Michael Poth is expected to be presented with a charge of second-degree murder while armed at 4 o’clock this afternoon.
Poth, a U.S. Marine, is suspected in the stabbing death of fellow Marine Philip Bushong on Barracks Row early Saturday morning.
Charging documents are not yet available in the case.
Police have said the Poth may have said a homophobic slur before the stabbing.
The Washington Post reports that Bushong’s friends were struggling to comprehend that scenario.
Bushong’s friends said Bushong was not gay, nor was he homophobic.
“You could have called him gay, and he wouldn’t have cared,” said Nishith Pandya, 28. “He would have laughed.”
Bushong’s family could not be reached for comment.
The Hartford Courant reported that Bushong joined the Marine Corps in 2008 and was deployed with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit from March 2011 to Feb. 2012. He had been awarded the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal, the Hartford Courant reported.
