FORT LEWIS, Wash. - A military judge has found a Fort Lewis soldier guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of the soldier's 16-year-old girlfriend.
Private Timothy Bennitt was found guilty in the February 15, 2009 overdose death of Leah King while she was visiting him in his barracks.
Military investigators say King and another 16-year-old girl snuck into Bennitt's barracks for a party. Both girls apparently became unconscious after inhaling a mixture of prescription drugs.
King's friend recovered after she was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center, but King died before paramedics arrived.
Army prosecutors said Bennitt not only gave King the drugs that killed heer, but did little save the teen's life.
Just before the trial began, Bennitt pleaded guilty to drug charges but not guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charge.
