Two US Army deserters have been charged in New Mexico with the murder and dismemberment of another soldier, a West Virginia man they served with at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Matthew McLaughlin, 25, was reported missing on July 31, and on August 17, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office said it brought in Rainor Joiner, 23, and David Degroat, 22, — McLaughlin’s roommates — for questioning.
In newly released video, Joiner tells deputies how he shot McLaughlin on July 25, then dismembered the body and disposed of it along US Highway 64, KOAT reported.
Joiner claimed he had brought McLaughlin to New Mexico because he was struggling with substance abuse issues and wanted to help him clean up his act. But, he said, McLaughlin kept doing drugs and brought strangers to the house, which the two shared with Degroat, another soldier. He also claimed McLaughlin was spreading rumors about him.
In the interview video, Joiner says that he shot McLaughlin after he said something he didn’t like.
“I really don’t know what the f*** he said,” Joiner told the deputies. “He said something, and I just f****** shot him.”
Joiner claimed the murder was not premeditated, but Degroat’s written statement contradicted that. Degroat said he tried to persuade his fellow deserter not to kill McLaughlin multiple times, saying that Joiner threatened to kill him if he didn’t help.
Court documents say the two men ambushed McLaughlin and then dismembered him over several days.
“[Joiner] admitted he shot the individual with a rifle and then again with a pistol, then, subsequent days later, he continued to dismember the victim,” TCSO Undersheriff Gabriel Ortiz told KOAT. “The individual was very much non-remorseful. No emotions, just a kind of blank face and told them [deputies] exactly what he did and didn’t have any emotions at all.”
The interview video shows a very unemotional, dispassionate Joiner confessing to murder, and a second video released by police shows him guiding deputies to where the body parts were located, KOB reports.
The sheriff’s office said deputies “recovered several plastic bags just as Joiner described.”
“The bags contained human remains and were turned over to the Office of the Medical Investigator.”
Joiner and Degroat have been charged with first degree murder and “other violent felonies,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office also said that Joiner and Degroat had active warrants from the Army for desertion.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
Featured image: Matthew McLaughin/The AWARE Foundation. Inset: Rainor Joiner and David Degroat/Taos County Sheriff’s Office]
