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Trial recommended for 1985 triple murder

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — A retired soldier should face a court-martial where the death penalty could be ordered for a 1985 triple murder, according to an Army investigating officer’s recommendation.

Army Master Sgt. Timothy B. Hennis was acquitted in a civilian court nearly two decades ago for the rape and murder of an Air Force captain’s wife and the murders of two of their daughters. Hennis was recalled to active duty last year so the Army could pursue new charges.

Hennis faces charges including murder and premeditated murder.

The report recommending the court-martial was issued Monday by Col. William L. Deneke, the investigating officer, according to a statement released Saturday by Fort Bragg.

Brig. Gen. Philip Volpe, 44th Medical Command commander, will make a recommendation and forward the case to Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, who will make the final ruling on how the case will proceed.

Hennis was arrested shortly after Kathryn Eastburn, 31, and two of her daughters — Kara Sue, 5, and Erin Nicole, 3 — were found fatally stabbed in their home near Fort Bragg in May 1985. A third child, 22-month-old Jana Eastburn, was found unharmed in her crib.

Eastburn’s husband, Air Force Capt. Gary Eastburn, was in Alabama at squadron officers training school at the time. Hennis had adopted the family’s dog several days before the murders.

Hennis was convicted and sentenced to death for the crimes in 1986, but the state Supreme Court awarded him a new trial after finding his first trial was run unfairly and with weak evidence. A second jury acquitted Hennis in April 1989.

During a cold case review last year, investigators used technology that was not available at the time of the slayings to test DNA evidence collected from the original crime scene. Local prosecutors said the results warranted reopening the case, but civilian authorities could not charge Hennis because of the constitutional protection against double jeopardy.

The military can pursue charges because its court system is a different jurisdiction.