Two of Logan Melgar’s special-ops partners are now under investigation for his murder after lying to investigators about him being drunk at the time of his death, officials said
A Green Beret who was killed on June 4 while on a Special Forces operation in Mali had uncovered that his partners were stealing money from an Army fund.
And after his death Logan Melgar’s two partners in the operation, who are Navy SEALs, told authorities that he died because he was drunk during fighting exercises.
Now those two partners are under investigation for killing Melgar -after an autopsy came back that showed the 34-year-old had no drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death.
Melgar, who was a staff sergeant in the Army’s Third Special Forces Group, had been living in Bamako, Mali, for a few months at the time of his death. He was specifically selected for an intelligence operation there.
Shortly before his death, Melgar told his wife, Michelle, that he had a bad feeling about the two SEALs on the operation with him, according to an official, who spoke to The Daily Beast on the condition of anonymity.
Melgar didn’t give her any more details over email, instead telling her that he’d give her the full story once he was home.
Melgar, who was a staff sergeant in the Army’s Third Special Forces Group, had been living in Bamako, Mali, for a few months at the time of his death. Part of the intelligence gathering operation included a fund used to pay informants, which Melgar allegedly discovered two SEALs were stealing from
Officials told the Daily Beast that the two SEALs got into an altercation with Melgar on June 4 that resulted in his death by asphyxiation. His superiors suspected foul play and dispatched an investigating officer to the scene within 24 hours, and in a panic, the SEALs told investigators that Melgar was drunk while he was doing fighting exercises with him, causing his death
Part of the intelligence gathering operation in Mali involved a fund used to pay informants.
Two Special Operation sources told the Daily Beast that Melgar discovered the pair of SEALs were pocketing some of that money for themselves.
When he confronted them about it, the sources say the pair told Melgar they could get him a cut of the money in return for his silence. He allegedly refused.
It isn’t clear what happened that sparked an altercation between Melgar and the two SEALs at around 5am on June 4. However, things escalated to the point that Melgar ended up losing consciousness and eventually stopped breathing.
In a panic the SEALs attempted to open an airway in Melgar’s throat, officials said.
But it was a bad excuse because the autopsy report eventually came back, proving that there were no traces of drugs or alcohol in the Green Beret’s system. Now the pair have been put on administrative leave and shipped back to the United States. To aid in the investigation Meglar’s wife Michelle (right) sent investigators the emails her husband had sent her about his suspicions about the SEALs
When that failed to revive him, the two SEALs told another Green Beret on the operation that Melgar was unconscious, and the three of them took him to a French clinic for help.
But Melgar was dead on arrival. It’s not clear exactly when he died, but he died of asphyxiation.
His body was found in a US Embassy Housing Room, the New York Times reported.
His superiors suspected foul play and dispatched an investigating officer to the scene within 24 hours.
The SEAL pair then tried to cover their involvement by telling superiors that Melgar was drunk during combatives – or hand-to-hand fighting exercises – and that is how he got himself knocked out and killed.
But it was a bad excuse because the autopsy report eventually came back, proving that there were no traces of drugs or alcohol in the Green Beret’s system. One source even claims he didn’t drink in the first place.
Brig. Gen Donald Bolduc, who is the Commander of the Special Ops Command-Africa, was allegedly skeptical of the SEALs stories and the initial reports about Melgar’s death, and told commanders in Mali to preserve any evidence.
Michelle was apparently also suspicious, three sources told the Daily Beast.
She approached commanders about her concerns regarding his cause of death and allegation that he had been drinking. She also gave investigators the emails her husband sent her about the problems he was having with the two SEALs.
Now, those two SEALs have been placed on administrative leave and shipped to the United States from Mali, and are under investigation for killing Melgar.
The investigation was fist reported by the New York Times and has sent shock-waves through the special-op community.
Melgar, who was from Lubbock, Texas, was just 34 years old when he died, and served two tours in Afghanistan.
He graduated from Texas Tech in 2006, and enlisted in the Army in 2012 as an off-the-street Special Forces recruit. He graduated from Special Forces Qualification in 2016.