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Hearing Set for Fort Bragg Soldier Suspected in 1985 Murders

Posted: May 11, 2007

Fort Bragg, N.C. — A Fort Bragg soldier suspected in a triple murder that happened more than 20 years ago will face a military hearing next week.

Fort Bragg officials on Friday scheduled an Article 32 hearing for Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis for Tuesday, May 16 at 10 a.m. The hearing is the military equivalent of a pre-trial hearing to discuss evidence.

Kathryn Eastburn and her daughters -- Kara, 5, and Erin, 3 -- were stabbed to death in their Summer Hill Road home near Fort Bragg on May 12, 1985. A year later, Hennis was convicted of the crimes and sentenced to die.

He won an appeal of the conviction, however, and was acquitted in his 1989 retrial.

Cumberland County investigators said in September that DNA evidence unavailable for testing in 1989 connected Hennis to the murders.

Double jeopardy, however, prevents the state from retrying Hennis since he has been acquitted, but the military can court-martial him for any crimes he committed while on active duty, including anything that occurred off base.

Copyright 2009 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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