Army News, news from Iraq, - Army Times

Soldier charged in stabbing death at Benning

A soldier assigned to Fort Benning, Ga., has been charged in the stabbing death of Pfc. Rick Bulmer, 23, a California National Guardsman who was in basic training to become an infantryman.

The incident took place May 18 on Sand Hill in a second floor barracks room at 1st Battalion, 50th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Brigade.

Pfc. George D. McDonald, 19, was taken into custody shortly after the incident, and was charged by the convening court martial authority with premeditated murder, two counts of aggravated assault and resisting apprehension, according to Fort Benning spokeswoman Monica Manganaro.

The alleged attack took place about 7:30 p.m. in an open bay room while the rest of Bulmer’s unit was on the ground floor in formation learning drill and ceremony, Manganaro said.

Bulmer, of Squaw Valley, Calif., had been excused from formation with a leg injury.

McDonald is an infantryman who was working on special duty assignment with 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment. He had been assigned temporarily to the cadre section of the 1-50th barracks because his own barracks were undergoing renovations.

On May 18, according to Manganaro, McDonald allegedly approached Bulmer in the open bay room and stabbed him repeatedly.

Reacting to the sound of yelling, two other basic trainees and a drill sergeant went to the room and allegedly observed McDonald stabbing Bulmer. One of the trainees attempted to interfere and McDonald escaped, she said.

“He was stopped close to the barracks by another drill sergeant,” Manganaro said of McDonald, indicating that no other injuries have been reported as a result of the incident.

Bulmer was taken in critical condition to the Columbus Medical Center for surgery and died May 19 around 3 a.m. while in the intensive care unit, she said.

He had arrived at Fort Benning May 6 for in-processing and was in his first week of basic training with E Company when he was attacked.

In an incident the same evening that agents with Fort Benning’s Criminal Investigation Command have determined is unrelated to the stabbing, McDonald’s twin brother, Pfc. James McDonald, was arrested by military police on unspecified drug charges as he returned from leave, Manganaro said.

The brothers graduated together from infantry one station unit training in September and while attending Airborne School submitted packets to attend the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School in Monmouth, N.J., which were accepted, according to Fort Benning’s Staff Judge Advocate.

The McDonald brothers, who grew up in the town of Floyd in southwestern Virginia, were assigned to work at 2-19 Infantry while they awaited the start of classes at the prep school this summer.

George McDonald is in custody at the Harris County jail under a special detention arrangement with Fort Benning and the local jurisdiction. His brother is confined to post, Manganaro said.

An Article 32 hearing, the military’s version of a grand jury proceeding, will likely be conducted to determine whether sufficient evidence exists for a general court martial in the stabbing incident, which is still under investigation.