Soldier who died by suicide in Las Vegas told ex-girlfriend of pain and exhaustion after Afghanistan

WASHINGTON — The highly decorated Special Forces soldier who died by suicide in a Cybertruck explosion on New Year’s Day confided to a former girlfriend who had served as an Army nurse that he faced significant pain and exhaustion that she says were key symptoms of traumatic brain injury. “It’s refreshing to have such a nice person come along.” On Friday Las Vegas law enforcement officers released excerpts of messages Livelsberger left behind showing the manner in which Livelsberger killed himself was intentional, meant both as a “wakeup call” but also to “cleanse the demons” he was facing from losing fellow soldiers and taking lives. But she also said Livelsberger felt things “very deeply and I could see him using symbolism” of both the truck and the hotel. “I don’t know what drove him to do this, but I think the military didn’t get him help when he needed it.” But Livelsberger was also sweet and kind, she recalled: “He had a really deep well of inner strength and character, and he just had a lot of integrity.” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Friday that it has turned over all Livelsberger’s medical records to local law enforcement, and encouraged troops facing mental health challenges to seek care through one of the military’s support networks. “There was a lot of stigma in his unit, they were, you know, big, strong, Special Forces guys there, there was no weakness allowed and mental health is weakness is what they saw,” she said.