Family of Slain Contractor in Iraq Speaks Out

The Cote Family met with the media at an emotional press conference in Buffalo, NY today, Just one day after Jonathon Cote's body was positively identified by the FBI.

Cote, an army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan returned to Iraq to work as a private contractor in 2006. He and four other contractors were taken hostage in Iraq in November, 2006 by rebels posing as Iraqi police officers.

Last month, the bodies of Cote’s four co-workers were found in southern Iraq. Previously, the severed fingers of some of the hostages — including Cote — had been sent to American authorities in Iraq. Cote's body was the last of five hostages' remains to be recovered.

The body was identified by authorities at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, and the autopsy results have not been provided to the family according to Jonathon's Father, Francis.

Authorities have not disclosed how the bodies were recovered or what condition they were in. No group has claimed responsibility for the abductions or the purpose behind them.