Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm your host Ashley Flowers, and I'm Brett. And as you probably know, today is Veterans Day.

We've talked about issues in the US military justice system before. Back in October of 2018, we actually did an episode on the suspicious death of women in the armed forces that were basically all ruled suicide, despite some pretty questionable and even downright horrifying evidence that points to

rape, murder, and systematic cover-ups. And if you haven't heard that episode, I highly recommend checking it out. It's called Conspiracy Women in the US Military. And when I originally did that episode, I was shocked that it wasn't a bigger deal in the media. Like no one was talking about it. And so this year, I decided to look into some more cases like this. This time about male soldiers instead. And I'm still just as stunned. I really cannot believe more people are

not clamoring for justice for those who serve our country. And so I'm turning to our listeners again to help spread the word. Share this episode on your social media channels. Tell your friends, tell your family, and be sure to check out MilitaryFamiliesForJustice.org to learn more about how you can help.

Regardless of race, age, gender, religion, or service branch, every military family shares one common visceral fear. That unexpected

knock on the front door from officials that are there to notify them that their loved one has died. And for Al and Lisa Antonacci, their worst fear came to life in early February 2010.

They're at home in Long Island when someone knocks on their door. It's Navy personnel coming to deliver the terrible news that their son Kyle, an explosive ordinance disposal trainee, station in Illinois, is dead. Al and Lisa are absolutely heartbroken.

But their misery is immediately compounded by confusion because in just a short time after being initially notified, inconsistencies start popping up in the Navy's story about what happened to their son on the day that he died.

Al told ABC News that the officials who came to their home to deliver the terrible news like at first, they just kept changing their story. Like first they told Al and his family that Kyle had died in a car accident.

Then they were told that he died of a massive aneurysm in his bunk. Those are two completely different things.

Right. And it's like not even like you could accidentally mix up something like that. So Kyle's sister Kavissa gets the idea that she thinks we'll get her closer to the truth.

She goes on Facebook and reaches out to some of the guys that were on Kyle's base like they were right there with Kyle. So surely they know something like was he in a car was he in his bunk like which one of these stories is real.

Yeah. What she finds is baffling. So they say neither story is true. They tell her that Kyle was found hanging in the closet in his barracks with a belt around his neck.

Wait, what? Right. I know. So according to the LA Times, eventually the Navy changes their story yet again. And this time tells the family that yes, that is how Kyle was found. And he had taken his own life and died by suicide.

Now Kyle's family is reasonably shocked. Like they can't believe that he would ever do such a thing. He was a bright young man with his whole future ahead of him.

Like he joined the Navy back in 2007 because he wanted to make a difference and serve his country. His ultimate goal was to become a Navy seal. So he went to Navel Station Great Lakes near Chicago for training. And now all of a sudden three years later, he's dead.

No, of course, we know suicide is an incredibly difficult thing for loved ones to wrap their heads around under any circumstances.

But okay, but but this would be even harder. If if that was the real story, like why not just come out with it?

Like very start. Like right. And it's not even like they misinterpreted something like their first story was straight up a lie about a car accident. That is right. Very, very different.

Right. So denial is a natural reaction, but Kyle's family are sure that something is wrong here.

Now the coroner's case report says that they talked to the sailor who found Kyle's body and that that sailor was said to have observed that Kyle was you know very down. He didn't seem like himself. And that's like something was off the day that he died.

Okay. So was something going on with him? Well, so yeah, it turns out there was something like really big going on.

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