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| Deepcut death: new inquest told of evidence that soldier did not kill herself | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A gunshot wound that killed a young female soldier at the Deepcut army barracks in Surrey 20 years ago may not have been self-inflicted, a coroner has been told. | |
| At a fresh inquest into the death of Cheryl James, 18, Alison Foster QC, representing the James family, said: “Distinguished pathological evidence shows that the shot that killed Cheryl James may not have been self-inflicted”. | |
| She added: “Third party involvement is more than merely speculation”. | |
| Related: Parents of soldier shot dead at Deepcut barracks demand access to army files | |
| The body of James, from Llangollen, north Wales, was found at 8.30am on 27 November 1995, just after she had completed initial training; there was a bullet wound between her right eye and the bridge of her nose. | |
| Her body was exhumed last year after the high court in 2014 quashed the open verdict of her original inquest, which took place three weeks after her death and lasted one hour. | |
| Fresh ballistic tests have been conducted and are ongoing, the new inquest at Woking coroners court heard. | |
| Foster applied for the inquest to be adjourned for a few weeks, saying it was “imperative” all scientific evidence was acquired before other witnesses – including James’s 66-year-old father, Desmond – were called to give evidence. | |
| Ballistics tests were conducted last week but the pathologist representing the James family was not present due to an oversight, for which the coroner apologised. | |
| Foster said the oversight was regrettable. “We have lost faith in the currently instructed ballistic expert,” she said. “Of course it does nothing to maintain our confidence in the manner, in this last stage, that the tests might have been carried out.” | |
| The coroner, Brian Barker QC, refused the application, saying it was a “difficult and complex” case but that witnesses could be recalled if necessary. He denied there was any “procedural unfairness” and pledged a “full, frank and fearless” investigation. | |
| James was discovered with a single gunshot wound to her head at the Surrey barracks in 1995. She had been posted alone to guard the gate and was armed with an SA80 rifle. | |
| James was one of four recruits to die from gunshot wounds at the Surrey barracks between 1995 and 2002. | |
| Opposing the application for an adjournment, John Beggs QC, for Surrey police, said claims of possible third party involvement were “speculation in the extreme”. He said a 2006 independent review into the Deepcut deaths by Nicholas Blake QC concluded it was likely James’s wounds were self-inflicted. Blake’s inquiry heard James was not the “happy, bubbly” girl she had been described, but had had “personal problems in her private life”. | |
| A pre-inquest hearing heard there was new evidence suggesting James may have been sexually coerced or exploited by senior ranks shortly before her death. | |
| The new inquest, which is due to last seven weeks, will examine any evidence she was subjected to sexual abuse before her death. It will also examine whether a third party was involved as well as any policy shortcomings regarding lone guard duty, sexual behaviour, supervision and support of new recruits – particularly women – and around drugs and alcohol. | |
| The inquest continues. | |
| Related: Fresh inquest may shed light on mystery Deepcut shootings | Related: Fresh inquest may shed light on mystery Deepcut shootings |