A Marine with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit has been charged with murder by a North Carolina sheriff’s office in the death of his roommate.

Cpl. Javier Garzon is suspected in the death of his New River Air Station, North Carolina, roommate Cpl. David Rutherford, the Associated Press reported.

Both Marines are assigned to the command element of the 22nd MEU.

Rutherford’s body was found with stab wounds in the backyard of an off-base house Garzon was watching for a friend after deputies with the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call on Sunday, according to AP.

An official cause of death has not yet been determined as an autopsy by a medical examiner is still pending, AP reported.

"The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit lost a Warrior, Corporal David Rutherford. Our thoughts and prayers are with Corporal Rutherford's family and friends in this indescribably difficult time,” Col. Michael Perez, commander of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, said in an emailed statement to Marine Corps Times.

Rutherford, a 24-year-old native of Clear Lake, Iowa, was a motor transport Marine assigned to the 22nd MEU.

Twenty-one-year-old San Diego native Garzon is a logistics embark specialist with the command element of the 22nd MEU. Garzon’s awards include two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, a certificate of appreciation, and two letters of appreciation.

Garzon is being held at the Onslow County jail, AP reported.

Perez said the 22nd MEU’s priority is “to ensure both his loved ones and his brother and sister Marines have every resource we can provide as they grieve and try to make sense of a world without his shining presence.”

“Though he is gone too soon, he will not be forgotten. 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit will continue our mission in honor of Corporal Rutherford," he said.

About Shawn Snow

Shawn Snow is the senior reporter for Marine Corps Times and a Marine Corps veteran.

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