CAMP PENDLETON - A Marine accused of killing women and children in a Iraqi home told a military judge Tuesday that he didn't know at whom he was shooting when he opened fire.

"I didn't know there was women and children in that house until later," Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum said in a hushed Camp Pendleton courtroom. "Otherwise, I would have physically stopped everybody in that room from shooting."

Tatum and two other enlisted Marines - Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and Lance Cpl. Justin Sharratt - face homicide charges in what has become the largest prosecution of war crimes to come out of Iraq since the U.S. invaded that country in 2003.

Tatum is charged in the deaths of six of 24 Iraqis killed by Marines on Nov. 19, 2005, moments after a roadside bomb killed a buddy and injured two others less than an hour after sunrise. The deaths took place in the village of Haditha.

Tatum's unsworn, three-minute statement came on the final day of testimony in a military hearing to determine whether he should face a court-martial for murder and other charges.

Prosecutors allege that the troops raided nearby homes and killed civilians in retaliation for the explosion.

Attorneys for the accused Marines have said that they were the target of enemy gunfire right after the explosion, and that they followed combat rules when they entered four homes in pursuit of their attackers.

Last week, a squad mate testified that he told Tatum there were women and children in one of the homes, and that Tatum ordered another Marine to kill them before doing it himself.

Tatum said Tuesday that conversation never happened.

After closing arguments this morning, the fate of the 26-year-old Oklahoma native will be largely in the hands of a military officer who will recommend whether to send Tatum to trial.

Haditha was a known hotbed of insurgent activity at the time of the incident, according to testimony in Tatum's hearing, which is scheduled to wrap up with closing arguments this morning.

On Tuesday, standing at a table with his attorneys, Tatum told Lt. Col. Paul Ware that he had "points I'd like to bring to light."

After the bomb explosion, the Marines were targeted by gunfire coming from the area of a nearby home, Tatum said. He said Wuterich, his squad leader, told him the house was "hostile," which means that enemies were thought to be inside it.

Tatum said he entered the home and heard someone racking an AK-47 gun. He and a second Marine tossed a grenade into a room, he told the officer, and went into the room after the grenade exploded.

"Visibility was horrible," Tatum said.

"I really couldn't make out more than targets," he said of the people in the room.

Tatum is accused of negligent homicide in the deaths of four people in that home, including a 4-year-old boy found with his mother's arm draped over his body He's also charged with unpremeditated murder in the deaths of two others in the second home.

Low visibility was a factor in the shootings in the second home as well, Tatum said.

"It was dark," Tatum said of the second home. "Couldn't make out a whole lot. Just targets."

Tatum said he did not learn until later that the "targets" were women and children, most of whom were found dead on a bed. Some of the children appeared to be between 3 and 5 years old, according to testimony.

"I'm not comfortable with the fact that I might have shot a child," Tatum said, his voice catching. "I don't know if my rounds impacted anybody. That is a burden I will have to bear."

The military has charged Tatum with unpremeditated murder in the deaths of two of victims in the room, both of whom were girls.

One of Tatum's squad mates, Lance Cpl. Humberto Mendoza, gave a different version of events last week, testifying that he told Tatum that frightened women and children were cowering in a bedroom - and that Tatum ordered Mendoza to kill them. Mendoza said that when he refused, Tatum brushed past him and entered the room. Mendoza said he then heard a noise, but just what it was remains unclear. Mendoza has previously told prosecutors the noise was gunfire, but told defense attorneys it was a grenade explosion.

Mendoza, who admitted to shooting two unarmed men during the raid, was given immunity in exchange for his testimony.

Mendoza acknowledged on the stand that he initially lied to investigators about the incident and did not report the alleged conversation with Tatum for more than a year.

The defense maintains Mendoza is not credible. They also point out that Mendoza is trying to get his application for U.S. citizenship released by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which is holding up his papers.

The cases against the accused Marines are built primarily on witness statements.

Families of the dead refused to let investigators exhume the bodies for autopsies, and the bulk of available evidence was photos of the bodies at the killing scenes. Marines took the photos to document the battle scene and to identify the victims. In some cases, the pictures did not show the victims' wounds.

Attorneys on both sides have handed Ware about 200 pieces of evidence to consider, including statements from the surviving children.

Ware is responsible for recommending to Lt. Gen. James Mattis whether Tatum should face a court-martial for his role in the deaths.

The military also charged four officers, including the battalion commander, with failing to investigate the incident properly.

- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.