GALLUP, N.M. — The family of an Army tank crewman from New Mexico who died on Fort Hood said he messaged his fiance that he was concerned about three men who didn’t like him and that something was wrong shortly before his death.
The Army said Pvt. Corlton L. Chee collapsed during fitness training on Aug. 28. He died two days later.
Carma Johnson, Chee’s cousin and his family’s spokesperson, told the Gallup Independent Monday she suspected foul play. She said Chee was being targeted and did not want to go to the training that morning because he felt that something was going to happen.
Fort Hood said on Sept. 8 the Chain of Command and U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division started an investigation into Chee's death. They've said foul play is not suspected in his death.
Chee was a member of the Navajo Nation from Ramah Pine Hill, NM.
"We are deeply disturbed by the string of deaths at Fort Hood, and if there is any malfeasance or negligence involved, the Navajo Nation calls on our national leaders to pursue every available avenue to protect the lives of our Navajo warriors and those serving in the U.S. Armed Forces,” said nation Speaker Seth Damon just days after his death.
Chee was not the only Navajo service member to lose their life at Fort Hood. Army Specialist Miguel Yazzie, 33, died of complications from septic shock due to do ischemic enterocolitis which is an infection of his large intestines on July 3, according to the nation.
Chee is one of 28 service members from Fort Hood who has died in 2020. The list includes eight people killed in accidents, six suicides, five homicides and two deaths related to illness. The cause of six other deaths is undetermined.
The death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen was among the most notable.
A criminal complaint said she was killed by a fellow soldier April 22 in an armory room on post. Her remains were not found until June 30.
Aaron Robinson was accused of killing Guillen with a hammer, then burying the remains near the Leon River in Bell County with his girlfriend Cecily Aguilar, according to the complaint.
Robinson shot and killed himself in the early morning hours of July 1.
Aguilar faces multiple counts of conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Her trial was set for November.
A group of eight congress men and women visited Fort Hood Thursday to speak with leadership about the ongoing investigations into the deaths and the command climate and culture on post. They planned to provide an update on their findings in a 5:30 p.m. press conference Friday.