Iraq War Veteran Sues Playboy

An Iraq war veteran is suing Playboy magazine over an article that concludes he killed a fellow soldier is firing back at the author’s claims of accuracy, court papers show.
by Bill Hetherman, The Associated Press

Mark Boal’s "The Real Cost of War" was published in Playboy in March 2007. Boal also wrote a related article in Playboy three years earlier titled "Death and Dishonor," which was the basis for last year’s film "In the Valley of Elah" starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron.

Both stories dealt with Spc. Richard Davis, who was fatally stabbed while drinking at a club with four fellow soldiers in Columbus, Ga., in July 2003. One of the other soldiers was Pvt. Jacob Burgoyne, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

Burgoyne sued Playboy Enterprises International in Los Angeles Superior Court on Feb. 1, alleging the 2007 article by Boal defamed him by falsely calling him Davis’ killer.

"It is my belief that Mark Boal singled me out in his article … in order to write a more appealing story relating to the United States military and the treatment of soldiers diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder," Burgoyne stated in court papers filed Thursday in opposition to Playboy’s motion to dismiss the defamation suit…     

Burgoyne was diagnosed with PTSD after leading a fight to Baghdad while still in Iraq. He returned to Ft. Benning, Ga., where he was briefly in an Army hospital before being released two days before Davis died, according to his suit.

Davis was killed by Pvt. Alberto Martinez — one of two soldiers convicted of the murder at trial — not Burgoyne, his suit states. Burgoyne maintains he led investigators to the victim’s body months after the attack and took responsibility for his actions.

Boal disputes the account given by Burgoyne’s lawyers and has submitted a declaration in support of Playboy’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds the article is protected by the First Amendment. A hearing is scheduled April 10.

According to Boal, the evidence from the case pointed to greater involvement by Burgoyne in Davis’ death than he admitted.

"I formed my belief that Jacob Burgoyne stabbed Richard Davis to death from an extensive reporting process that transpired over a two-year time period, and which included about 60 hours of interviews with more than 20 sources with direct knowledge of the events in question," Boal said in the declaration.

The Playboy writer-at-large also said that Matthew Thompson, a member of Burgoyne’s platoon, told him that Burgoyne had admitted killing Davis. Thompson relayed the confession to Army officials and Burgoyne was arrested, according to Boal.

"Mr. Thompson also told me that Burgoyne had threatened him with murder if the confession was revealed," Boal’s declaration states.

In addition, Burgoyne testified during the January 2006 trial for Martinez and another soldier in the group that evening, Spc. Mario Navarette, that his role was "murder in a way" and also said "…so, in my eyes, I killed him, you know," according to Boal.

Burgoyne also testified that he started the fight with Davis and admitted burning his body later, saying, "I watched him burn and I burned him," Boal states.

Burgoyne admitted having a knife that night, and an autopsy showed that the more than 30 stab wounds on Davis may have been inflicted by two knives, the author maintains.

He also noted that Navarette testified that he saw Burgoyne wiping his hands after getting back into the car after Davis was stabbed.

In a later interview, Navarette’s girlfriend said Burgoyne had threatened him while in prison that if he told the court about Burgoyne’s involvement in Davis’ death, he would have him killed by his family members "in the Mafia," Boal states.

According to court papers submitted by Playboy attorneys, Burgoyne admitted he initiated the attack on Davis and did not try to stop it once it started.

But according to Burgoyne’s declaration and his accompanying court papers, he was referring to his mental state when he said, " … in my eyes, I killed him, you know."

In another declaration, Burgoyne’s mother, Billie Urban, states that she attended the entire trial of the soldiers other than Burgoyne charged in Davis’ killing, and that Boal was present for a total of about four hours on one day.

Urban also states that she was present when Burgoyne and Boal had a nine- minute telephone conversation during which her son said he was upset at the article and expressed "deep regret over the slaying of Mr. Davis, but in no way did he state that he stabbed or murdered (him)."

In a third declaration submitted on Burgoyne’s behalf, Dana Osorio, Navarette’s girlfriend maintains that she has "never spoken to an individual by the name of Mark Boal."

Osorio also states that she knows of no threats toward Navarette by Burgoyne or about any statement that he had family members in the Mafia.

Navarette and Martinez were both convicted of Davis’ murder and sentenced to life in prison. The fifth soldier, Pfc. Douglas Woodcoff, was charged with concealing a death and eventually sentenced to five years probation.

In addition to his service in Iraq, Burgoyne, who entered the Army in 1998, did tours of duty in Germany, Kosovo and Kuwait, his suit states.

In addition to the Playboy articles and film, Davis’ death was the subject of a "48 Hours" segment, entitled "Duty, Death, Dishonor," that aired on CBS in December 2006.

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