Dun and Dusted
From today's Herald:
Private Jake Kovco's mother is disgusted that details of a report on her son's death have been published before her family has been informed of its findings.
Judy Kovco said today it was another example of the army's incompetence, after it bungled the return of her son's body to Australia, and mishandled evidence to his military inquest.
She wanted a separate coronial inquiry, she said, because she had lost faith in military justice.
It is believed the report on her son's death concludes that Pte Kovco shot himself in the head while skylarking with his pistol, The Australian newspaper reports today.
His fatal shooting inside his Baghdad barracks on April 21 was the subject of a lengthy military inquiry, which concluded in late October.
Mrs Kovco said she had not seen a copy of the report.
"And that disgusts me, that it's gone out to the public and we have not even seen this," she told ABC Radio.
"There is no evidence my son shot himself.
"There is a lot of evidence the other way. I would like to know how they came to that finding."
Group Captain Warren Cook, president of the inquiry, told the final day of public hearings that the board did not believe Pte Kovco had committed suicide.
It's not known when the board's report will be made public.
But Mrs Kovco wants a separate coronial inquiry.
"I will fight formy son, and justice, and I have applied to the coroner's court," she said, adding, "I will fight for the truth".
So. This is a guy that had been disciplined previously for skylarking with his gun.
This is a guy who, against all the rules, had a loaded firearm in his barracks.
This is a guy who had been around guns his entire life, and knew how to deal with them, and therefore apparently he was incapable of EVER making a mistake.
This is a guy who, according to his wife, would have made an excellent member of the SAS, yet had not progressed beyond the rank of Private in his 5 years service.
What does his mother want...? What is this 'evidence the other way' (which I take to infer that he was murdered)? Why can't she just accepted that the guy accidently shot himself, and move on...?
His name has been inscribed on the Wall of Remembrance at the War Memorial.
He was given a funeral with Full Military Honours, with the PM and Defence Minister attending. (Which was more than the SAS soldier killed in training in the ME last year got. And more than the SAS officer killed in Afghanistan got)
His wife presumably has been granted a War Widows Pension.
I'm not sure what else the Kovcos need?
And I don't know if it's just me, getting my knickers in a knot about it, and that it's all perfectly justified. If that's the case please tell me. Seriously. I won't bite your head off, I just cannot see the need to keep focussing on this tragedy. And it's making me think all sorts of narrow-minded judgemental things, which just compound the crankiness.
posted by actonb at 9:55 am
4 Comments:
Maybe it's just a mother's way of dealing with denial, AB. As un-PC as it is, I agree that what the public has been told/leaked suggests he topped himself accidently while playing silly buggers ~ and that being the case, I can almost (but not quite) see that RSL dude's postion on this one viz the wall of rememberance. I would have thought the way froward for any of the Kovco family would be to bury the man, remember the good, and move on.
I'd like to see sydney renamed to Kovco in his remembrance.....
Most sensible thing you've ever written, Nic.
Does anyone know whether the circumstances of this poor bastard's death could affect his military pension...
fingers - The circumstances won't affect Shelly Kovco receiving the WWP. He died in an operation overseas, it doesn't matter how he died.
shroom - not Sydney, but Sale should just about assuage the sorrow.
donnie - I guess she doesn't realise that the more she jumps up and down, the less the public will support her.
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