By Amanda Kim Stairrett
Killeen Daily Herald

FORT HOOD — Pfc. Donnie Stevens Jr. was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for the unpremeditated murder of Spc. David Middlebrooks.

A six-person military panel decided on a lesser sentence from the premeditated murder charge prosecutors sought during the court-martial, which began Tuesday at Fort Hood. Stevens was also charged and found innocent of aggravated assault, and sentenced to forfeiture of all pay and a dishonorable discharge.

Stevens was a soldier in the 1st Cavalry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 27th Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, in late November 2009 when he attended a house party in the 100 block of Prather Drive in Killeen.

Middlebrooks, a soldier in the brigade's Bravo Troop, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, attended the same party. The two fought in the early morning hours of Nov. 22 after a night of heavy drinking and a series of altercations with others.

Middlebrooks died from a knife wound that penetrated his heart.

Both returned in June from a tour to Iraq. It was Stevens' second and Middlebrooks' first.

Investigators, a medical expert, a resident in the neighborhood and the party's host testified Tuesday. The host, Chere Cox, said violence erupted that night when Middlebrooks hit two women, herself included, at the party. She was six months' pregnant at the time.

Stevens learned of the act, Cox testified, and was enraged.

Testimony on Wednesday revealed what witnesses, most of them soldiers, saw following Stevens' discovery that Middlebrooks had assaulted Cox.

Stevens' defense team, civilian attorney Thomas Seigman and Capt. Alma Hernandez, attempted to show that he reacted angrily to the assault on Cox because of a similar incident within his own family. That, coupled with Stevens' alcohol abuse which surfaced after he returned from his second deployment, contributed to his reaction, the defense team attempted to establish.

They called upon an expert witness to talk about rage, reaction time and how those are affected by alcohol.

Prosecutors Capt. Brigid Osei-Bobi and Capt. Aaron Inkenbrandt tried to establish Middlebrooks' situation during the party. Middlebrooks passed out on a couch that night and was awakened when police responded to a noise complaint at the house. The underage guests, Middlebrooks was 20, were ushered into a bedroom to hide from the police. It was then that he discovered his girlfriend in bed with another man and hit her, Inkenbrandt said Thursday during his closing argument for the court-martial's sentencing phase.

While hitting the two women was unjustified, Inkenbrandt went on to say, Middlebrooks paid for that when Cox's husband beat him. Middlebrooks was drunk, tired, rejected and beaten down when he was carried out by a friend. He was alone in the dark and unarmed when Stevens rushed outside, Inkenbrandt said.

The stabbing was inexplicable, Inkenbrandt said, and he questioned what kind of soldier left another to die.

Much of what happened after the attack came from testimony by Randall Durham, another soldier and Middlebrooks' friend. Durham found Middlebrooks standing in the driveway in front of the home after being wounded.

He realized what happened when Middlebrooks lifted his sweatshirt and revealed the wound. He then fell to the ground, Inkenbrandt said.

Middlebrooks' last words were, "Tell my family I'm sorry."

Middlebrooks' father, a federal prison warden and former infantry officer; mother and two younger sisters were present in court and testified prior to sentencing. Lisa Middlebrooks said she worried the entire year her son was deployed, dreading the sight of a government car pulling up into her driveway. It was a relief when he came home safely and she didn't have to worry about that anymore, Lisa said.

She never expected a fellow soldier to harm her son. They were supposed to protect each other and keep each other safe, she said.

Stevens' mother, a retired Army noncommissioned officer; father; younger brother; grandmother; and aunt testified on his behalf prior to sentencing.

Stevens' family painted a portrait of a quiet, artistic, intelligent introvert. They suspected he had a problem with alcohol, but found it difficult to get him to open up, several testified.

Seigman said life in prison was not an appropriate punishment, but didn't ask for a specific sentence. The panel deliberated about an hour and 45 minutes on the verdict and about 50 minutes on the sentence.

Stevens' mother fell to the floor minutes after her son's sentence was announced. Other family members broke down and collapsed as the Middlebrooks family quietly filed out of the courtroom. Stevens walked to his family and embraced the sobbing group.

Contact Amanda Kim Stairrett at astair@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7547. Follow her at KDHmilitary or www.facebook.com/astairrett.

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