The Mysterious Death of Chad Langford

Episode 184

Chad Wayne Langford

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Twenty year old Chad Langford had been working as a Military Police officer at the Redstone Arsenal, just outside Huntsville, Alabama. A bright, driven and accomplished soldier, Chad was planning to re-enlist when his term of service ended but he'd never get that chance.

On Thursday, March 12th, 1992, Chad radioed that he was investigating a stalled vehicle at the base. Several minutes later, when they were unable to get a response from Chad, all MPs were directed to track him down. At 8:20pm, Chad was found lying on the ground near his cruisers, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head. He passed away 90 minutes later.

Despite the fact that Chad had been found with his legs bound, his hat shoved into his mouth, a wire around his neck and handcuffs attached to his left wrist, the Army would rule less than forty-eight hours later that the soldier had died as the result of suicide.

Arguing against this, Chad's family pointed towards conflicting evidence and Chad's fears that his life was in danger. Chad had told loved ones he was working as an undercover officer and worried his identity would be revealed. The Army claimed to have no knowledge of Chad's covert work, alleging that he had made it all up to sound more important. Despite the inability to conclusively prove he fired his gun, a mysterious vehicle stopped near the scene and countless inaccuracies in their report, the Army refuses to change their ruling or consider any other evidence.

Was Chad killed in the line of duty, or had he constructed an elaborate suicide plan in order to make it appear as though he had been the victim of a homicide?

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