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New information has been released in the case against a Montana soldier charged in a conspiracy to murder Afghan civilians.

The U.S. Army has released documents stating that Staff Sergeant Calvin Gibbs from Billings kept Afghan body parts and threatened his subordinates.

Gibbs is the most senior of five Fort Lewis-based soldiers charged in the deaths of three Afghan civilians.

According to witness and defendant statements, Gibbs arrived in the unit late last year and soon began discussing how easy it would be to kill civilians.

Prosecutors say Gibbs and others in his platoon also beat up a soldier who had reported drug use in the unit, and threatened him by showing him fingers that had been cut from an Afghan corpse.

His lawyer says he denies being part of any conspiracy and that the deaths were all "appropriate engagements."

Hearings in the case are expected to begin this fall.