Man executed for kidnapping, murdering sailor to be removed from Arlington Cemetery

Arlington National Cemetery will disinter the remains of former Navy Lt. Andrew Chabrol, who was executed in 1993 after he kidnapped, raped and murdered a sailor who rebuffed his advances.

While awaiting execution in Virginia for the murder of Petty Officer 2nd Class Melissa Harrington, Chabrol secured an above-ground burial for himself in the veterans' cemetery, the Navy Times reported last week.

Chabrol had completed his service honorably, so at the time, the Navy did not have the grounds to legally exclude him from being buried in Arlington.

The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, passed in December 2022, included a provision from outgoing Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) that requires the Army secretary to disinter Chabrol from Arlington by Sept. 30 and have his remains transferred to his next-of-kin or dispose of his remains as appropriate if no one responds to the Army's request.

"It was appalling to me to think that an officer in the Navy could sexually harass, then kidnap, then rape, and then murder a sailor and get buried at a national cemetery, which is supposed to honor our war heroes and our dead," Speier told The Washington Post in June 2022. "So he has no place in that cemetery."

Chabrol pleaded guilty to the 1991 murder of Harrington, who had rejected his attentions and complained to his superior after he had tried to develop a romantic relationship with her while she was in his command, The Associated Press reported in 1993.

Chabrol claimed her complaint ruined his marriage and damaged his career. He partnered with another man to abduct her from Harrington, who was 27 at the time of her death, from her Virginia Beach home while her husband was gone. He and his accomplice, Stanley Berkeley, raped and tortured her until Chabrol said he strangled her to death. Berkeley was given three life prison sentences for his involvement in the kidnapping.

"I’m looking forward to going to Arlington later this year to visit my friends after I know that [Chabrol is] gone," Joe Harrington, Melissa Harrington's widower, said. "Just to have that feeling of, hey, this is the place to honor the folks that are here. So that’s good."