By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 16:18 EST, 5 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 18:16 EST, 28 November 2012 . The soldier accused of killing 16 villagers in a nighttime rampage in Afghanistan returned to his base wearing a cape and with the blood of his victims on his rifle, belt, shirt and pants, a military prosecutor said Monday. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was incredulous when fellow U.S. soldiers drew their weapons on him when he returned to Camp Belambay in southern Afghanistan last March, prosecutor Lt. Col. Jay Morse said as a preliminary hearing opened at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Bales then turned to one sergeant at the scene and said: 'Mac, if you rat me out...' Morse said. A courtroom sketch of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, third from left, during his hearing last month . Robert Bales is charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder . Bales, 39, has been charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder in one of the worst atrocities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Nine of the victims were children. The hearing will help determine whether the case goes to a court martial. Bales has not entered a plea. His attorneys have not discussed the evidence in the case, but say Bales has PTSD and suffered a concussive head injury during a prior deployment to Iraq. The father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., sat beside one of his civilian lawyers, Emma Scanlan, in green fatigues as an investigating officer read the charges against Bales and informed him of his rights. Bales said, 'Sir, yes, sir,' when asked if he understood them. Morse said Bales seemed utterly normal in the hours before the March 11 killings. With his colleagues, Bales watched the movie 'Man on Fire,' a fictional account of a former CIA operative on a revenge rampage. Just before he left the base, Morse said, Bales told a Special Forces soldier that he was unhappy with his family life, and that the troops should have been quicker to retaliate for a roadside bomb attack that claimed one soldier's leg. 'At all times he had a clear understanding of what he was doing and what he had done,' said Morse, who described Bales as lucid, coherent and responsive. Bales is accused of slipping away from the remote outpost with an M-4 rifle outfitted with a grenade launcher to attack the villages of Balandi and Alkozai, in a dangerous district. American officials have said they believe Bales broke the slaughter into two episodes - walking first to one village, returning to the base and slipping away again to carry out the second attack. The prosecutor said Bales returned to the base at one point, telling a colleague about shooting people at a village. The soldier apparently took it as a bad joke and responded: 'Quit messing around.' Bales' hearing is taking place in a military courtroom on Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state . The defense team for Bales, second from left in this courtroom sketch, are preparing for his case to go to court martial . Innocent: Kari Bales told ABC News last month: 'My husband did not do this. I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that my husband is not involved' Prosecutors played for the first time a video captured by a surveillance blimp that showed a caped figure running toward the base, then stopping and dropping his weapons as he's confronted. There is no audio. Morse said Bales was the caped figure. After being taken into custody, Morse said, Bales said: 'I thought I was doing the right thing.' The hearing is scheduled to run as long as two weeks, and part of it will be held overnight to allow video testimony from witnesses, including an estimated 10 to 15 Afghans, in Afghanistan. Bales' attorney, John Henry Browne, said the hearing will give the defense a chance to see what the government can prove. They are expecting a court martial. Bales is an Ohio native who joined the Army in late 2001 - after the 9/11 attacks - as his career as a stockbroker imploded. An arbitrator entered a $1.5 million fraud judgment against him and his former company that went unpaid, and his attempt to start an investment firm in Florida also failed. He was serving his fourth combat tour after three stints in Iraq, and his arrest prompted a national discussion about the stresses posed by multiple deployments. Scanlan, his attorney, declined to say to what extent the lawyers hope to elicit testimony that could be used to support a mental-health defense. Bales himself will not make any statements because his lawyers said he would have nothing to gain. Bodies of Afghan civilians, allegedly shot by US soldier Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, loaded into the back of a van in Alkozai village of Panjwayi district, Kandahar province . Man on Fire: The movie Bales watched with colleagues before allegedly carrying out 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder . Bales' wife, Kari, who plans to attend the hearing, had complained about financial problems on her blog in the year before the killings, and noted Bales was disappointed at being passed over for a promotion. Browne described those stresses as garden-variety - nothing that would prompt such a massacre - and has also said, without elaborating, that Bales suffered a traumatic incident during his second Iraq tour that triggered 'tremendous depression.' Bales remembers little or nothing from the time of the attacks, the defense said. Scanlan, who deferred an opportunity to give an opening statement, said the Army had only recently turned over a preliminary DNA trace evidence report from the crime scenes, but defense experts have not had time to review it. Bales, who spent months in confinement at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., before being transferred to Lewis-McChord last month, is doing well, Scanlan said. Kari Bales maintains that her husband is innocent and was not responsible for the senseless slayings. Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, she said she finds it 'incomprehensible' that her husband and best friend, 'Bob,' faces 16 charges of premeditated murder. 'It doesn't seem possible. Especially that there were women and children,' she said. 'My heart goes out to those families that lost loved ones, parents and grandparents. I am a mom; I can't imagine losing my child, especially to something like that.' Ms Bales said she learned of the . attack within hours from military officials and her initial reaction was . that 'it must have been a mistake.' 'It . certainly wasn't, it wasn't my husband,' she said. 'I know my husband. I know . him very well, and especially the talk about the women and the children. I knew that it wasn't my husband. So it was just incomprehensible to . me.' Speaking to her husband in the middle of that March night confirmed to her that even he didn't know what really happened. Changing tales: Bales' lawyer says the army should take greater responsibility for sending soldiers into combat who are suffering from PTSD and head injuries, but now he seems grateful for the plea deal . Bales will not make any statements in court because his lawyers said he would have nothing to gain . 'He was like, 'What? What you talking about?' He had, he knew that something was going on, but did not know the extent of what was going on, and I was actually the one that had told him how many people had died, and that included women and children, and he was blown away. He did not know the details as they had been portrayed in the press.' But Kari told ABC News she believes the . truth has yet to come out. 'I don't think we have even begun to have the truth.' In the meantime, Ms Bales said she . finds it hard explaining to the couples' two-year-old son and . five-year-old daughter why their father is sitting in a jail cell. 'It's . been difficult,' she said. 'I question myself, what is the right thing . to say, what is the right thing to explain to them, what can they . understand? And for me, I don't even really understand what is . happening, so how can I possibly expect my kids to understand, right?' Media coverage: Television trucks  parked near the military courtroom where Robert Bales' preliminary hearing is taking place . But the family regularly travels the mere mile to where Bales' has been calling home. Their conversations are monitored but at least, she says, they can be a family. 'We are together, we're as a family. We're regular; we can look forward to it. We know when we are going to see him again. It's somewhat normal,' she said. To help pay what could end up being millions of dollars in legal fees, Ms Bales has set up a website, www.helpsgtbales.com, where people can donate to the SSG Bales Legal Defense Fund. 'Really the reason we need a defense fund is to get a fair trial out of this. I really feel Bob gave his best for his country. Now it is time for America to give their best to him.' She told the TV station that she tries not to dwell on the possibility that her husband may spend his life behind bars or worse, face the death penalty. 'I have come to terms with that, and that I have put away. You know, I thought about it and I put it away until I actually have to deal with it. So you, I have learned to compartmentalize a lot of these issues, too. Yes, I've thought about it and yes, that scares me.'
Robert Bales is charged with committing one of the worst atrocities .
of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars .
His victims included nine children .
When Bales first told a colleague about shooting people, he was told to 'quit messing around'
His defense team are preparing for his case to go to court martial .
Wife Kari says it is 'incomprehensible' that her husband could be guilty .
By . Helen Pow . PUBLISHED: . 16:18 EST, 5 November 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 18:16 EST, 28 November 2012 . The soldier accused of killing 16 villagers in a nighttime rampage in Afghanistan returned to his base wearing a cape and with the blood of his victims on his rifle, belt, shirt and pants, a military prosecutor said Monday. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was incredulous when fellow U.S. soldiers drew their weapons on him when he returned to Camp Belambay in southern Afghanistan last March, prosecutor Lt. Col. Jay Morse said as a preliminary hearing opened at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. Bales then turned to one sergeant at the scene and said: 'Mac, if you rat me out...' Morse said. A courtroom sketch of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, third from left, during his hearing last month . Robert Bales is charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder . Bales, 39, has been charged with 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder in one of the worst atrocities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Nine of the victims were children. The hearing will help determine whether the case goes to a court martial. Bales has not entered a plea. His attorneys have not discussed the evidence in the case, but say Bales has PTSD and suffered a concussive head injury during a prior deployment to Iraq. The father of two from Lake Tapps, Wash., sat beside one of his civilian lawyers, Emma Scanlan, in green fatigues as an investigating officer read the charges against Bales and informed him of his rights. Bales said, 'Sir, yes, sir,' when asked if he understood them. Morse said Bales seemed utterly normal in the hours before the March 11 killings. With his colleagues, Bales watched the movie 'Man on Fire,' a fictional account of a former CIA operative on a revenge rampage. Just before he left the base, Morse said, Bales told a Special Forces soldier that he was unhappy with his family life, and that the troops should have been quicker to retaliate for a roadside bomb attack that claimed one soldier's leg. 'At all times he had a clear understanding of what he was doing and what he had done,' said Morse, who described Bales as lucid, coherent and responsive. Bales is accused of slipping away from the remote outpost with an M-4 rifle outfitted with a grenade launcher to attack the villages of Balandi and Alkozai, in a dangerous district. American officials have said they believe Bales broke the slaughter into two episodes - walking first to one village, returning to the base and slipping away again to carry out the second attack. The prosecutor said Bales returned to the base at one point, telling a colleague about shooting people at a village. The soldier apparently took it as a bad joke and responded: 'Quit messing around.' Bales' hearing is taking place in a military courtroom on Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state . The defense team for Bales, second from left in this courtroom sketch, are preparing for his case to go to court martial . Innocent: Kari Bales told ABC News last month: 'My husband did not do this. I truly believe from the bottom of my heart that my husband is not involved' Prosecutors played for the first time a video captured by a surveillance blimp that showed a caped figure running toward the base, then stopping and dropping his weapons as he's confronted. There is no audio. Morse said Bales was the caped figure. After being taken into custody, Morse said, Bales said: 'I thought I was doing the right thing.' The hearing is scheduled to run as long as two weeks, and part of it will be held overnight to allow video testimony from witnesses, including an estimated 10 to 15 Afghans, in Afghanistan. Bales' attorney, John Henry Browne, said the hearing will give the defense a chance to see what the government can prove. They are expecting a court martial. Bales is an Ohio native who joined the Army in late 2001 - after the 9/11 attacks - as his career as a stockbroker imploded. An arbitrator entered a $1.5 million fraud judgment against him and his former company that went unpaid, and his attempt to start an investment firm in Florida also failed. He was serving his fourth combat tour after three stints in Iraq, and his arrest prompted a national discussion about the stresses posed by multiple deployments. Scanlan, his attorney, declined to say to what extent the lawyers hope to elicit testimony that could be used to support a mental-health defense. Bales himself will not make any statements because his lawyers said he would have nothing to gain. Bodies of Afghan civilians, allegedly shot by US soldier Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, loaded into the back of a van in Alkozai village of Panjwayi district, Kandahar province . Man on Fire: The movie Bales watched with colleagues before allegedly carrying out 16 counts of premeditated murder and six counts of attempted murder . Bales' wife, Kari, who plans to attend the hearing, had complained about financial problems on her blog in the year before the killings, and noted Bales was disappointed at being passed over for a promotion. Browne described those stresses as garden-variety - nothing that would prompt such a massacre - and has also said, without elaborating, that Bales suffered a traumatic incident during his second Iraq tour that triggered 'tremendous depression.' Bales remembers little or nothing from the time of the attacks, the defense said. Scanlan, who deferred an opportunity to give an opening statement, said the Army had only recently turned over a preliminary DNA trace evidence report from the crime scenes, but defense experts have not had time to review it. Bales, who spent months in confinement at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., before being transferred to Lewis-McChord last month, is doing well, Scanlan said. Kari Bales maintains that her husband is innocent and was not responsible for the senseless slayings. Speaking to ABC News on Sunday, she said she finds it 'incomprehensible' that her husband and best friend, 'Bob,' faces 16 charges of premeditated murder. 'It doesn't seem possible. Especially that there were women and children,' she said. 'My heart goes out to those families that lost loved ones, parents and grandparents. I am a mom; I can't imagine losing my child, especially to something like that.' Ms Bales said she learned of the . attack within hours from military officials and her initial reaction was . that 'it must have been a mistake.' 'It . certainly wasn't, it wasn't my husband,' she said. 'I know my husband. I know . him very well, and especially the talk about the women and the children. I knew that it wasn't my husband. So it was just incomprehensible to . me.' Speaking to her husband in the middle of that March night confirmed to her that even he didn't know what really happened. Changing tales: Bales' lawyer says the army should take greater responsibility for sending soldiers into combat who are suffering from PTSD and head injuries, but now he seems grateful for the plea deal . Bales will not make any statements in court because his lawyers said he would have nothing to gain . 'He was like, 'What? What you talking about?' He had, he knew that something was going on, but did not know the extent of what was going on, and I was actually the one that had told him how many people had died, and that included women and children, and he was blown away. He did not know the details as they had been portrayed in the press.' But Kari told ABC News she believes the . truth has yet to come out. 'I don't think we have even begun to have the truth.' In the meantime, Ms Bales said she . finds it hard explaining to the couples' two-year-old son and . five-year-old daughter why their father is sitting in a jail cell. 'It's . been difficult,' she said. 'I question myself, what is the right thing . to say, what is the right thing to explain to them, what can they . understand? And for me, I don't even really understand what is . happening, so how can I possibly expect my kids to understand, right?' Media coverage: Television trucks  parked near the military courtroom where Robert Bales' preliminary hearing is taking place . But the family regularly travels the mere mile to where Bales' has been calling home. Their conversations are monitored but at least, she says, they can be a family. 'We are together, we're as a family. We're regular; we can look forward to it. We know when we are going to see him again. It's somewhat normal,' she said. To help pay what could end up being millions of dollars in legal fees, Ms Bales has set up a website, www.helpsgtbales.com, where people can donate to the SSG Bales Legal Defense Fund. 'Really the reason we need a defense fund is to get a fair trial out of this. I really feel Bob gave his best for his country. Now it is time for America to give their best to him.' She told the TV station that she tries not to dwell on the possibility that her husband may spend his life behind bars or worse, face the death penalty. 'I have come to terms with that, and that I have put away. You know, I thought about it and I put it away until I actually have to deal with it. So you, I have learned to compartmentalize a lot of these issues, too. Yes, I've thought about it and yes, that scares me.'
Robert Bales is charged with 16 counts of attempted murder in one of the worst atrocities of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Nine of the point, telling a colleague about shooting people preparing for his case to go to court martial . 'incomprehensible' that her husband and best