[2] Green was discharged from the U.S. Army for mental instability before the crimes were known by his command, whereas Cortez, Barker, and Spielman were tried by a military court martial, convicted, and sentenced to decades in prison.

Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi (Arabic: عبير قاسم حمزة الجنابي ‘Abīr Qāssim Ḥamza al-Janābī; 19 August 1991 – 12 March 2006),[4][5] lived with her mother and father (Fakhriya Taha Muhasen, 34, and Qassim Hamza Raheem, 45, respectively) and her three siblings: 6-year-old sister Hadeel, 9-year-old brother Ahmed, and 11-year-old brother Mohammed.

Of modest means, Abeer's family lived in a rental one-bedroom house in the village of Yusufiyah, which lies west of the larger township of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq.

On one such occasion, Private First Class Steven D. Green ran his index finger down Abeer's cheek, an action which had terrified her.

Evidently this had concerned her and she made plans for Abeer to spend nights sleeping at her uncle's (Ahmad Qassim's) house.

[9][10] In an interview in February 2006, a month before the murders, Steven Green told The Washington Post "I came over here because I wanted to kill people.

'"[11] On March 12, 2006, soldiers at the checkpoint (from the 502nd Infantry Regiment) – consisting of Green, Specialist Paul E. Cortez, Specialist James P. Barker, Private First Class Jesse V. Spielman, and Private First Class Bryan L. Howard – had been playing cards, illegally drinking alcohol (whiskey mixed with an energy drink), hitting golf balls, and discussing plans to rape Abeer and "kill some Iraqis.

The four soldiers of the six-man unit responsible for the checkpoint – Barker, Cortez, Green, and Spielman – then left their posts for Abeer's home.

[citation needed] On the day of the massacre, Abeer's father Qassim was enjoying time with his family, while his sons were at school.

According to Cortez, Abeer "kept squirming and trying to keep her legs closed and saying stuff in Arabic," as he and Barker took turns holding her down and raping her.

[16] Cortez testified that Abeer heard the gunshots in the room in which her parents and little sister were being held, causing her to scream and cry even more.

After the massacre, Barker poured petrol on Abeer and the soldiers set fire to the lower part of the girl's body.

Barker testified that the soldiers gave Spielman their bloodied clothes to burn and that he threw the AK-47 used to murder the family into a canal.

"[10] They ran to tell Abu Firas Janabi, Abeer's uncle, that the farmhouse was on fire and that dead bodies could be seen inside the burning building.

[9][22] On July 10, the Mujahideen Shura Council (now a part of the Islamic State) released a graphic video showing the bodies of PFCs Thomas L. Tucker and Kristian Menchaca half-burnt, with one of them having been beheaded.

"[23][24] The Washington Post reports that David Babineau and two other individuals from the same unit were captured and killed by militants a month after the rape.

At the time of Menchaca and Tucker's abduction on June 16, 2006, only the perpetrators and a few servicemen knew that the murders and rape had been committed by U.S. soldiers.

The truth behind the crime only became known to US command on June 20, and American responsibility only became public knowledge in Iraq on July 4, days after which the video by the Mujahideen Shura Council was released.

[citation needed] The video from the Mujahideen Shura Council claimed that upon learning of the massacre, the group "kept their anger to themselves and didn't spread the news, but were determined to avenge their sister's honor".

Locals may have been able to deduce the guilt of the U.S. soldiers from the nearby checkpoint, after the Americans and their Iraqi cohort unit provided the explanation, "Sunni extremists did this."

A statement issued along with the video stated that, "God Almighty enabled them to capture two soldiers of the same brigade as this dirty crusader."

[27][28] On July 4, Jaysh al-Mujahidin claimed responsibility for downing a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache "in retaliation for the child, Abir, whom U.S. soldiers raped in Al-Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad.

[2][31][32] Four days later, the battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Kunk, went to the checkpoints where Cortez, Barker, and Spielman were assigned.

Several soldiers, including Yribe, watched as Kunk screamed at Watt that he should charge him with filing a false report, and accused him of trying to get out of the Army.

Kunk asked Watt why he would want to ruin his fellow soldiers' careers, and told him he was just repeating false information.

[47] Green was held in the United States Penitentiary, Tucson, Arizona, and died on February 17, 2014, from complications following an attempt at suicide by hanging two days earlier.

[50] On November 15, 2006, Specialist Barker pleaded guilty to rape and murder as part of a plea agreement requiring him to give evidence against the other soldiers to avoid a possible death sentence.

Captain William Fischbach, the lead prosecutor, said this was no excuse for Barker's actions and requested a life term without parole.

"This burned-out corpse that used to be a 14-year-old girl never fired bullets or lobbed mortars," Fischbach said as he held pictures of the crime scene.

The court found that his involvement included hearing the others discussing the crime and lying to protect them, but not commission of the actual rape or murders.