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Massachusetts National Guard Spc. Ciara Durkin, 30, was found with a single gunshot wound to her head behind a building at Bagram Airbase on Sept. 27.

“The last time she was home she said she had seen things that she didn’t like and she had raised concerns that had annoyed some people,” said Durkin’s sister Fiona Canavan, 44, of Quincy.

“She said, and I thought she was joking, that if anything happened to her we had to investigate.”

Canavan said she did not know what her baby sister had seen or whom she had told, and she rejected the notion that Durkin committed suicide. The military has not answered the family’s questions about her death, she added.

Publicly, the military will only say her death is under investigation.

Canavan said Durkin was openly gay, but she did not believe that had anything to do with her death.

Bay State political leaders are also demanding answers from the U.S. military’s top brass.

Sen. John F. Kerry has written to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates while Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and U.S. Rep. William D. Delahunt (D-Quincy) have contacted Army Secretary Pete Geren.

Kennedy said he has spoken to Geren to make sure the family’s concerns are known and addressed at the highest level while Delahunt wrote to Geren.

Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has also weighed in, confirming it contacted U.S. officials in Dublin and Washington after a plea for answers from Durkin’s relatives in Ireland.

Durkin was assigned to the 726th Finance Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard at Bagram Airbase where she helped make sure soldiers in Afghanistan got paid.

“(The military) is definitely holding back,” said Canavan. “As to why we can only speculate.”

She said it could take anywhere from three weeks to three months for her sister’s autopsy report to be released.

Officials initially told the family Durkin was “killed in action” but changed their story over the weekend, saying she perished from “non-combat related” injuries.

Massachusetts National Guard specialist Durkin, 30, was found with a single gunshot wound to the head behind a church onBagram Airbase at about 6:30 p.m. on Sept. 27.

The family pushed for the independent exam after military officials failed to answer their questions about what exactly happened.

“We know for certain there will be an autopsy and that it will be conducted after Ciara’s funeral (on Saturday),” said her brother, Pierce Durkin, who would not give more details.

The Army initially refused to grant the family’s independent autopsy request but changed its mind a day after Sen. John F. Kerry put pressure on Pentagon chief Robert Gates.

Her mysterious death came just weeks after she told family she feared for her safety after seeing something on the airbase that concerned her. She told her family to investigate if anything happened to her.

Army investigators said they will speak with the family regarding Durkin’s prophetic statement.

“We will be contacting the family and will certainly take account of any information they are able to provide,” said Chris Grey, spokesman for the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Command (CID), which is probing Durkin’s death.

Grey insisted the case is not a criminal investigation, saying it was an “undetermined” death. He would not reveal any other details to “protect the integrity” of the investigation.

Openly gay, Durkin was engaged to be married her family said yesterday, but would not give any more details about her partner.

Durkin also worked as a volunteer for MassEquality, an organization that promotes and protects marriage equality in the state.

Her family has dismissed the notion that Durkin committed suicide and is not convinced her death was linked to her sexuality.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), which fights discrimination against gay military personnel, backed that view. “There is no evidence to date that Ciara’s sexual orientation played a role in her death,” said spokesman Steve Ralls.