Deepcut soldier saw teenage trainee’s remains on a fence weeks after his body was found dead with two gunshots to his head, inquest hears
- Private Geoff Gray’s body was found at Deepcut in what Army said was a suicide
- Weeks after, another soldier was posted to gate he guarded on night of his death
- He told an inquest into Pte Gray’s death that body parts were still at the site
- Pte Gray was third of four to die of gunshot wounds at the base from 1995-2002
Private Geoff Gray, 17, from Hackney, east London, died after he suffered two gunshot wounds to the head in September 17, 2001
A former Deepcut soldier told how there were still pieces of another teenage squaddie strewn across the scene weeks after he was found shot twice in the head.
A lawyer for the family checked with the parents of Private Geoff Gray before an inquest into his death heard horrific details from his former colleague.
‘I know the family are robust enough hear this,’ John Cooper QC said, before asking the Colour Sergeant Ben Atherton to offer evidence.
CSgt Atherton was a trainee at Deepcut army barracks at Surrey Heath in 2001 and was posted to the gate Pte Gray had been guarding the night the 17-year-old’s body was found.
‘There were tissue remains strewn around the scene,’ he had said in a police statement before he addressed the court.
He described how Pte Gray’s remains were still at the scene, despite being posted there just weeks after the death, as grieving mother Diane and father Geoff listened.
CSgt Atherton told the inquest: ‘I was back on guard and when I patrolled the area and I saw it. It was a couple of weeks after the incident. I just remember it quite vividly.’
Pte Gray was the third of four young soldiers to die from gunshot wounds at the controversial camp between 1995 and 2002. He was found in the early hours of September 17, 2001.
Geoff’s parents – Geoff and Diane Gray (pictured) – won the right to a new inquest into his death
Military and police have always maintained he killed himself and an inquest in 2002 recorded an open verdict.
The second inquest into his death, ordered last year, has heard he was a popular, keen soldier with no personal problems who was looking forward to an Army career. Nicholas Moss for the MoD asked CSgt Atherton if his memory was clear.
‘You say today as to tissue, you have a vivid recollection of the tissue being on the fence,’ Mr Moss asked.
‘I can’t picture it now but I remember recalling that moment, if you like,’ CSgt Atherton said.
Other witnesses told the inquest they heard the same fence rattle moments before the body was finally found. The first two searches of the area where Pte Gray was discovered failed to find him.
Former soldier Ben Morgan took the inquest through the timeline of his part in the search for Pte Gray with another trainees Pte Griffiths.
Four young soldiers died at the Deepcut army barracks in Surrey between 1995 and 2002
‘We heard the fence rattling, then we stayed in position for another few minutes,’ he said. ‘This is when Pte Griffiths thought he saw something. There was a gap in time between the two. A minute or a couple of minutes.’
The pair used a three whistle code to call for backup and the body was found moments later in the same area the sounds had come from.
Following the discovery, the search party began to question how they could have missed the body, the inquest heard.
Corporal Filmer, who was second in command of the guard, seemed to be thinking aloud, Colour Sgt Atherton said, convinced he had searched the area where the body was found twice.
‘I remember that to this day,’ he said. ‘He was speaking out loud. I remember him being pretty adamant they had been through it and they had searched that area.’
The inquest at the Coroner’s Court in Woking continues.