U.S. Marine accused of killing prostitute in Hawaii

By Malia Mattoch McManus HONOLULU (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine has been charged in Hawaii with murdering a visiting Las Vegas prostitute who was last seen alive outside a bar in the tourist hub of Waikiki, authorities said on Tuesday. Master Sergeant Nathaniel Cosby is charged with unpremeditated murder in the death of 29-year-old Ivanice "Ivy" Harris and will appear in an Oahu military court on Wednesday, a military spokesman said. Cosby is also charged with voluntary manslaughter, obstructing justice and patronizing a prostitute. Harris was last seen outside a Waikiki bar at 2:15 a.m. on May 16, and her body was found four days later, police said. A Facebook page set up by friends during her disappearance identifies her as a Las Vegas prostitute visiting Hawaii at the time of her death. Honolulu's Star-Advertiser newspaper has reported that Cosby had been captured on surveillance video entering a Waikiki hotel with Harris, but the report did not say when the footage was taken. The paper said Cosby had been on temporary military assignment in Hawaii at the time. Chuck Little, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific public affairs officer, confirmed that Cosby had been in Hawaii on official duty. Wednesday's military hearing at Marine Corps Base Hawaii is an Article 32 hearing, the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing aimed at determining whether there is enough evidence to merit a military trial, Little said. Cosby, 38, is being held in pretrial confinement at the Pearl Harbor Brig. (Reporting by Malia Mattoch McManus; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Beech)