U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Sean M. Oliver, 34, has been charged with killing Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dmitry Chepusov, 31, on Dec. 14, 2013.
Sources close to the investigation have told Home Post that Oliver was the boyfriend of Chepusov's estranged wife.
86th Airlift Wing spokeswoman Sandra Archer wrote in an email on March 14 to Stars and Stripes:
"On March 10, 2014, charges of murder and other violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice were preferred against U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt Sean M. Oliver, 34, of American Forces Network – Europe.”
Archer told Air Force Times that authorities believe Oliver strangled Chepusov.
As Home Post previously reported, early on the morning of Dec. 14, German police stopped a car for driving erratically. They discovered Chepusov dead in the passenger seat.
German authorities later performed an autopsy on Chepusov, and ruled he died from “force to the throat.”
An Article 32 hearing will be held to determine if there is enough evidence against Oliver for a court-martial. The date of the Article 32 hearing has not yet been announced.
Chepusov was a broadcaster with American Forces Network-Europe at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. One of Chepusov's coworkers put together this video in his honor, so that those who never got a chance to meet him would understand how deeply he is missed:
