An Air Force colonel facing court-martial next month on multiple counts of sexual assault was found dead Sunday at his Colorado home, according to the Air Force.
Col. Eugene Marcus Caughey, formerly the vice commander of the 51st Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base, had been charged with rape, assault, adultery and other crimes. His court-martial was scheduled to begin Oct. 17 in what would have been a rare instance of the military placing a senior officer on trial for sexual assault.
Officials at Peterson Air Force Base said Caughey, 46, was found dead at his off-base residence in Colorado Springs. They released no other details and said the cause of death was under investigation by the Colorado Springs Police Department. A police spokesman did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.
Caughey's attorney, Ryan Coward, declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the colonel's death. "This is very unfortunate for an officer that served our nation honorably for over 20 years," Coward said in an email. "His family is grieving and asks that folks respect their privacy during this tough time."
According to charging documents filed by the Air Force in December, Caughey raped one woman as he held her against the wall and floor, groped women on two other occasions, and violated an order from a two-star general to stay away from another victim.