendoza is the first Marine to be granted immunity; his freedom traded for testimony. But once Mendoza takes the witness stand, his testimony not only contradicts the forensic evidence but also implicates a Marine other than Frank Wuterich for the murder of the women and children in House 2.