Paragraphs 5 through 8 read: "Investigators found the 23-year old's body and along with the body of 20-year old Waide James of Port St. John in Brevard County in their apartment just outside Ft. Drum in New York. The two failed to report for duty on base.

Police say the Army Specialists had been stabbed to death.

New York authorities tracked their other roommate, military police officer Joshua Hunter, to Ohio.

"Hunter, 20, was expected to be arraigned on second-degree murder charges Friday morning, three days after the bodies of James and Valbuena were found in their apartment just outside Fort Drum, about 140 miles northwest of Albany. Hunter and the two victims served in Iraq at the same time in the same battalion."

Paragraph 11 reads: "'He was a gunner and he was active,' says his father, Jim Hunter. 'He said he saw some things he couldn't get out of his mind. I know he was seeing a therapist and taking Prozac'."

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/dec/04/slain-port-st-lucie-soldier-recalled-loving-person/

Slain Port St. Lucie soldier recalled as 'loving person' who put others first

BY CAROLYN SCOFIELD WPTV NewsChannel 5
Posted December 4, 2009 at 6:18 a.m.

PORT ST. LUCIE Nicole Aviles will always remember his smile.

Diego Valbuena, a 2006 St. Lucie West Centennial graduate, had a big grin and knew how to make his younger cousin laugh.

"He was like the life of the party," says Nicole Aviles. "He always had a big grin on his face."

There's not a lot of laughter in the family right now as they prepare for the funeral of the Port St. Lucie resident.

Investigators found the 23-year old's body and along with the body of 20-year old Waide James of Port St. John in Brevard County in their apartment just outside Ft. Drum in New York. The two failed to report for duty on base.

Police say the Army Specialists had been stabbed to death.

New York authorities tracked their other roommate, military police officer Joshua Hunter, to Ohio.

Hunter, 20, was expected to be arraigned on second-degree murder charges Friday morning, three days after the bodies of James and Valbuena were found in their apartment just outside Fort Drum, about 140 miles northwest of Albany. Hunter and the two victims served in Iraq at the same time in the same battalion.

They all were based at the wind-swept Army post near the Canadian border, home of the much-deployed 10th Mountain Division, and shared an off-base apartment.

Investigators have not released a motive, but Hunter's family says he served 15 months in Iraq and came back scarred.

Relatives of Hunter said Thursday that he told them he saw his best friend “blown to pieces” in Iraq and came back a changed man: abusive, violent, sleepless, edgy and plagued by flashbacks.

"He was a gunner and he was active," says his father, Jim Hunter. "He said he saw some things he couldn't get out of his mind. I know he was seeing a therapist and taking Prozac."

Hunter’s wife, Emily Hunter, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that her husband was outgoing before he went to war, but when he returned stateside, he was an emotional wreck.

“He’d just burst into tears; spouts of anger or sadness,” she said. “There’d be one emotion but it would be really deep, just extremely happy or extremely sad. His emotions were always on the rocks.”

“He’d take his rage out on the wall, or throw something,” she said.

While he wasn’t violent toward his buddies, he was toward her, she said, adding that she went to the hospital a couple of times for treatment of an injured arm and thumb.

She said she moved out two weeks ago because of his violence and is pursuing a divorce.

Valbuena also served 15 months in Iraq. His family says he loved his country and excelled in the Army.

He earned the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal and Iraq Campaign Medal among other awards.

More important than the medals was his love of family.

"A guy like him is like, one in a trillion basically," says Aviles. "He was just such a loving person, like he always put others in front of himself."

Sergio Valbuena said his brother was a good man.

“He’s a pretty good boy, a pretty good kid,” he said. “He was loved by everybody. He was a very good brother, a very good son.

“He was always a problem-solver. He loved this country. That’s the reason he joined the military.”

In September, James and Valbuena graduated from Fort Drum’s Warrior Leaders Course, which teaches skills required to lead, train, fight and accomplish the mission as noncommissioned officers. The two and Hunter all listed each other as friends on their MySpace pages.

Valbuena wrote on his MySpace page that he was born in Bogota, Colombia, and had joined the military in August 2008.

James and Valbuena served as motor transport operators with the Headquarters Battalion of the 10th Mountain Division, according to Fort Drum’s public affairs office.

James arrived at Fort Drum in July 2007, while Valbuena joined in August 2007 and came to Fort Drum in January. Both have received awards and decorations including the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and overseas service ribbon.

James' grandparents, who live in Port St. John, described him as an avid outdoorsman who loved fishing.

James lived in Brevard County for three years before joining the Army in March 2007. He arrived in Fort Drum in July of that year.

"He returned from his first tour of Iraq about seven months ago," said his grandfather, Chuck Mills. "If he could go fishing every hour of the day, he would. He loved four-wheeling, being out in the mud."

Valbuena's family is making arrangements to hold his funeral in Port St. Lucie.

Staff writer Eric Pfahler, Kaustuv Basu of Florida Today and The Associated Press contributed to this report.