Army specialist and teen charged with kidnapping, murdering 20-year-old soldier
Updated Dec 29, 2020;
Posted Dec 28, 2020
Hayden Harris, 20, was found shot to death in a wooded area in Sussex County.(U.S. Army photo)
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Two people, including a fellow soldier, have been charged with killing a young U.S. Army soldier whose body was discovered in Sussex County earlier this month, authorities said.
Specialist Jamaal Mellish, 23, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and a 16-year-old male whose name was not released, were charged with kidnapping and murdering 20-year-old Cpl. Hayden Harris, the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office announced Monday.
Harris, who was assigned to Fort Drum in upstate New York, was found shot to death on Dec. 19 in a wooded area near Ross Road in Byram Township, Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor Gregory Mueller said earlier this month.
Authorities did not release any information on the teen, including hometown or relationship to the soldiers.
Authorities said a dispute may be behind the abduction of Harris in his truck by Mellish, who then allegedly drove more than 300 miles to his hometown of Brooklyn. The two soldiers and the juvenile then traveled to Ross Road in Byram, where investigators believe Harris was killed.
Byram Township police found Harris body, nearly buried under snow, about 200 feet into the woods off the cul-de-sac. Firefighters called police to the scene after they found blood and several scattered items while on their annual Santa ride through the township.
Fort Drum soldier, teen charged in death of Army soldier thedailytimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thedailytimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Soldier And Juvenile Charged With Kidnapping, Murdering Fellow Serviceman
On 12/29/20 at 6:42 AM EST
Authorities have charged a U.S. Army soldier and a 16-year-old boy with murdering a fellow soldier who was found shot dead in New Jersey.
The body of 20-year-old Corporal Hayden Harris was discovered by police in a wooded area of Byram Township, New Jersey, on December 19.
Harris, of Guys, Tennessee, was last heard from as he headed from the Fort Drum base near the Canadian border to Watertown, New York, for a vehicle transaction, the U.S. Army s Criminal Investigation Command said.
In a news release on Monday, Sussex County Prosecutor Francis A. Koch said Specialist Jamaal Mellish and a 16-year-old boy, who was not identified, have been charged in connection with Harris s death.
23-Year-Old US Soldier Charged with Murder And Kidnapping Of Fellow Soldier Hayden Harris latintimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from latintimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.