Chad Lankford

[crystaldawn]

Do any of you guys remember this case? A VERY strange one about a military policeman found dead under mysterious circumstances and the military had the audacity to call it a suicide. I found an article that talks about it:

"GRIEF AND SHOCK: THAT'S WHAT 40 FAMILIES FELT WHEN THEY WERE TOLD
THEIR RELATIVES IN THE MILITARY DIED OF SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS. THEIR
PAIN DEEPENED, THOUGH, WHEN THEIR SEARCH FOR ANSWERS HIT A WALL OF
SECRECY.-----THE FACTS CONTRADICT DEATH RULINGS ---ON A LATE WINTER
EVENING IN MARCH OF 1992, MILITARY POLICEMAN CHAD LANGFORD RADIOED THE
SECURITY CENTER AT A SPRAWLING ARMY ARSENAL IN ALABAMA THAT HE WAS
STOPPING TO ASSIST A STRANDED MOTORIST. SECONDS LATER, THE RADIO WENT
DEAD.

AN MP DISPATCHED TO INVESTIGATE FOUND LANGFORDS PATROL CAR, ITS HAZARD
LIGHTS FLASHING AND ITS ENGINE RUNNING, ON A REMOTE GRAVEL ROAD
OUTLINED IN PALE MOONLIGHT. NEXT TO THE CAR, THE MP SAID LATER, HE SAW
" A LOT OF BLOOD."

ON THE ROAD BENEATH THE CAR'S OPEN FRONT DOOR LAY SPEC. 4 CHAD
LANGFORD, DYING IN THE DARK OF A GUN SHOT TO HIS RIGHT TEMPLE.

LANGFORD'S BLOOD-STAINED MP CAP WAS STUFFED IN HIS MOUTH. HIS
HANDCUFFS DANGLED FROM HIS LEFT WRIST. THE LANYARD CORD FROM HIS
HOLSTER WAS WRAPPED AROUND HIS ANKLES, AND HIS CAR RADIO CABLE WAS
KNOTTED AROUND HIS NECK. ---AND LANGFORD'S .45-CALIBER SERVICE PISTOL,
WHICH HAD BEEN FIRED TWICE, LAY UNDER HIS LEFT SHOULDER.TWO DAYS
LATER-DESPITE THE BIZARRE DEATH SCENE AND BEFORE THE COMPLETION OF LAB
TESTS-A MILITARY PATHOLOGIST ISSUED A RULING: ---TWENTY YEAR OLD CHAD
LANGFORD HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE

IN TINY ELK CREEK, CALIF., LANGFORD'S FATHER WAS STUNNED BY THE NEWS.
JUST 10 DAYS EARLIER, JIM LANGFORD SAID, CHAD HAD TOLD HIM HIS LIFE
HAD BEEN THREATENED WHILE HE WAS ON AN UNDERCOVER DRUG INVESTIGATION.
MONTHS LATER, LANGFORD'S GRIEF AND SHOCK TURNED TO OUTRAGE. AN ARMY
REPORT SAID CHAD STAGED HIS OWN DEATH TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT HE HAD
BEEN MURDERED.

BUT THE REPORT ALSO SAID SOMETHING ELSE: THE ARMY COULD NOT DETERMINE
WHETHER CHAD'S FINGERPRINTS WERE ON THE GUN, OR WHETHER HE HAD FIRED A
GUN AT ALL. AND UNIDENTIFIED FINGERPRINTS WERE FOUND ON HIS RADIO, MP
ARMBAND AND HANDCUFFS.

"I THINK THEY GOT THIS BOY WRAPPED UP IN A DRUG INVESTIGATION THAT GOT
HIM KILLED, AND NOW THEY DON'T WANT TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR IT,"
LANGFORD SAID LAST MONTH, "I THINK THEY'RE COVERING UP SOMETHING BIG
TIME.
IN THE HOURS BEFORE HE DIED, CHAD LANGFORD SEEMED A MAN ROUTINELY
GOING ABOUT HIS 'DUTIES' AND JOB.

TWO WOMEN TOLD INVESTIGATORS THAT LANGFORD CALLED THEM DURING THE LATE
AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING OF MARCH 12, 1992, AND CHATTED AMIABLY.
ONE WOMAN SAID SHE SPOKE WITH LANGFORD JUST BEFORE 8 P.M.--- OR
MINUTES BEFORE THE TIME INVESTIGATORS SAID LANGFORD SHOT HIMSELF.

THE WOMAN SAID "SHE DID NOT DETECT FEAR IN SPC LANGFORD'S VOICE AND
THAT HE SEEMED TO BE TALKING NORMALLY," SAID A REPORT BY THE ARMY'S
CID.

ACCORDING TO THE REPORT, THE WOMAN SAID SHE AND LANGFORD ARRANGED TO
MEET AT 1 P.M., WHEN HIS SHIFT WAS TO END.

ANOTHER WOMAN, A COLLEGE STUDENT, TOLD INVESTIGATORS THAT LANGFORD HAD
CALLED THAT AFTERNOON AND ASKED HER TO DROP BY THE MP STATION TO VISIT
HIM THAT NIGHT. SHE SAID SHE CALLED LANGFORD LATER AND SAID SHE
WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO SO.

AN MP WHO RODE ON PATROL WITH LANGFORD UNTIL 6 P.M. THAT DAY TOLD
INVESTIGATORS THAT LANGFORD "SEEMED TO BE IN A GOOD MOOD AND EVEN
SEEMED TO JOKE AROUND."

ANOTHER SOLDIER TOLD INVESTIGATORS LANGFORD CALLED HIM AN HOUR BEFORE
HE DIED TO CHAT BRIEFLY AND ASK HOW HE WAS DOING.

EVEN SO, THE CID CONCLUDED THAT LANGFORD HAD STAGED HIS DEATH. IT
BASED THAT CONCLUSION IN PART ON A POST-MORTEM EVALUATION OF
LANGFORD'S MENTAL HEALTH BY AN ARMY PSYCHOLOGIST WHO INTERVIEWED HIS
FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS, AND FAMILY MEMBERS.

THE PSYCHOLOGIST SPECULATED THAT LANGFORD KILLED HIMSELF BECAUSE OF
GIRL FRIEND PROBLEMS AND "EMOTIONAL INSTABILITY." A CID REPORT QUOTED
A FELLOW SOLDIER AS SAYING THAT DAYS BEFORE HIS DEATH, LANGFORD HAD
LAUGHED AND TOLD HIM:"I AM GOING TO DIE."

THE PSYCHOLOGIST CONCLUDED: "IT SEEMS THAT SPC LANGFORD WAS DETERMINED
TO KILL HIMSELF IN A FASHION THAT WOULD SUGGEST HE HAD BEEN MURDERED
IN THE LINE OF DUTY."

AN INQUIRER REVIEW OF THE CID REPORT INVESTIGATIVE FILES FOUND
EVIDENCE THAT RAISED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SUICIDE RULING:

* RESIDUE TESTS OF LANGFORD'S HANDS WERE INCONCLUSIVE AS TO WHETHER HE
HAD FIRED A GUN.

* NO BLOOD OR BRAIN TISSUE WAS FOUND ON THE PISTOL --- EVEN THOUGH
SUICIDE EXPERTS SAY SUCH "BLOWBACK" IS NORMALLY FOUND ON GUNS USED BY
PEOPLE WHO SHOOT THEMSELVES IN THE HEAD.

* WHILE INVESTIGATORS DETERMINED THAT THE SHELL CASINGS FOUND NEAR
LANGFORD'S BODY WERE FIRED FROM THE PISTOL, THEY DID NOT TRY TO
DETERMINE WHETHER THAT GUN FIRED THE BULLET THAT KILLED HIM.

* THE PISTOL WAS FOUND BENEATH THE LEFT SHOULDER OF LANGFORD, WHO WAS
A RIGHT HANDED SHOOTER.

* THE CIVILIAN DEATH CERTIFICATE, INSTEAD OF LISTING LANGFORD'S DEATH
AS A SUICIDE, PUT IT IN THE CATEGORY OF "UNDETERMINED CAUSE."

IN ADDITION, BUTTONS TORN FROM LANGFORD'S SHIRT WERE FOUND ON THE
FRONT SEAT OF HIS PATROL CAR. THE CID REPORT SPECULATED THAT THEY WERE
RIPPED OFF BY EMERGENCY PERSONNEL. WITNESSES TOLD CID THAT LANGFORD
WAS TREATED ON THE ROAD, NOT INSIDE THE CAR.

LANGFORD'S RADIO, ARMBAND AND MP BADGE WERE FOUND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
ROAD A SHORT DISTANCE FROM HIS BODY. THE CID REPORT SPECULATED THAT
LANGFORD PUT THEM THERE AND THEN DROVE TO THE DEATH SCENE , WHERE HE
SAT DOWN NEXT TO HIS CAR AND SHOT HIMSELF. IT NOTED THAT THE ARMBAND
HAD BEEN CAREFULLY UNPINNED , RATHER THAN RIPPED , FROM LANGFORD'S
UNIFORM.

AS FOR THE TWO BULLETS FIRED FROM THE GUN, THE REPORT SPECULATED THAT
LANGFORD FIRED THE FIRST SHOT TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT SOMEONE HAD FIRED
AT HIM AND MISSED.

KEEFE, THE FORMER CID INVESTIGATOR WHO REVIEWED THE REPORT FOR THE
INQUIRER, SAID THE EVIDENCE DOES NOT SUPPORT A SUICIDE RULING.

" IT SMELLS BAD, " KEEFE SAID OF THE REPORT.

KEEFE, A PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR IN NEW YORK, SAID THE REPORT INDICATED
THAT INVESTIGATORS QUICKLY ASSUMED THAT LANGFORD HAD KILLED HIMSELF,
THEN SOUGHT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THAT THEORY.

"IT APPEARS THAT THE CAUSE OF DEATH AND THE MANNER OF DEATH WERE A
FOREGONE CONCLUSION," KEEFE SAID, "THIS IS HIGHLY IRREGULAR."

THE CID REPORT GIVES LITTLE INDICATION THAT INVESTIGATORS ATTEMPTED TO
IDENTIFY OR PURSUE A SUSPECT, ALTHOUGH GATES AT REDSTONE ARSENAL WERE
ORDERED CLOSED JUST AFTER THE SHOOTING.

AN MP SENT TO LOOK FOR LANGFORD TOLD THE CID THAT JUST AFTER THE
SHOOTING, HE HAD STOPPED A CIVILIAN IN A WHITE CAR LEAVING THE AREA
WHERE LANGFORD WAS FOUND, BUT THE MP SAID HE LET THE MAN GO WITHOUT
GETTING HIS NAME OR LICENSE NUMBER.

LAB TESTS LATER CONCLUDED THAT WHITE PAINT FLECKS FOUND ON LANGFORD'S
PISTOL DID NOT MATCH THE WHITE PAINT FROM HIS CHEVROLET LUMINA PATROL
CAR.

ANOTHER MP TOLD INVESTIGATORS HE HAD STOPPED A SOLDIER IN A CAR
LEAVING THE SAME AREA SHORTLY AFTER THE SHOOTING. HE SAID HE LET HIM
GO AFTER THE SOLDIER SAID HE WAS OUT TO "COOL OFF" AFTER A FIGHT WITH
HIS WIFE.

THE MP SAID HE TOOK THE SOLDIER'S ID CARD AND LEFT IT AT A BASE MP
STATION. BUT THE SOLDIER WAS ALLOWED TO RETRIEVE THE ID CARD THE NEXT
DAY WITHOUT ANYONE MAKING A RECORD OF HIS NAME, ACCORDING TO THE CID
REPORT.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE ARE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT," JIM LANGFORD
SAID.

LANGFORD SAID HIS SON HAD TOLD HIM "I'M A DEAD MAN" IF THE PEOPLE HE
WAS INVESTIGATING DURING AN UNDERCOVER DRUG ASSIGNMENT FOUND OUT WHO
HE WAS.

A GIRLFRIEND OF LANGFORD'S TOLD THE CID THAT HE HAD SHOWN HER A
THREATENING NOTE THAT HAD "SOME KIND OF GANG-RELATED SYMBOLS ON IT."
THE CID REPORT SAID NO SUCH NOTES WERE FOUND IN LANGFORD'S BARRACKS
ROOM.

THE REPORT ALSO SAID INVESTIGATORS CHECKED WITH MILITARY AND CIVILIAN
POLICE AND FOUND NO RECORD THAT LANGFORD WAS INVOLVED IN UNDERCOVER
DRUG WORK.

THE REPORT DID QUOTE THREE FELLOW SOLDIERS AS SAYING LANGFORD HAD
TRIED AND FAILED TO ENLIST THEM IN A SCHEME TO ROB A PX PAYROLL
ESCORT. THE SOLDIERS SAID THE PLAN, WHICH THEY SAID THEY TOLD LANGFORD
WAS "A STUPID IDEA," NEVER GOT PAST THE TALKING STAGE.

THEY SAID LANGFORD PROPOSED HAVING ONE OF THEM SHOOT HIM WHILE HE WAS
WEARING A BULLET PROOF VEST--TO MAKE IT APPEAR THAT HE HAD PUT UP
RESISTANCE.

UNSATISFIED WITH THE CID INVESTIGATION , JIM LANGFORD SAID , HE WENT
TO ALABAMA IN NOVEMBER 1992 AND POSTED A $25,000 REWARD FOR
INFORMATION LEADING TO A MURDER CONVICTION.

HE SAID A HUNTSVILLE ALABAMA MAN TOLD HIM THAT A LOCAL DRUG DEALER HAD
PAID TO HAVE A MILITARY MAN KILLED.

WHEN HE PASSED ON THE MAN'S CLAIM TO THE CID, LANGFORD SAID, THE
AGENCY REOPENED THE CASE. BUT IN MAY, HE SAID, THE CID TOLD HIM THE
NEW PROBE HAD COME TO THE SAME CONCLUSION: SUICIDE.

MILLER, THE CID SPOKESMAN, SAID THE AGENCY COULD NOT DISCUSS SPECIFIC
CASES. HE SAID ALL CID DEATH INVESTIGATIONS ARE THOROUGH AND
PROFESSIONAL, AND UNDERGO RIGOROUS REVIEW WITHIN THE ARMY.

LANGFORD SAID HE WILL CONTINUE TO PRESS FOR ANSWERS, BUT HOLDS OUT
LITTLE HOPE.

"I'D HAVE BETTER LUCK BEATING MY HEAD AGAINST A WALL," HE SAID.

[mikeiscool]

They just showed this one yesterday on Lifetime.

[wiseguy182]

Just saw this one for the first time the other day on Lifetime. They've been showing a lot of ones lately that I haven't seen before, which is fine by me. Long segment, btw, coming in close to 20 minutes, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Anyways, I doubt highly that Chad committed suicide. The way his body was found resembled a lot like Cindy James when her body was found, I thought. I think it was next to impossible for either one of them to have commited suicidie given the position of their bodies when they were found.

I'm glad they've been showing obscure segments like this lately, although we did just get the Shroud of Turin twice in a week, and the dreaded millionth airing of the poisionous milkshake, featuring an Academy Award winning peformance.

[Goofyman]

I had actually never seen the poisoned milkshake one, but oh my gosh, the actress playing the wife was reprehensible at the job. Good night.

The second Turin showing was an update showing a similar stroke which can be used to replicate the effect, so I think it was worthy.

More on this subject, though. I agree that Chad didn't kill himself. What I found to be weird was that in the UM segment they said two or three times that "no entry wounds were found on Chad" but he had been shot. Was I missing a part there, or was it them talking about the initial look at his body or something.

Regardless, I think he was involved in some drug busting and he got caught, then when he got killed all knowledge of anything was "lost."

[boechsner]

Does anyone have an airdate for this segment. According to the episode guide it repeated on June 30, 1993. When did it originally air?

Lifetime airs this segment in an edited episode with the 1993-1995 theme song, along with a May 19, 1993 segment on a ghost blimp.

[boechsner]

I've confirmed that this segment aired on February 24, 1993.

[MegtheEgg86]

Hate to bump an old thread, but have any of you ever read or heard anything about Langford's death linked in with the Mena conspiracy? I know there was some speculation about his involvement with some shady stuff---whether part of an undercover assignment or direct dealing---but I'd never heard anything like this:

http://whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO.../suicide1.html



The article that crystaldawn posted at the beginning of the thread is there. I don't totally discredit the existence of the conspiracy itself, but SPC Langford's death? I'm not so sure. That'd be like the third or fourth UM segment to have a "Mena connection."

[Victoria81]

This case just played last night and to me it was obviously murder!

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by Victoria81

This case just played last night and to me it was obviously murder!

I think so too. It seems highly unlikely he would've committed suicide. There were no prior indicators that he might do so, by all accounts. The scene contained evidence that ran to the contrary as well. The weapon could not have ended up beneath his shoulder had he shot himself.

I don't think it was any bureaucratic conspiracy. I think he was involved in criminal activity himself and crossed his former fellows in some way.

[lilmissd]

Ok. If Chad really killed himself, at minimum he would have had gunpowder residue on his hands and his clothes, this happens whenever a gun is fired. I don't know why the heck the army is covering this up, and why no one else knew of Chad's alleged "undercover" work, I think the Army knows who killed him and why, but why they won't pursue the matter is beyond me.

[bugnpinky]

Well if there is no government conspiracy then why did the military pooh-pooh everything and rule it a suicide of all things? They are clearly covering up something. Maybe he went rogue and that is why they don't want to look into it, who knows...but this isn't suicide.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by bugnpinky

Well if there is no government conspiracy then why did the military pooh-pooh everything and rule it a suicide of all things? They are clearly covering up something. Maybe he went rogue and that is why they don't want to look into it, who knows...but this isn't suicide.

I surmise it's likely related to lazy or inept MPs or CID, or that the Army reckoned it didn't want it largely publicized that a soldier might have been involved in organized criminal activity. Of course things are very different today, and reports like that are not wildly unusual.

[TheCars1986]

After viewing the segment (which is skewed to favor the murder theory, IMO) I initially thought there was no question that Langford was murdered. The way his body was found, the inconclusive ballistics tests, and the inconclusive GSR tests all made it seem like murder. But if Langford was involved in some sort of undercover drug work, wouldn't the CID have uncovered this and noted it in their report? I know that the segment hinted at some massive cover-up, but what would there be to cover? If Langford was investigating drug dealing within the military, that would obviously mean that there were orders from above for this investigation. So if Langford was murdered in the middle of this investigation wouldn't the people who started the whole investigation want to find out who murdered Langford so it would lead to solving their case!? I see no reason as to why the military would want to start an investigation and when one of their "investigators" is murdered all of a sudden clam up and deny the existence. That's absurd.

The other part that makes no sense about the murder theory is that Langford radioed in to the dispatch and said he was going to help a stranded motorist. Now if these people (whom Langford was allegedly investigating) found out that Langford was a snitch and was going to blow the whistle on the drug dealing going on, don't you think they would have picked a better place and better time to murder him? Like say, when he was home or after he got off? These murderers left an awful lot up to chance considering:

-They had no way of knowing that Langford would have been the MP who spotted the car and pulled over to assist. What if another MP happened on the car first?
-They had no way of knowing if Langford would have even spotted the car at all.
-They had to know Langford was armed. Had he recognized one of the occupants in the car (especially if he really was receiving threats from these people) don't you think he would have drawn his weapon?
-What if another MP just so happened to show up for backup in the middle of Langford's murder?

All in all I do not believe Langford was involved in any undercover investigation. And I do not believe that the military covered his murder up and ruled it a suicide to divert from the investigation. That makes no sense. BUT, that does not mean he wasn't murdered. Don't get me wrong, the military made some pretty stupid mistakes while investigating his death. Letting the 2 vehicles simply drive away without even noting their license plate numbers is just mind boggling! Plus that whole psychoevaluation seemed extremely off base with who Langford really was. His father and girlfriend both agreed that the evaluation was fraught with errors. His girlfriend wouldn't have anything to hold back considering they were supposed to be married and Langford broke it off with her. I just don't think (if he was murdered) his death was a result of the military. I am split 50/50 on this one. The shady characters he was seen with shortly before his death and the allegation that he planned on committing a robbery with fellow soldiers strengthen the possibility that he was murdered. One thing is extremely confusing in the UM segment about this, which would probably help me make up my mind. In the reenactment Langford says he is stopping a "stranded motorist" or something to that effect, but the narration towards the end says Langford was stopping to check out an abandoned vehicle. If it was in fact an abandoned vehicle, that lends more credence to the suicide theory, IMO. Because (as noted above) it seems highly unlikely that someone deadest on murdering Langford would pull over on the side of the road and just wait for him. I think only one of two scenarios are possible:

1. Chad's family and friends were not being completely honest when they were defending his character. Perhaps they knew of the history of mental problems and couldn't accept that he committed suicide and they wanted him to have died a hero. The CID evaluation (and their proposed suicide scenario) is spot on.
2. Chad did not have a history of mental issues but did get involved with something shady or some shady people. Towards the end of the segment a local reporter notes how easy it would be for civilians to enter and exit the base. These people entered the base with the intent to murder Langford (either he threatened to blow the whistle or simply just got mixed up with the wrong crowd) and succeeded. The CID investigation was simply a way to come up with an explanation when much of the initial investigation (from the inconclusive tests to not jotting down license plates or questioning potential suspects) was botched from the get-go.

[Hambone2421]

Was it ever determined what the new evidence was that Stack mentioned at the of this segment that caused the investigation to be "re-opened suddenly"?

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by Hambone2421

Was it ever determined what the new evidence was that Stack mentioned at the of this segment that caused the investigation to be "re-opened suddenly"?

I too do not know about that and would be interested to find out. I have not seen this case in quite some time. I will not lie I watched it with some bias somewhat put off by the conspiracy angle, but I do acknowledge that it is questionable at best for him to have committed suicide. I need to review this segment.