SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army has found that the death of Staff Sergeant Ryan Maseth, who was electrocuted while showering at a Baghdad base in January 2008, was accidental, the Defense Department said on Friday. A Senate panel had said in May that the electrocution of Maseth, as well as three other soldiers and a contractor, was linked to wiring work carried out by engineering company and military contractor KBR Inc <KBR.N>. [ID:nN20528711] The chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee said at the time the panel had learned that Maseth's death had been reclassified from "accidental" to "negligent homicide." But the Defense Department said in a statement on Friday that after an 11-month probe, the Criminal Investigation Division concurred with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology Medical Examiner in finding the manner of Maseth's death to be accidental. The Defense Department said the investigation had concluded that "there is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove that any one person, persons or entity was criminally culpable in the death of Maseth." KBR maintains that it was not responsible for his death, and noted the Defense Department inspector general had affirmed "there were missteps by several governmental entities, not just KBR," a spokeswoman for the Houston-based company said. KBR was part of Halliburton Co <HAL.N> until two years ago. Former Vice President Dick Cheney served as Halliburton's chief executive from 1995 to 2000, when he became George W. Bush's running mate. The Defense Department said there have been 18 electrocution deaths reported in Iraq since March 2003, including 16 service members and two contractors, with 14 occurring away from military facilities or during electrical system maintenance work. (Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Eric Beech)
U.S. Marines from Task Force Personnel Recovery (TF MP) of Multi-National Force-West conduct recovery efforts at the crash site of U.S. Navy Capt. Michael Scott Speicher in Anbar province, Iraq, in ...
