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Staff Sgt. Steven Smiley was charged with negligent homicide, cruelty, oppression and more in the death of 19-year-old Pennsville native Pfc. Dalton Beals, a spokesman for the Marines tells the New York Times.
Beals' cause of death on June 4, 2021 was found to be hyperthermia, or overheating, during a 54-hour training exercise called The Crucible, according to Marine reports.
Temperatures that day had reached Black Flag conditions — 90 degrees or more — in which the Marines were apparently required to stop all physical training, TaskAndPurpose reports.
During a series of interviews, recruits said they did not feel comfortable coming to Smiley with their concerns, and described him as a demanding instructor, reports say.
While Smiley “was technically qualified to serve as a senior drill instructor, he did not have the maturity, temperament and leadership skills necessary to be an effective senior drill instructor," the Marine report says.
A GoFundMe for the Beals family had raised more than $43,600 as of Nov. 14, 2022.
"He was an incredible athlete and confident in his skills but remained humble and never believed he was better than anyone else," Dalton's obituary reads. "He was kind, caring, and protective of those he loved, especially his two older sisters, Jordan and Logan."
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