Family says slain Marine loved the Corps

Family and friends say a Marine beat to death aboard Camp Lejeune early Friday was an outdoorsman who loved being in the Corps.

Cpl. Joshua Hartzell, 22, of Hamilton, Ohio, is remembered by loved ones as a kind-hearted friend who would help anybody, his sister Rebecca Lumpkin said.

“Josh was special,” she said. “Everyone who knew Josh knew that.”

The man accused of killing Hartzell, Pvt. Jonathan Law, 21, has been charged with murder and is being held in the Camp Lejeune Brig.

Hartzell’s family was still reeling Monday by the news Hartzell was gone. Family described Hartzell as a true outdoorsman who loved fishing and hunting. He wrestled for his high school varsity team.

“He loved being a Marine,” Lumpkin said.

Hartzell’s girlfriend, Ashley Kieswether, told The Daily News she was on the phone with Hartzell late Thursday night and heard shouting and a scuffle — then the phone went dead.

“He hasn’t answered all morning, none of his friends have seen him and I can’t get up with his family,” she said frantically Friday morning. When word began to circulate that a Marine in the 2nd Marine Logistics Group had been killed, Kieswether contacted The Daily News by phone from Ohio looking for help in determining whether Hartzell was the victim.

Kieswether’s fears that her boyfriend was dead became reality when she was officially informed Friday night.

“He was the sweetest person,” she said of Hartzell. “He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Law was previously on suicide watch and was previously involved in alleged assault, a member of the 2nd MLG told The Daily News.

Around 1 a.m. Friday, Camp Lejeune Provost Marshals responded to a disturbance at the French Creek barracks. They found “Law with apparent self-inflicted wounds and Hartzell’s body in the woods across the street,” Capt. Timothy Patrick said in a Monday a press release.

“An initial autopsy completed Saturday by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology indicated that Hartzell died from blunt force trauma to the head,” the release states.

Law, originally from Clark County, Nev., was initially transported to Pitt County Memorial Hospital to be treated for self-inflicted wounds Friday. He was remanded to the brig Saturday night by agents with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.

A supply clerk with 2nd Supply Battalion, Law joined the Marine Corps in 2006. His awards include the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

Hartzell was an electro-optical ordnance repairer with 2nd Maintenance Battalion. He joined the Marine Corps in 2006. His awards include the Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

Contact Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read his blog at http://onslowcrime.encblogs.com.