00:00:00
when 20 year old Matthew levison failed to return home after a night out clubbing in Sydney his loved ones were
00:00:07
worried sick suspicion soon fell on Matt's partner 45 year old Michael Atkins after it was
00:00:14
revealed that the pair were fighting on the night of Matt's disappearance but was that unfortunate timing or did
00:00:21
Atkins have something to hide Maddie is the latest podcast from casefile presents a 10-part series
00:00:29
narrated by Lauren O'Keefe from the missing persons advocacy Network Maddie from casefile presents is
00:00:37
available to stream for free right now only on Spotify stay tuned until the end of today's
00:00:44
episode to hear the trailer [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
00:01:05
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
00:01:11
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website foreign
00:01:21
core is the smallest conventional military force in the United States as of 2022 it has approximately 177
00:01:31
000 active duty members and about 32 and a half thousand Personnel in reserve the Marines motto semper fidelis is a
00:01:40
nod to the tight-knit culture the core is known for meaning always faithful the Latin phrase
00:01:47
refers to the Loyalty Marines have to their country to their work and to each other
00:01:54
in 2017 New York Times journalist Janet Reitman described them as having a tight
00:02:01
Bond grown out of the codes traditions and reverence for suffering that Marines believe set them apart from civilians
00:02:08
and all other military branches all enlisted female recruits and male recruits who reside east of the
00:02:17
Mississippi River undergo their training at the Paris Island Recruit Depot located on Port Royal Island in South
00:02:25
Carolina this military installation is where roughly 17 000 Marines are trained each year
00:02:32
during the 13-week Long training program recruits are cut off from the outside world and undergo a physically and
00:02:39
mentally grueling regimen there are four battalions at Paris Island which recruits are assigned to
00:02:47
according to their platoon and Company the third recruit training Battalion has a particularly imposing history
00:02:56
it's been described as attracting drill instructors with type A personalities who aim to build the most disciplined
00:03:03
Marines the third battalion's reputation is so notorious that it has been nicknamed the
00:03:11
thumping third [Music] [Music] nineteen-year-old Jake Weaver was following in a family tradition when he
00:03:42
enlisted in the Marines his grandfather had served in the Korean war in the early 1950s
00:03:49
in early 2015 Jake and his fellow recruits boarded the bus that would take them to Paris Island for their training
00:03:58
as soon as they arrived at their destination they were met by a drill instructor who barked an order at them
00:04:04
get on the yellow footprints a long line of footprints had been painted along the asphalt nearby marking
00:04:13
a pathway to the entrance building following the instructor's orders the recruits made their way towards the
00:04:20
building to begin their training scenes inside the building were chaotic drill instructors bellowed at the
00:04:28
recruits from all across the room as they filled out their intake forms and phoned their families
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recruits were permitted one call home no longer than four seconds and reciting a
00:04:39
strict script after identifying themselves they were to say I have arrived safely at Paris
00:04:48
Island please do not send any food or bulky items to me in the mail I will contact you in seven to nine days by
00:04:55
letter with my new address thank you for your support goodbye for now [Music] over the next few days they were given
00:05:05
uniforms their heads were shaved physical fitness tests were taken and then the real training could begin
00:05:13
Jake Weaver was assigned to platoon 3054 in Lima Company which was assigned to the 3rd Battalion
00:05:22
when he and his fellow platoonmates met their drill instructors the young recruits were asked the question
00:05:30
you want to be trained like Marines right not like crappy individual Marines it would soon become clear what the dis
00:05:40
meant by this [Music] while some drill instructors were older others were close in age to the recruits
00:05:51
themselves the majority of them haven't served in combat but instead work for the Marines
00:05:56
as air traffic controllers mechanics or technicians amongst other roles in order to become a drill instructor
00:06:04
also known as a DI a marine has to complete one term Of Enlistment and pass a psychological exam to make sure
00:06:12
they're not suffering from PTSD if given the all clear they attend an 11-week program where they learn how to
00:06:20
teach recruits in Jake Weaver's experience at Paris Island there were essentially two
00:06:27
training programs that ran parallel to one another by day recruits attended classes and
00:06:34
completed tactical missions they complete a grueling physical exercises and other tasks that seemed
00:06:41
pointless like dangling rifles from their pinky fingers or sitting still for hours at a time
00:06:49
By Night an unofficial kind of training took place sometimes recruits weren't permitted to
00:06:56
sleep drill instructors would pour detergent shaving cream and other toiletries on
00:07:02
the barracks floors and Order recruits to run across it while also scrubbing the floor with brushes
00:07:09
Jake would later tell journalists to Janet Reitman that the drill instructors referred disparagingly to what they
00:07:15
called the new core they felt that the Marines had become too easy with the training being done by
00:07:23
the book and no real struggle for the recruits in Jake's experience the diss saw it as
00:07:30
their role to make Marines of them through hazing a process of degrading and abusing recruits as a form of
00:07:37
initiation there was a tacit understanding that what happened in the barracks stayed in
00:07:43
the barracks as for Jake's own senior drill instructor he was an erratic man who
00:07:50
could be encouraging one minute and aggressive the next Jake found the speed at which he lost
00:07:56
his temper alarming under no circumstances were drill instructors permitted to touch recruits
00:08:04
yet this rule was often ignored if a recruit was seen to be smiling or laughing a day I might hit or choke them
00:08:13
the over-exertion from the late night tasks they were forced to perform led to some recruits passing out or suffering a
00:08:21
breakdown of skeletal muscle tissue but none of them complained during the first week of training Jake
00:08:32
Weaver's platoon listened to a talk by one of their drill instructors that focused on the Fraternal connection
00:08:38
between Marines all of them were brothers the instructor said regardless of their faith ethnicity
00:08:45
or race then he asked each recruit what their religion was one of Jake's platoon mates was a young
00:08:55
man from Brooklyn New York named Amir bomesh when he was asked which Faith he followed Amir replied
00:09:03
Islam sir the majority of the recruits were white men from Christian backgrounds many of
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them had never met a Muslim before prompting the drill instructor to reassure everyone that there was nothing
00:09:17
wrong with amir's faith but from that day on Emir seemed to be singled out for harsher treatment than
00:09:25
the rest intelligent and hardworking he always performed well on every test yet the
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drill instructors made him undertake particularly grueling training sessions on at least two occasions Amir had to go
00:09:41
to the medical unit after these incidents one of the drill instructors from another platoon seemed to go out of his
00:09:49
way to hustle Amir he repeatedly called him a terrorist and asked him where are the wnds were you
00:09:58
part of 9 11. these questions were a reference to the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks on
00:10:05
the United States by militant Islamic group Al-Qaeda following the attacks the U.S had gone
00:10:13
to war against Iraq under the guise of looking for weapons of mass destruction despite the ongoing harassment Amir
00:10:22
stuck with his training and in early July of 2015 he and the other recruits completed their final test and
00:10:30
officially became Marines late at night on July 14 2015 the recruit simpler tune 3054 was sleeping
00:10:44
when the silence was suddenly broken by several men entering the squad Bay it was a number of the drill instructors
00:10:52
including the one who'd become fixated with Amir boremash he was Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix
00:11:00
Sergeant Felix and his friends appeared to have been drinking making his way through the squad Bay
00:11:08
Felix asked where's the terrorist as he drew closer to amir's Bunk he asked you a terrorist
00:11:19
no sir Amir replied you were Muslim said Felix yes sir answered Amir Felix ordered him down then he and
00:11:30
another day I marched a mere towards the bathroom turning on the showers they had a mere
00:11:37
lie down on the tiles and do push-ups and other exercises Amir obediently did as he was told
00:11:45
getting soaked as water from the shower heads poured down on him this sort of activity was known as
00:11:52
incentive training on the spot physical training intended as a form of punishment
00:11:59
eventually the diss told him to stop and took him to the laundry room get in the dryer Felix ordered
00:12:10
he was referring to an industrial-sized clothes dryer big enough to fit a grown man
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Amir who was six feet tall climbed inside I'm going to find out who you really are
00:12:24
said Felix before closing the dryer door who are you working for he asked nobody sir was amir's reply
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displeased with this answer Felix turned to the dryer on amir's body tumbled inside as its drum
00:12:45
began to turn back in the squad Bay the other recruits could hear the bang of Emir crashing
00:12:52
against the bottom of the machine's interior after about 30 seconds Felix stopped the
00:12:59
dryer and opened the door what's your religion he asked Islam sir said Amir Felix closed the door and turned the
00:13:11
dryer on again you're going to kill us the first chance you get aren't you terrorist
00:13:18
what are your plans the inside of the dryer was starting to heat up burning amir's shoulder and neck
00:13:26
he began to cry once again Felix stopped the dryer and demanded to know if Amir was still
00:13:34
Muslim when he said he was the dryer was switched on again eventually after the dryer had been
00:13:43
turned on and off three times Amir gave in and told them what they wanted to hear
00:13:50
he was no longer a Muslim after about 30 minutes Amir was taken back to his bunk still damp and
00:13:59
divisibly upset Felix and his accomplice left and another day I went up to Amir it's pretty effed up what they did to
00:14:10
you back there you're not going to tell a senior drill instructor about this though right
00:14:18
no sir said Amir foreign the following night Sergeant Joseph Felix returned to platoon 3054 Squad Bay
00:14:33
he made a mere hand over his martial arts belt and tied it around amir's neck he also tied amir's shoelaces together
00:14:42
and looped the belt through them forcing Emir to bend a double leading a mirror Around The Bay as
00:14:49
though he were a dog on a leash Felix asked him are you a terrorist are you a spy
00:14:58
no sir cried Amir who was in pain from the restraints Felix demanded Amir did as he was told
00:15:11
then Felix used a flagpole to push down on emir's toes crushing them before taking a different approach
00:15:19
Felix handed a mirror scrubbing brush and told him to behead a fellow recruit with it
00:15:25
show us you're a terrorist Amir hid the recruit's neck several times with the brush while crying out
00:15:33
Allahu Akbar an Arabic phrase that translates to God is the greatest this seemed to make Felix happy
00:15:44
amir's anxiety only increased in the days that followed he also struggled with a loss of
00:15:50
motivation at night he was plagued by nightmares that featured Felix killing his family
00:15:58
Amir wasn't the only recruit who was troubled Jake Weaver struggled with some of the
00:16:05
things he'd seen during training and although he hadn't been targeted in the same way Amir had he found himself
00:16:12
grappling with mistreatment as well on one occasion a drill instructor pushed to Jake's head against the wall
00:16:21
another di had mocked him for being religious Jake had high expectations of the Marines but was growing increasingly
00:16:30
disillusioned about serving his mental health began to suffer and he wound up being hospitalized due to
00:16:38
having suicidal thoughts he decided to leave the Marines to Jake's dismay he found out he would
00:16:46
be receiving an other than honorable discharge a few months earlier in May of 2015 an
00:16:55
email had been sent to the Paris Island Recruit Depot there was no name attached to it with
00:17:03
the author instead signing off as a retired marine and a concerned parent it read in part
00:17:12
I apologize for writing an anonymous email but I do not want the drill instructors to mark my son for this
00:17:18
email as he is unaware that I am sending this I am afraid I am going to be one of the
00:17:25
parents who is very concerned about the treatment that the new Marines underwent
00:17:29
at third recruit training battalion I confirmed with my friends who were day eyes on Paris Island and they agreed
00:17:37
that you need to be aware of what is going on [Music] the author went on to explain that his
00:17:45
son had told him about his recent experiences while training he and his fellow recruits have been
00:17:50
told by their drill instructors that they didn't need blankets at night as they were only for decoration
00:17:57
in an attempt to stay warm in the freezing cold Barracks the recruits slept in extra clothing and kept their
00:18:04
hands tucked inside their shirts one drill instructor in particular seemed to enjoy pushing recruits against
00:18:11
a wall while choking their necks the author's son had been shoved against the war once and dislocated his shoulder
00:18:21
the recruits knew not to complain having been told what happens in 3rd Battalion
00:18:26
stays in 3rd Battalion [Music] the author of the email clarified that he had been trained at Parris Island
00:18:35
several decades earlier as had his own father before him but neither of them had ever experienced
00:18:42
the kind of hazing that current recruits seemed to be enduring quote we both had hardcore dis but not once
00:18:52
did they ever touch us their style of leadership was already intimidating enough to make us move and
00:18:58
feel as if we earned the title Marine the Third Battalion type of leadership will eventually lead to severe
00:19:06
consequences for someone which I am sure you are aware case File will be back shortly thank you
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25 off your first order with doordash subject to change terms apply twenty-year-old rahil Siddiqui was an
00:22:48
unlikely Marines recruit the son of Pakistani immigrants he had always been academically gifted rather
00:22:55
than athletic in his hometown of Taylor Michigan he was a star student at Harry S Truman
00:23:02
High School rahil worked hard and barely socialized so that he could maintain perfect
00:23:08
degrades he consulted his school's guidance counselor on what would be the most challenging classes to take
00:23:17
his dream was to study engineering at college raheel saw how hard his parents worked
00:23:25
his father at an auto parts factory and his mother picking up odd jobs he wanted to help support them too
00:23:34
when he graduated high school rahil was a valedictorian and a ninth in his class
00:23:39
overall was accepted at multiple universities and was even offered a full scholarship
00:23:47
to Michigan State then in April 2014 he found out that he'd been accepted at the University of
00:23:55
Michigan Dearborn a college with a robotics engineering program rahil was particularly drawn to
00:24:03
they weren't providing a full scholarship but were offering a two thousand dollar one as well as financial
00:24:09
aid this meant his parents wouldn't have to pay expensive college tuition as long as
00:24:15
raheel kept his grades above a c average rahil was ambitious and so decided to aim even higher
00:24:25
he enrolled in the college's honors program which would require him to maintain a B average
00:24:32
as well as studying hard raheel worked part-time on the service desk of a Home Depot store a home improvement franchise
00:24:41
when he finished high school he decided to work longer hours so he could provide
00:24:45
his parents with financial support rahil wanted there to be enough money so his younger sister could one day go to
00:24:53
college too he started working 20 hours a week juggling work and study was harder than
00:25:02
rahil had anticipated he began to feel stressed about the amount of pressure he was under to maintain top grades
00:25:10
by the end of his first semester rehill started getting C's instead of the A's he was used to
00:25:21
in July 2015 the summer after raheel's freshman year he surprised his parents with an announcement
00:25:29
he was leaving college and enlisting with the Marines his mother ghazala and father Masood
00:25:37
were shocked raheel had never expressed any interest in a military and they couldn't
00:25:43
understand why he was abandoning his long-held dream of being at college he reassured them that this was a way
00:25:51
that he could serve his country and would also allow him to achieve his dreams recruiters had told him that he could
00:25:58
continue his studies while serving plus he'd already chosen a technical specialty working on Marine aircraft
00:26:06
which meant he probably wouldn't have to fight unless he wanted to down the track his experience could even
00:26:14
help him pursue a career with the FBI raheel described the chance to serve as a golden opportunity adding
00:26:24
after three years in the Marine Corps I can do anything raheel encouraged his worried mother to
00:26:33
visit the Marines recruitment office in Taylor so she could speak to the recruiters herself
00:26:38
gazala did so and was reassured by the Marines that her son would be entirely safe
00:26:47
recruiters were prevalent in the part of Michigan where the Siddiqui family lived
00:26:52
located about 15 miles Southwest of Detroit Taylor was known as one of the Down River communities and there were
00:27:00
three military recruiting stations in the area when the state's auto manufacturing
00:27:05
industry declined so did the area's socioeconomic standing in Taylor fifteen percent of residents
00:27:14
live below the poverty line for young people in need of a career the military can be an appealing option
00:27:22
and for the Marines highly intelligent hard-working individuals such as rahil Siddiqui are ideal recruits
00:27:31
by July 8 2015 rahil Siddiqui had signed his enlistment papers and began the Marines delayed entry program
00:27:40
the program would introduce rahil to the Marines culture with meetings every Saturday
00:27:47
embracing his new path wholeheartedly raheel began preparing for training he woke up every morning at 4am to work
00:27:56
out at the gym he learned how to swim he installed exercise equipment at home so
00:28:01
he could also work out there and he began drinking protein shakes raheel's family were astonished at the
00:28:10
changes in him he had always been academically driven but now he was physically motivated as
00:28:16
well his recruiter told them how impressed he was by raheel's work ethic he was definitely the most driven
00:28:24
recruit of the lot finally after eight months reheal's time to attend boot camp at Paris Island
00:28:33
arrived his parents remained nervous rahil had never even stayed away from home for a single night before and now
00:28:43
he would be spending several months Interstate with total strangers gazala Siddiki had a nagging feeling
00:28:52
that going away wasn't the right thing for her son but when she asked him one last time if
00:28:58
he was 100 sure he replied no mum it's okay I made up my mind I'm ready to go don't worry about me
00:29:10
he promised to adhere to the teachings of their Islamic faith while away and follow Muslim dietary requirements as
00:29:17
best as possible in February 2016 rahil's colleagues at Home Depot threw him a goodbye party
00:29:27
they all knew raheel as someone who was highly intelligent but not the most street smart
00:29:33
some were worried that his Outlook was too positive he was a kind person who couldn't conceive of anyone being unkind
00:29:43
one of his friends warned him be careful just watch yourself you don't know what kinds of people are down there
00:29:52
you don't know how other people think on Sunday March 6 2016 rehill said goodbye to his parents and sister
00:30:04
promising to call when he arrived at Paris Island for the next day ghazala and Masood
00:30:12
waited patiently for the phone to ring finally late at night on Monday March 7 it rang
00:30:20
gazala quickly answered it and was met with a very strange sounds it sounded like indecipherable grunting
00:30:28
and shouting set against a noisy background after less than five seconds the line
00:30:35
went dead ghazala said her son's name but there was no reply gazala was worried the call hadn't sounded like raheel at
00:30:48
all the next morning she contacted rahil's recruiter and shared her concerns stating
00:30:55
no one knows my son's Voice better than me that didn't sound like my son the recruiter reassured her that all was
00:31:04
fine raheel had arrived safely at the base he just sounded strange because he'd been reading the script that all
00:31:12
recruits had to follow when they first called home and only had a few seconds to do it
00:31:19
but gazala Siddiqui couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong [Music] when rahil Siddiqui arrived at Paris
00:31:29
Island alongside around 4 000 other recruits laid on Monday March 7. he followed the same instructions that all
00:31:36
new recruits followed after four days of administrative tasks and strength tests he was assigned to
00:31:43
platoon 3042 on Saturday March 12. platoon 3042 sat within kilo company in the 3rd Battalion
00:31:55
kilo company is known amongst the drill instructors and recruits as killer kilo a nod to its intensity
00:32:05
raheel and his 58 platoon mates were taken to their squad Bay it sat on the third floor of its
00:32:13
building and was about 60 yards long and 15 yards wide two long rows of bunk beds flanked two
00:32:21
walls with a wide aisle down the middle the recruits were instructed to sit cross-legged on the floor
00:32:30
their senior drill instructor introduced himself it was Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix who
00:32:37
had been reassigned from the platoon he'd had the previous year [Music] speaking in a harsh authority of tone
00:32:44
Felix promised to treat his new recruits with firmness fairness dignity and compassion
00:32:53
under no circumstances would abuse be tolerated then the real training began recruits had to jump on each other in a
00:33:06
dog pile then run back and forth they were made to do hundreds of burpees a full body exercise where they dropped
00:33:13
to a push-up then jumped in the air they had to dangle their rifles from their little fingers
00:33:21
even the extremely fit recruits found it excruciating one later told journalists to Janet
00:33:27
Reitman of the New York Times that he thought he would pass out another recruit had a panic attack and
00:33:33
started vomiting at first officers were supervising from the back of the room after they left the drill instructors
00:33:43
only intensified the training the next morning at 7 20 am the recruits had already been up and training for
00:33:53
several hours when rahil Siddiqui reported that he wanted to die his instructors pushed back against this
00:34:01
asking him what his mother would think if he left before finishing training raheel replied
00:34:09
I'd tell my mother goodbye and kill myself the future does not matter this recruit is going to kill himself
00:34:18
he'd even figured out how he would do it he would jump from the squad bay window
00:34:26
realizing that they were dealing with the suicide threat the drill instructors confiscated raheel's belt and the laces
00:34:33
from his boots military police was summoned and arrived within minutes as it wasn't unusual for recruits to
00:34:42
threaten self-harm in the early days of their training the Marines had a strict protocol they followed
00:34:49
when the military police spoke with rahil he elaborated on what had upset him he couldn't handle drill instructors
00:34:56
yelling at him and hitting him the instructors dismissed rahill's claims they hadn't hit him they had only
00:35:05
touched him when they had to provide Corrections such as fixing his uniform or position
00:35:12
drill instructors were barred from touching recruits in all situations except at drill Corrections
00:35:20
it was determined that raheel should remain on the base under suicide watch recruits were only transported off base
00:35:28
for treatment if they had actually self-harmed or attempted suicide rahil was moved to another platoon Squad
00:35:37
Bay and was told to sit on a mattress in the middle of the room he sat there for 24 hours while other
00:35:44
recruits took it in turns to watch over him when night fell they shot a torch into
00:35:50
his face in order to keep an eye on him eventually raheel spoke up and said he changed his mind he didn't want to die
00:36:01
at all he wanted to continue training and become a Marine the next morning rahil's senior drill
00:36:12
instructor Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix took rahil to recruit liaison services to discuss the previous day's events
00:36:19
with a higher up usually drill instructors waited outside for recruits for meetings like this but
00:36:27
Felix stayed in the office throughout about 10 feet away from a hill rahil explained that he had no intention
00:36:35
of killing himself and had no history of mental health problems he had only said that because he wanted
00:36:42
the training to stop quote this recruit thought it was the only way to quit the recruit never meant that and
00:36:51
regret it raheel was dismissed as a low risk for self-harm and returned to his platoon
00:37:01
over the next few days the recruits continued training they had to perform Sprints and cross-country runs they were
00:37:09
taught mixed martial arts bayonet techniques and close-order drills during one routine focused on punching
00:37:17
recruits were split into Pairs and instructed to punch one another repeatedly many of the larger stronger recruits
00:37:25
were teamed up with smaller individuals they were told not to listen to their Di's instructions just to keep punching
00:37:34
many recruits were hid in their jaws one suffered broken ribs another broke down
00:37:40
in tears drill instructors would refer to their recruits as maggots [ __ ] and a
00:37:47
variety of sexist and homophobic slurs some were targeted for their personal attributes such as their ethnicity
00:37:56
drill instructors themselves weren't immune from abuse either senior Di's would often yell at their
00:38:03
subordinates who in turn took out their anger on recruits after Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix
00:38:10
shouted at one day I he began screaming at his recruits to the extent that he became sick and vomited across the floor
00:38:21
one of rahil siddiqui's platoonmates noticed that rahil seemed baffled by being asked to follow orders
00:38:29
following orders was crucial to being in the Marines but raheel seemed to query why he was being told to do certain
00:38:37
things his platoon mate wondered why he had enlisted and later told the New York
00:38:43
Times that raheel always looked like a scared animal at about 2 A.M on Friday March 18 the
00:38:54
recruit who shared raheel's bunk was woken by raheel he wanted to talk to him explaining that
00:39:01
he was in pain we're all in pain his bunk mate replied before turning over to go back to sleep
00:39:10
two hours later it was time for the recruits to get up by 4 15 they were lined up to go to
00:39:18
breakfast a drill instructor told them to sound off before they left a term used for the
00:39:25
call marines are required to give in response to an order all except raheel obeyed
00:39:35
two Di's noticed and began to yell at him for disobeying orders when one approached raheel and demanded
00:39:42
his sound off rahil pointed at his throat and silently passed him a note it read
00:39:50
this recruit has to go to Medical this recruit's throat has been swollen for three days and is getting worse
00:39:58
this recruit also coughed blood a few times last night and to this recruit completely lost his voice and can barely
00:40:06
whisper this recruits whole neck is in a lot of pain the drill instructor told raheel they'd
00:40:14
sort him out after breakfast in the meantime rahil would have to go to the mess hall with the rest of his
00:40:21
platoon at breakfast a drill instructor asked for a heel's help passing out cups
00:40:30
raheel ignored him he sat quietly as the rest of the platoon ate staring into space
00:40:39
by 5 30 am the platoon was back at their Barracks doing some cleaning raheel was ordered to the front of the
00:40:47
squad Bay so he could fill out a form to go to the medical unit when raheel approached senior drill
00:40:54
instructor Joseph Felix rihil didn't address him as was required presumably due to his sore throat
00:41:02
instead he stood there silently Felix became angry and demanded raheel run get backs across the squad Bay
00:41:13
this involved sprinting back and forth across the length of the room until told to stop
00:41:20
exercise such as this was known as incentive training rahil did as he was told while holding
00:41:28
his throat as Felix continued to shout Siddiqui run get back run I don't care what's wrong with you
00:41:37
you're going to say something back to me [Music] the other recruits kept cleaning quietly
00:41:44
as rahil ran back and forth across the squad Bay then suddenly rahil clutched his throat
00:41:52
and fell to the floor crying he lay there motionless his hands still wrapped around his neck
00:42:00
get up Siddiki I know you're faking yelled Felix get up he walked over to raheel and slapped him
00:42:10
across the face rehill's head turned to one side but otherwise he didn't move Felix slapped him again
00:42:21
he did it so forcefully that the sound echoed across the enormous Squad Bay rahil stood up holding his face and
00:42:30
began running again one of his platoonmates thought it was the fastest he'd ever seen anyone run
00:42:37
before it looked as though raheel was completing the get-backs he'd been ordered to do but then he kept running
00:42:45
to the back of the room where a set of double doors led to an external staircase
00:42:51
rahil pushed to the doors open and hoisted himself up on the railing of the stairway
00:42:57
then his fate caught on the metal Rail and he tumbled over the side at 5 35 am a marine who happened to be
00:43:11
outside passing by saw rahil's body fall from the third floor and hit the concrete below
00:43:19
the Marine called 9-1-1 and reported I got a recruit that fell from the third deck
00:43:27
meanwhile up in the squad Bay where heels shocked platoon mates were ordered to file into the bathroom and face the
00:43:34
wall while raheel was being given first aid they were taken to complete their usual
00:43:39
training schedule drill instructors warned them not to talk about what they'd seen
00:43:48
rahil had suffered severe blunt force trauma but was still alive an air ambulance was requested to take
00:43:55
him to a hospital 40 miles away due to heavy fog an airlift wasn't possible so the Marines drove rahil to
00:44:04
Beaufort Memorial Hospital for an hour emergency room doctors worked on Ray Hill
00:44:11
they realized that he needed a more specialized form of care so he was transferred to another hospital in
00:44:18
Charleston [Music] [Music] case File will be back shortly thank you for supporting us by listening to this
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00:47:53
gazala Siddiqui hadn't stopped worrying about her son since he left home for boot camp
00:47:59
she'd only had one bizarre phone call from him and hadn't been able to talk to him at all
00:48:04
at 7 pm on Friday March 18 a week and a half after that call there was a knock on the front door of the Siddiqui
00:48:12
residence ghazala answered the door to see two marines standing outside gazala assumed they must be there to
00:48:22
share some good news about her son's achievements at training the thought was a relief
00:48:29
she had been worried about rehill since he'd gone away to the extent that she'd struggled to sleep at night
00:48:36
gazala invited the Marines inside the two officers stepped inside and asked if everyone was at home
00:48:46
gazala said that she and her daughter Sidra were there but her husband Masood was at work
00:48:53
one of the officers stepped back outside and made a brief phone call as he was talking Sidra rather heard him
00:49:00
say the dad's not home now should I still say it Sidra was confused and couldn't
00:49:08
understand what was happening the officer returned and said to ghazala ma'am I have bad news your son passed
00:49:19
away in total disbelief ghazala replied no no no no you're wrong you're wrong something is wrong
00:49:32
then she cried out for Sidra to call her father before fainting when ghazala woke she was in the
00:49:41
hospital being treated for shock despite the best efforts of doctors in South Carolina rahil had been pronounced
00:49:49
the dead at 1006 am four and a half hours after his fall his death was ruled a suicide
00:49:59
almost a week later on Thursday March 24 raheel's body was flown home to Michigan
00:50:05
in a coffin draped with an American flag when the Siddiki family viewed his body
00:50:11
at the funeral home they were horrified by what they saw there were ligature marks around his
00:50:18
neck and most of his body had a purplish hue when the family read rihil's autopsy
00:50:25
report they noticed that in addition to the blunt force trauma the forensic pathologist found evidence of particular
00:50:32
hemorrhaging this could be caused by heavy coughing or vomiting or even strangulation
00:50:39
[Music] despite the coroner's ruling of suicide the siddiquis couldn't believe rahil had
00:50:50
taken his own life they felt his Devotion to his parents would make it impossible for him to do
00:50:57
so as well as his Islamic faith which considered suicide a sin there was more to the situation than met
00:51:06
the eye they retained a lawyer to Advocate on their behalf when officials interviewed the siddiquis
00:51:13
they confirmed that rahil had no history of mental illness he had always been well behaved with a
00:51:19
mischievous sense of humor and their memory of him was as a son who smiled all the time
00:51:26
upon hearing the story of how rihil had died the siddiquis and their lawyer were
00:51:31
unsettled they couldn't understand how so many witnesses in the squad Bay had seen
00:51:37
raheel collapse and to be slapped by Felix yet only one individual had detailed how he had fallen
00:51:46
an investigation into rahil's death began it was coordinated by the Paris Island
00:51:52
Office of the naval criminal investigative service also known as NCIS while they were adamant that there were
00:52:01
no indications of Foul Play they still wanted to gain a full understanding of the events that led up to rahil's death
00:52:09
although the investigation would look at Paris Island as a whole it was primarily
00:52:14
focused on the third recruit training battalion much of the investigation's focus was on
00:52:23
Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix who had been rahil's senior drill instructor aged in his 30s Felix had enlisted in
00:52:32
the Marines in 2002. during his 14 years of service he had worked as an air traffic controller and
00:52:40
was deployed to the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars his time there left a lasting impact on
00:52:47
him Felix would rant to other Marines about how he hated Muslims blaming them for
00:52:53
killing friends who'd served alongside him while it is unclear whether Joseph Felix
00:52:59
suffered PTSD following his service in war zones one officer told the New York Times he had a reputation for being
00:53:07
quote pretty freaking psycho one of the more aggressive drill instructors in his company he even
00:53:15
scared recruits who weren't in his platoon one recruit had been training in raheel
00:53:22
siddiqui's cohort saw Felix push another recruit into a Foot Locker others were choked or thrown against
00:53:30
walls on one occasion Felix forced a recruit to only eat jelly and mashed potatoes
00:53:36
for several days and it appeared that Felix had a history of singling out Muslim recruits in
00:53:43
particular in 2015 the year before rahil Siddiqui began training Felix had repeatedly
00:53:52
tormented a young Muslim from Brooklyn named Amir bormash as well as accusing him of being a
00:53:59
terrorist spy Felix forced Amir into an industrial dryer then turned it on and Emir wasn't the only victim
00:54:10
that same Year Felix honed in on a 19 year old named rakhan Hawes Rican had immigrated to the United
00:54:19
States from Kurdistan with his family as a baby Felix nicknamed rakan terrorist Isis and
00:54:27
Kurdish like Emir rakan was forced into a dryer by Felix although he didn't switch it on
00:54:38
despite the ethos of what happens in 3rd Battalion stays in 3rd Battalion these incidents hadn't gone unreported
00:54:50
when recruit Jake Weaver was told in 2015 that he would be receiving an other than honorable discharge from the
00:54:57
Marines his father decided to step in Troy Weaver had been told by his son about the abuses that had gone on at
00:55:06
Paris Island it seemed incredibly unfair that Jake would be receiving a bad discharge after
00:55:13
what he'd seen and experienced Troy Weaver contacted Jake's commanding officer and shared what he knew
00:55:22
this got the ball rolling a Code of Silence had prevented recruits from speaking up earlier but after Troy
00:55:31
Weaver reached out the Marines opened an investigation into the allegations on November 5 2015.
00:55:39
Jake Weaver provided a statement as did Amir boremash two months later the findings were
00:55:46
submitted the training regiment's executive officer found the evidence compelling
00:55:53
enough for the drill instructors involved to be stood down from their duties including Joseph Felix
00:56:00
but no action followed four months later Joseph Felix was given the role of senior drill instructor for
00:56:10
platoon 3042. rahil Siddiqui a pakistani-american Muslim was assigned to this platoon
00:56:19
despite Felix's history of abusing Islamic recruits on Thursday March 17 2016 an individual
00:56:28
involved in the 2015 hazing investigation contacted the investigating officer to suggest more
00:56:35
witnesses be interviewed an email had just arrived from someone corroborating some of the most serious
00:56:43
allegations the following day was the day that rehill died [Music] many of the recruits from raheel's
00:56:55
Platoon noticed how Gunnery Sergeant Joseph Felix seemed to single reheal out some heard him call a hill a terrorist
00:57:03
again and again in a completely serious tone one recruit estimated that in just a few
00:57:11
days of training Felix addressed raheel as a terrorist more than 10 times in one meeting he told raheel that he
00:57:20
smelled like a terrorist at another Felix asked the recruits if any of them knew what a Bazaar was
00:57:28
rahil said that he did of course you do you goddamn terrorist Felix replied he also asked him if he needed his
00:57:39
turban at least one of the other recruits noticed that raheel seemed reluctant to
00:57:46
obey Felix's commands after being spoken to this way just the day after joining Felix's
00:57:54
platoon rahil mentioned wanting to kill himself Felix attended a meeting where raheel
00:58:01
discussed what he'd said even though it was usual protocol for drill instructors
00:58:05
to wait outside such meetings reports as to what exactly occurred in the immediate lead up to rahil's death
00:58:15
were mixed some of his platoonmates who'd witnessed Felix reprimanding him said Felix had
00:58:21
ordered rahil to run while choking his own throat others thought raheel was holding his
00:58:28
throat because it was sore one witness said he'd seen Felix throw raheel to the floor
00:58:36
the others all believed raheel had collapsed on his own everyone agreed that Felix had slapped
00:58:44
rahil but some thought he did so only once to revive him others said Felix slapped him hard two
00:58:52
or three times after that raheel had leapt up and sprinted out of the squad Bay and over a
00:59:00
stairwell he died just five days after being assigned to Felix's platoon on Thursday September 8 2016 six months
00:59:16
after rahil's death the Marines released a 133-page report about the matter and other allegations of abuse
00:59:25
much of it was redacted with 40 pages completely blacked out nevertheless it was clear the Marines
00:59:34
had concluded that the actions of Joseph Felix directly led to rehill jumping from the building
00:59:41
they also stated that Felix should never have been assigned to rehill's platoon given he was already under investigation
00:59:48
for harassing another Muslim recruit it was recommended that Felix be charged with assault for slapping raheel
00:59:58
the report also focused on incidents involving other recruits being choked and forced to engage in unauthorized
01:00:06
incentive training it found Marines working as drill instructors had been operating with
01:00:12
impunity without the proper supervision or leadership 20 Marines were relieved of Duty in the
01:00:21
wake of the investigation including three teams of drill instructors and the Depot's regimental Commander
01:00:29
four were charged for incidence of abuse unrelated to rahil Siddiqui Joseph Felix was charged with failure to
01:00:38
obey a general order cruelty and maltreatment making a false statement and a drunk and disorderly conduct
01:00:47
rahil's family were disappointed with the charges they didn't understand why Felix wasn't
01:00:54
charged with assault as the report had recommended Joseph Felix was ordered to face a
01:01:01
military trial which began in November 2017. the trial would not Center on the death
01:01:08
of rahil Siddiqui but focus on numerous allegations regarding Felix's treatment of recruits
01:01:17
the prosecution called almost 70 witnesses to the stand other drill instructors testified about
01:01:24
Behavior they'd witnessed from Felix various recruits spoke of him choking them hitting them against walls and
01:01:33
forcing them to hurt one another the prosecution also detailed how Felix that seemingly targeted Muslim recruits
01:01:41
describing his actions as hate crimes Amir bormash and rakhan javez spoke of how Felix had abused them for being
01:01:51
Muslim with both of them being forced into industrial dryers Amir said Felix had tumbled him in the
01:01:59
dryer for up to 30 seconds at a time an expert on Industrial dryers confirmed that a model such as the one in the 3rd
01:02:09
battalion's laundry was large enough to hold and Tumble a recruit weighing up to
01:02:14
168 pounds [Music] the defense only called one expert witness a bird's expert she said that in 30 seconds the dryer
01:02:26
would have reached temperatures over 300 degrees Fahrenheit or 149 degrees Celsius
01:02:34
this would have caused third or fourth degree burns within one second yet Amir had no physical evidence of burns
01:02:42
however the expert did acknowledge that shorter durations could still cause pain
01:02:47
without leaving visible injuries adding if I were in a drier three seconds would
01:02:54
seem like an eternity although some said Felix spoke openly about his dislike of Muslims Felix's
01:03:03
lawyer insisted that his client hadn't specifically targeted Muslim recruits he had only discussed the Islamic faith
01:03:11
with Amir out of curiosity and he had chosen rakhan Harvest to be squad leader after discovering he was
01:03:19
Muslim some witnesses suggested that Felix had only called Muslim recruits terrorists
01:03:26
as a joke and hadn't meant anything by it at all the eight-person jury made up of male
01:03:36
Marines spent a day deliberating before reaching a verdict they found Felix guilty of eight counts
01:03:44
of violating training orders regarding multiple recruits including slapping raheel and forcing him to Sprint laps
01:03:52
while sick but he was found and not guilty of referring to rehill as a terrorist
01:04:00
Felix was also convicted for being drunk and disorderly and making false official
01:04:05
statements but he was cleared of obstructing justice for supposedly telling recruits
01:04:11
to conceal information about what happened to rahil during his sentencing Joseph Felix
01:04:19
addressed the court he apologized to his wife stating thank you for standing by me and being
01:04:27
as wonderful as you are I can never repay the disappointment I feel you have in me
01:04:36
he did not apologize to the Siddiqui family or the other recruits he had abused nor did he acknowledge any of the
01:04:44
charges he'd been convicted of Felix's attorney asked that his client only served 30 days in prison while the
01:04:53
prosecution asked for seven years he was sentenced to 10 years his rank would also be reduced he would
01:05:04
have to forfeit all pay and allowances and would subsequently be given a dishonorable discharge
01:05:13
a total of five Marines ended up being convicted or pleading guilty to charges relating to hazing of recruits of Paris
01:05:20
Island rahil siddiki's death wasn't the first time a recruit died at the Depot in 1956 a drill instructor ordered his
01:05:31
platoon to march across a swamp six recruits drowned two decades later another recruit was
01:05:40
beaten with training sticks and subsequently died rahil's death had a ripple effect
01:05:47
throughout the United States then President Barack Obama had his attention drawn to the case
01:05:56
a democratic congresswoman from Detroit reached out to the siddiquis and petitioned the Marines on their behalf
01:06:02
for an unbiased inquiry into hazing in the wake of rahil's death Marine Corps commandant to General Robert Nella
01:06:11
the highest ranking official in the Marines stated we mourn the loss of recruit sadiki and
01:06:19
we will take every step necessary to prevent tragic events like this from happening again
01:06:27
one of raheel's platoonmates told the New York Times that despite some changes to training he and the other recruits
01:06:34
were still treated badly even after rahil's death let's say you did report something he
01:06:41
said they changed the DI and what happens after that another day I who presumably was friends with the prior
01:06:49
day I is going to make your life hell several months after rihil died a new Commanding General was appointed to the
01:07:00
Paris Islander Depot Austin renforth set about making changes including having officers supervise
01:07:09
drill instructors more actively and updating a policy ladder to emphasize the Marine's Zero Tolerance approach to
01:07:16
hazing in an interview with the New York Times he admitted that he'd thought about
01:07:23
contacting rahil's parents but decided quote I just didn't feel it was my place [Music]
01:07:33
the siddiquis struggled with the silence they received from the Marines after rehill died
01:07:39
his sister Sidra told the Detroit Free Press newspaper that she now had difficulty saying the Pledge of
01:07:45
Allegiance a patriotic verse that students at most American public schools have to recite
01:07:52
her faith in the country her parents had immigrated to for a better life had been
01:07:57
broken the siddiquis chose not to speak to most reporters as they were disappointed with
01:08:05
the way their son had been portrayed in the media as though he were weak or unprepared for boot camp
01:08:12
in order to be accepted as a recruit he'd had to pass a psychological exam none of them had ever witnessed any
01:08:21
signs pointing to rehill having a mental illness or Suicidal Thoughts they remain convinced that raheel would
01:08:29
never take his own life and believe there are unanswered questions relating to his death
01:08:37
the family lodged a civil suit suing the federal government for 100 million dollars for their son's death
01:08:45
their lawyer was arguing that the Marines had been negligent when recruiting rahil in failing to tell him
01:08:51
there had been allegations of abuse against Muslim recruits at Paris Island at a time when the Marine Corps was
01:09:00
eager to attract recruits for a more diverse backgrounds it seemed they had a duty of care to ensure those recruits
01:09:07
would be safe from possible hate crimes the siddiquis also wanted rihil's death certificate amended
01:09:16
a coroner had marked his cause of death as suicide but his family thought it should be listed as undetermined
01:09:24
because of the way rahil's feet tripped over the stairwell causing him to fall awkwardly it wasn't clear whether he had
01:09:32
truly intended to take his own life perhaps he'd just been trying to escape Joseph Felix
01:09:42
the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed due to a federal precedent that prevents the
01:09:47
U.S government from being sued for harm to military personnel the judge who made the ruling said he
01:09:55
had no other option and expressed strong reservations about having to do so the siddiquis have retained raheel's
01:10:06
bedroom as a kind of shrine to him it has been kept perfectly clean and is dotted with awards that raheel one for
01:10:14
his academic achievements and hanging in the closet is a reminder of what he wanted to achieve
01:10:23
to perfectly press the dress uniform that raheel would have worn upon graduating from training with the
01:10:30
Marines casefile presents a new Spotify exclusive podcast Maddie no one is ever prepared for a loved one to suddenly
01:11:03
disappear the thing about missingness when someone you love vanishes into thin air
01:11:10
every family that experiences it has to figure it out for themselves we started running around match friends what the
01:11:17
hell is he not doing at work and why hasn't even called them I just sat there again oh my God oh my God something
01:11:23
wasn't right the leversons grew more worried by the minute he's walking up and down like a cage line and he's
01:11:29
sweating and he's clammy the man has no emotions at all towards the end he wouldn't let Matt out of his sight
01:11:34
narrated by Lauren O'Keefe the founder of the missing persons advocacy Network and host of case File presents podcast
01:11:42
what's missing the police informed Mark and Faye Levinson that they're no longer
01:11:47
considered Matt a missing person I told fine I that the case had been transferred to homicide and he said I've
01:11:54
called the police I found a grave there's a medic in the bush the receipt showed that two items had been purchased
01:12:00
duct tape and a garden Master brand Matic I think we were in shock for ages after that the world just seemed to
01:12:07
stand still hear how a family took on the system to try and find Justice for their son for the very first time made
01:12:15
us feel like the police and us were no longer on the same side and then he sat there and said to me it was Matt's
01:12:22
lifestyle that had him murdered no I just said the [ __ ] stops now that's that's ridiculous some people in this
01:12:27
world never take no for an answer especially when they're fighting for someone they love nothing is perfect we
01:12:33
thought you know with a chance of finding math to play one in a minute one in 10 million but it was a zero
01:12:37
so we've got to give it a go he was never going to win against us not for finding Maddie Maddie the latest podcast
01:12:44
from casefile presents available September 19th only on Spotify it's not a justice system it's just a system