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Montana solider murdered on base

| June 30, 2010 9:00 PM

WHITEFISH, Mont. - Byron Whitcomb, a standout athlete at Whitefish High School, was murdered on Saturday, June 19, while in his apartment at Fort Polk Army Base, in Vernon Parish near Leesville, Louisiana.

Whitcomb, 21, leaves behind his wife, Lindsey Whitcomb, and their 2-year-old daughter Kendal in Whitefish. His mother, Billie Eisinger, was born and raised and still lives in Whitefish.

Marcus Carey, 25, a civilian from Ohio, was arrested about 5 p.m. on Saturday and charged with murder and attempted murder Monday in U.S. District Court in Lake Charles, La.

Whitcomb and his roommate, Howard Alley, were reportedly stabbed with a knife and beaten with a hammer about 8:30 a.m. The weapons allegedly were wielded by a former soldier who Whitcomb apparently had invited to stay overnight because he was homeless.

According to FBI Special Agent Sheila Thorne, the Army's Criminal Investigation Command initiated an investigation of the murder, but the FBI was brought in when it was discovered that the chief suspect was a civilian who committed a crime on a military installation.

Whitcomb joined the Army on June 23, 2009, and completed boot camp in Fort Benning, Ga. A private first class at Fort Polk, in Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Whitcomb had just completed the Ranger indoctrination program and had been accepted for Ranger school, Lindsey said.

"It's very challenging, but he was very ambitious and did everything wholeheartedly," she said.

- Hagadone News Network