An America sailor has been freed from house arrest overseas thanks to a memorandum issued by the Defense Secretary on January 2.
Navy Lieutenant Craig Becker, 36, was turned over to American authorities last week, as Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) will take over the lead in an investigation into the 2015 death of his wife, Johanna Hanna Elizabeth Hove-Becker, 32.
Belgian authorities charged Becker with homicide, after Hove-Becker’s death in Mons, Belgium on October 8, 2015, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Becker was accused of drugging his 32-year-old wife and tossing her from a window in Mons, Belgium, from which she fell and bounced off several balconies before plummeting to her death.
Navy Lieutenant Craig Becker (right), now 36, was turned over to American authorities last week, as Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) will take over the lead in an investigation into the 2015 death of his wife, Johanna Hanna Elizabeth Hove-Becker (left), then-32
Defense Secretary James Mattis issued a memo in January that overruled a 2015 decision by US Naval Forces Europe and Africa that granted jurisdiction to Belgium authorities over the case.
‘This memorandum should not be read as expressing any opinions as to what actions, if any, should be taken within the US military justice system,’ Mattis wrote.
This follows a lawsuit filed by Becker’s American attorneys against Mattis, Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer and the Navy’s top attorney, Vice Adm. James Crawford on November 6.
The suit, filed in Washington, DC District Court, sought that American military forces assert jurisdiction over charges lodged against him by Belgian investigators under Article VII of the NATO Status of Forces Treaty.


The view from the window Hove-Becker either fell or was pushed from is seen at left; The window at issue is highlighted in the photo at right

Belgian authorities charged Becker (right) with homicide, after the death of Hove-Becker (left) in Mons, Belgium on October 8, 2015
The treaty allows concurrent jurisdiction to Brussels and the US because Becker’s wife died in Belgium, but Becker’s attorneys, San Diego-based Jeremiah J. Sullivan, III and David Patrick Sheldon in Washington, DC, argued that they couldn’t find a case where the US ceded jurisdiction, when the victim was a United States citizen.
‘We’re still not sure what freed Lt. Becker but justice prevailed,’ Sullivan told the San Diego Union-Tribune.
‘Lt. Becker shouldn’t be forced to litigate against his own country to exercise the constitutional rights that are afforded to him.’


Hove-Becker was born in Sweden and raised in Florida, before moving to Belgium in 2013

Hove-Becker worked as a psychologist before her death at age 32 in 2015 in Belgium
Military officials previously explained their decision to grant jurisdiction to Belgium by citing concerns that evidence obtained in Belgium would not be admissible in an American military court martial proceeding, according to military records reportedly obtained by the Union-Tribune.
The sailor is stationed on Mons with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE).
The explosive ordinance disposal expert also reports to Naval Support Activity Naples, the Italian base that also houses US Naval Forces Europe and the US Sixth Fleet, with ties to Coronado-based Naval Special Warfare.
Becker’s attorneys argued his security clearance and knowledge related to US nuclear capabilities would pose a threat to US national security, were he to be tried in Belgium.
No charges have currently been filed in the US against Becker.

John and Yvonne Hove of Jacksonville, Florida, parents of the deceased woman, have custody of the couple’s child pending the completion of the investigation
NCIS has declined to comment while the investigation is ongoing.
John and Yvonne Hove of Jacksonville, Florida, parents of the deceased woman, have also declined to comment.
The Hoves have custody of Hove-Becker’s and Becker’s 3-year-old daughter while the investigation continues.
Hove-Becker moved to Mons in 2013 with Becker. She was a psychologist, born in Sweden and raised in Florida.
Their daughter was born in Sweden, raised in Florida and became a psychologist. She moved with her husband to Mons in 2013.
Becker’s family in Massachusetts has custody of their daughter while the case continues in Belgium.

Hove-Becker and Becker’s daughter was born on June 12, 2014