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Husband wanted in death of Bragg soldier dies during standoff with FBI in Arizona

Jason Earl Armstrong Jr., a 27-year-old man wanted in the death of his wife on post at Fort Bragg in early July, died Wednesday after shooting himself during a standoff with authorities in Arizona, according to the FBI.

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FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Jason Earl Armstrong Jr., a 27-year-old man wanted in the death of his wife on post at Fort Bragg in early July, died Wednesday after shooting himself during a standoff with authorities in Arizona, according to the FBI.

Jason Armstrong had been charged with murder in the death of Army Spc. Iris Armstrong, 24, who was killed at her home on July 1 in the Nijmegen Community government housing area at Fort Bragg.

Army investigators found her body five days later, and her death certificate shows she was stabbed and beaten. Iris Armstrong, of Columbia, S.C., was a human resources specialist assigned to the 189th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division Sustainment Brigade.

Iris Armstrong was the mother of a 5-year-old and an 18-month-old boy. The children are safe with relatives.

"She was a lovely mother and a lovely daughter," said Iris Armstrong's mother in Columbia, S.C.

The FBI said Jason Armstrong had ties to nine cities in five states, including Phoenix, Arizona, where police tracked him down Wednesday night.

FBI spokeswoman Shelley Lynch said Armstrong ran from police and barricaded himself inside an apartment. The complex was evacuated and, after a standoff that lasted several hours, police found him dead inside.

Lynch said it appeared Jason Armstrong shot himself. She does not know what connection he had to Phoenix.

Lynch said surveillance images show Jason Armstrong using his wife's debit card shortly after her death. The motive behind the killing remains under investigation.

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