Hearing Set for Us Marine Accused in Ivanice Harris Death

The U.S. Marine  Corps. will hold a hearing Wednesday to examine charges against suspect Master Sergeant Nathaniel L. Cosby in the death of Ivanice Harris. The Article 32 hearing will decide which charges will be send to a Court Martial.

Chuck Little, deputy director of public affairs for the US Marine Corps Forces Pacific, says in a press statement that Cosby has been charged with the following violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice:

Charge I: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 118, Specification 1: Unpremeditated Murder; and Specification 2: Murder while Engaging in an Inherently Dangerous Act.

Charge II: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 119, Specification 1: Voluntary Manslaughter.

Charge III: Violation of the UCMJ, Article 134, Specification 1: Obstructing Justice; and

Specification 2: Patronizing a Prostitute.

Harris disappeared from a hotel in Honolulu May 16, while vacationing in Hawaii with her boyfriend Mark Miles, the Portland-based rapper also known as Meezilini, and a woman friend. Harris was in Hawaii to celebrate her 29th birthday. But she also worked as an escort and was meeting a client the evening of her disappearance. Her naked body was found four days later next to the Farrington Highway near Yokohama Bay, about 40 miles north of where she was last seen.

Cosby was the last known person to be seen with Harris. Surveillance camera footage at the hotel showed them together the night before she disappeared. Cosby was seen the next morning on camera, carrying a suitcase.

Andre Miller, a longtime friend of Ivy Harris, says she chose to work as an escort for a short while to make some money, but had plans to quit the escort business and attend community college this fall. The family said they had just learned she was pregnant.

"We want the investigators to know people are watching and we care," Miller told The Skanner last month.   "No matter what Ivy was doing, she was a good person and a lot of people cared about her."

The Article 32 hearing begins at 8 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the Law Center aboard Marine Corps Base Hawaii. 

A press release explains that, "Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice requires a thorough and impartial investigation of charges and specifications before they may be referred to a general court-martial (the most serious level of courts-martial). The purpose of this pretrial investigation is to inquire into the truth of the matter set forth in the charges, to consider the form of the charges, and to determine what disposition should be made of the case in the interest of justice and discipline."

Corrrection: This story originally misnamed the U.S. Marine Corps. and has been corrected.