Kovco died in 'gun bungle'

December 1, 2006

The family of Private Jake Kovco has slammed an inquiry's finding that the young soldier's Baghdad shooting death occurred because he was "skylarking" with his pistol.

Defence chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston today released the much-anticipated findings of the board of inquiry into the Victorian soldier's death.

With suicide and murder ruled out, the report blamed Pte Kovco for shooting himself in the head with his 9mm Browning pistol while in his Baghdad barracks on April 21 this year.

"Pte Kovco died as a result of the inappropriate handling of his personal weapon," the report said.

"The discharge of the SLP (self loading pistol) occurred in the context of Pte Kovco engaging in skylarking behaviour."

Among a raft of recommendations, the report urged the defence chief to improve pistol training for soldiers so they are more familiar with the weapons and how to handle them safely.

The inquiry heard evidence earlier this year that, just moments before he was shot, Pte Kovco was joking and singing along to pop music with his two roommates.

Two of his superiors also revealed that they had to reprimand Pte Kovco on separate occasions in Iraq for dangerously mishandling his pistol.

And one of his roommates, Pte Ray Johnson, claimed that plenty of soldiers had seen Pte Kovco joking around with his pistol like a gun-slinging cowboy.

But Pte Kovco's widow and her family insist his death was accidental.

The father of Pte Kovco's wife, Shelley, David Small, said there was no evidence to back up the skylarking claim.

"I believe that, whatever happened, now I had some theories of my own I'm not going into, is that it was a total accident," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

"Just an accident, no skylarking involved."

Mr Small said the family would ask the military to re-examine the case, but added they did not want a coronial inquiry - something Pte Kovco's mother has called for previously.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said he had spoken to Shelley Kovco and she had raised a number of concerns about the report.

"She felt that the evidence in the report didn't support the principal finding," he told reporters.

"And she also had a concern about the term skylarking."

Shelley Kovco said she wanted to consider the report's findings before responding publicly.

"I've got the findings of what they think happened, I'll go away on a holiday and think about what was in it and I might have my say when I get back and then that's it," she told ABC radio.

However Mrs Kovco lashed out at the defence force over the way it handled the release of the report, with some details leaked to a newspaper earlier this week.

"It's just another blow emotionally," she said.

"I was down when it got leaked and then I was sort of up when they said I could have it, and then they kicked me back down again to say I wasn't allowed to keep it, and now they've said I can have it.

"So they've just made me up and down all week."

In the closing stages of the inquiry, her lawyer, Lt Col Tom Berkley, argued that Pte Kovco didn't realise his pistol was still loaded when he returned to his barracks after finishing duty at the Australian Embassy compound in Baghdad on April 21.

He suggested that during the frivolity with his roommates, Pte Kovco noticed his pistol was loaded, tried to empty it but it accidentally fired, sending a bullet through the right side of his head.

The inquiry found Pte Kovco probably failed to empty his pistol that day because he did not follow the army's "buddy system".

Under the system, soldiers are expected to pair up when they finish duty and check each other's weapons are emptied of bullets.

The report called for the system to be adopted across the defence force, but with precise rules on exactly when and how it should be followed.

It also called for bans on soldiers cleaning their guns in accommodation areas and for random weapons checks in barracks.

While the inquiry made clear findings about how Pte Kovco shot himself, it was unable to solve the mystery of how DNA belonging to his mate, Pte Steve Carr, ended up on his pistol.

Pte Carr repeatedly denied ever handling the pistol, suggesting his DNA was transferred because the pair had shared a megaphone while on duty together just hours before Pte Kovco's shooting.

The report said while a forensic expert had downplayed the possibility of Pte Carr's explanation of a secondary transfer of DNA, that did not "lead to a finding or indeed, speculation, that Pte Carr loaded Pte Kovco's SLP on 21 April 2006".

"The board finds that Pte Kovco was not murdered," the report said.

"Moreover, the board finds that no other person shot Pte Kovco."

Among 29 recommendations, the report called for all defence personnel to receive basic training in preserving possible crime scenes.

The report criticised the military, saying too many people had been allowed into Pte Kovco's room after his shooting, raising questions about the preservation of evidence.

It also called for a DNA data base to help identify the bodies of defence personnel following the mix-up over the repatriation of Pte Kovco's body.

Air Chief Marshal Houston said all of the inquiry's recommendations would be implemented.

But he rejected earlier claims by Pte Kovco's mother, Judy, that the inquiry into his death was a cover-up.

"I can assure you 100 per cent that everything to do with Jake Kovco's unfortunate death has been out there in the public domain," he said.

"I think it stands close scrutiny and I reject any suggestion of any form of cover up."

Air Chief Marshal Houston said the report identified several failures in defence mortuary affairs, training and doctrine in relation to the repatriation of Pte Kovco.

Despite having a soldier colleague to escort his body, and a senior Australian diplomat on hand to seal his coffin, Pte Kovco's body was left by mistake in a Kuwait morgue.

Instead, the body of a Bosnian man was flown to Australia by a private contractor, Kenyon International, which has a standing contract with defence to repatriate bodies of Australian troops.

The report cleared Pte Kovco's escort, Sgt Colin Hoekstra, of any blame for the mix-up, saying he was not in a fit condition to have identified the Australian soldier's body.

Sgt Hoekstra had told the inquiry he was tired and emotional when the time came to seal Pte Kovco's coffin.

The report recommended no disciplinary action be taken against him, even though he had failed to discharge his duty to identify Pte Kovco's body correctly.

It said more training was needed for Defence personnel in proper body identification, repatriation and escort duties.

It also called for Defence to review its contract with Kenyon.


