Attempted murder charges have been dropped in the case against Marine Cpl. Thae Ohu, who was accused of trying to kill her boyfriend last year.
Ohu, a 27-year-old administrative specialist with the Marine Corps Intelligence Schools at Dam Neck Naval Base, had been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault on an intimate partner, and a long list of other charges after prosecutors claimed she attacked her then-boyfriend in April 2020.
She had been held at the Navy Consolidated Brig in Chesapeake, Virginia, since June but was released last week as part of a deal.
Ohu’s advocates claim she suffered from severe PTSD after being raped by a Marine supervisor in Japan five years ago. They said she repeatedly sought help but that none was provided and she spiraled psychologically.
Her family publicly pleaded for her to be released for mental health treatment.
“Although we cannot and will not overlook the failures of the United States Marine Corps and DamNeck leadership, we are overjoyed Thae is released from their toxic control,” the family said in a statement on the Justice for Thae Ohu website.
The Marine Corp tried to get a gag order in Ohu’s case, which would have prevented her attorneys, family, and witnesses from speaking about her case with the press. The request was denied by a military judge in January.
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Ohu’s family members claimed they reached out to their congressman, Rep. Jim Banks, an Indiana Republican, for help but that he never replied to their pleas.
His office told the Examiner Ohu isn’t in his district.
“Marine Corporal Thae Ohu and her sister reached out to my district staff and in accordance with congressional protocol, we referred them to their respective representatives, Reps. Luria and Vargas. Rep. Luria’s office later confirmed with my staff that they were reviewing her case,” his office said in a statement.
The victim in the case, Ohu’s ex-boyfriend Michael Hinesley, also a Marine, had asked officials not to pursue charges against Ohu. Hinesley said he believed the attack was tied to her service-related trauma.
He told the Virginian-Pilot that even though he’s no longer Ohu’s boyfriend, “I am still and will always be her advocate.”
