Army investigating after Cleveland Co. soldier dies in her barracks on New Year’s Eve

EL PASO, TEXAS — The Army is investigating after a soldier from Cleveland County died in her barracks.

Leaders at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas said Private First Class Asia Graham was found unresponsive on New Year’s Eve.

Right now, they do not know how she died. Foul play is not suspected.

Her brother, Andrew Koenigsfeld, said Graham took a courageous step in reporting a sexual assault, but nothing happened for months. She had to live in the same barracks as the man she accused.

“I don’t understand how this can happen to such a great soul,” Koenigsfeld said.

Graham joined the Army following their father’s footsteps.

She loved it so much she made a YouTube video for new recruits facing some of the same questions she had.

“I’m fresh out of training, so I’m going to be there for you all,” she said in the video.

“She wanted this. She was happy to do this,” her brother said.

He said that not long after arriving at Fort Bliss in Texas in 2019, Graham said a fellow soldier sexually assaulted her.

She reported it to her chain of command in June 2020.

The Army announced plans Friday to charge and court martial the unnamed soldier, which was more than a week after her death.

“Asia had to go to heaven for y’all to court martial this man out,” Koenigsfeld said.

He said his sister endured a lot during the lengthy investigation.

“They had this man housed in the same barracks that my sister was living in,” he said. “And he was still walking around after this happened.”

Koenigsfeld said waiting for justice was a weight on the soul of a young woman who loved helping others.

“Asia would be, like, on a random day, ‘I am going to get some stuff and go take care of the homeless.’”

He said justice was denied.

“No woman should feel unprotected, unsafe in an organization where protection and safety is key,” he said.

Graham joined the Army in 2019. According to ABC News, Graham was a human resources specialist who was stationed at Fort Bliss in December after completing basic combat training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

She was then assigned to the 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Bliss, also known as the Iron Eagle team.

Her commander, Col. Geoffrey Whittenberg, said she “did an outstanding job for this battalion. Her loss is felt not just in our formations, but across the Army. We lost a skilled human resource specialist who wanted nothing more than to serve her country and her battle buddies.”

In her short career, she received the National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon, military officials told ABC News.

Cox Media Group