Court-martial begins for Spangdahlem airman accused of killing martial arts instructor

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany — The defense of a Spangdahlem airman accused of fatally stabbing a local athlete and martial arts instructor more than a year ago will focus on whether the Army the air blamed the crime on the wrong person.

Opening arguments began Wednesday at the general court martial of Airman 1st Class Grant Harrison.

Harrison, 26, has pleaded not guilty to the unpremeditated murder of Michael Ovsjannikov.

Ovsjannikov was killed during a confrontation with Harrison in the early hours of August 19, 2023, after a street festival in Wittlich, about 12 miles east of Spangdahlem. Ovsjannikov was found on the street near his home.

His body had four wounds consistent with a sharp object such as a knife, according to court testimony Wednesday. Two of the wounds, one to the right abdomen and another to the back, caused excessive blood loss through internal bleeding and led to his death, said the German pathologist who carried out the autopsy.

Harrison also pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon and obstruction of justice.

Harrison, a fellow transient assigned to the 726th Air Mobility Squadron, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of Ovsjannikov’s murder. He has been detained by the American army in the European prison of Sembach since August 20, 2023, the 52nd Fighter Wing announced this week.

Air Force prosecutor Lt. Col. Lisa Wotkowicz described an altercation Wednesday that occurred as Harrison was walking home from Pig Fest. A small group encountered Ovsjannikov, and an Air Force staff sergeant in the group sparred with the martial arts instructor, Wotkowicz said.

The staff sergeant is expected to testify, she said, that he and Ovsjannikov exchanged punches and the staff sergeant ended up on the ground.

The next thing he said he remembered, Wotkowicz said, was feeling Ovsjannikov’s weight on him and seeing Harrison standing near him with a knife in his hands.

Harrison later confessed to “stabbing a man” in messages found on the staff sergeant’s phone, Wotkowicz said, and talked about bringing a knife with him to the festival.

But civilian defense attorney Grover Baxley said the staff sergeant was the aggressor and that DNA and blood found at the scene, eyewitness accounts and his lack of credibility “point” to him as responsible. of Ovsjannikov’s death.

A knife was found later on the day of Ovsjannikov’s death in the Lieser River, under a bridge that led back to Harrison’s apartment in Wittlich, a German criminal investigator said Wednesday.

Harrison was arrested along with another Spangdahlem airman in connection with the stabbing. Base officials have not released the name of the second airman.

A statement from the wing in response to questions from Stars and Stripes said this week that the airman was being “held accountable through non-judicial sanction,” an action that was more appropriate given his role in the ‘altercation.

No criminal charges are being filed against him, Air Force officials said.

Much of Wednesday’s court testimony focused on physical evidence found near Ovsjannikov’s body.

More than a dozen photos were taken of drops of blood found on the narrow cobblestone street leading to where her body was found.

Ovsjannikov did not have a bloody nose or lips, the pathologist said during defense cross-examination, nor was he found with defensive wounds on his forearms or hands.

The trial is expected to continue until October 11.