Slain Marine honored, buried
Carmel grad abducted by Navy man posing as an investigator, authorities say
CARMEL, Ind. -- A Marine Corps color guard escorted the casket carrying Justin Lee Huff's body to the foot of the pulpit at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church.
By John Tuohy
john.tuohy@indystar.com
The "Marine Hymn" played as 175 mourners, many dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs, stood in the pews silently. The coffin, with a folded U.S. flag on top, came to a stop in front of Cpl. Huff's parents, Blaine and Theresa Huff, seated in the first row.
"Justin honored his country, his family and his church,'' said the Rev. Ted Rothrock.
Three rows of about 20 Marines sat off the altar to the priests' right.
Huff, 23, served two tours in Iraq after graduating from Carmel High School in 2001 and was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon and the Navy Presidential Unit Citation.
He had just re-upped his four-year commitment and was studying at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Center in Virginia Beach, Va., when he went missing Jan. 2.
His body was found Jan. 13. He had been stabbed, burned and buried in northeast North Carolina. Navy investigators have charged a classmate, Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Cooper Jackson, 22, Boones Mill, Va., with the killing.
Authorities would not reveal a motive for the slaying but said Jackson impersonated a Navy investigator, handcuffed Huff and abducted him in a pickup truck.
Enid Baines, Huff's English teacher during his senior year at Carmel, remembered him as a student who always seemed focused on his work.
"He was pretty quiet and kept to himself, but he was not someone anyone would dislike," she said. "He was always polite and personable. I can't imagine anyone disliking him (or) him making enemies. I was surprised that anyone would want to harm him."
Huff was assigned to the Brigade Services Support Group 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group, Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton in San Diego.
Other survivors include his wife, Rebecca Huff, who is three months pregnant, and two sisters.
A support group called Marine Moms is offering consolation to the Huff family, said Melanie Smith, a Carmel High teacher whose son, Cpl. Lance Thompson, was killed in Iraq in 2004.
Huff was buried with full military honors at Oaklawn Memorial Gardens, Fishers.
Call Star reporter John Tuohy at (317) 444-2606.
Star reporter Lisa Renze-Rhodes contributed to this story.
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