Body Bungle
The Age
Saturday April 29, 2006
PRIVATE Jake Kovco was sitting on his bunk typing an email on his laptop computer at the time of his shooting, a senior military source said yesterday.
The Australian Defence Force has refused to give any details of the manner of his death in Iraq pending the outcome of a coroner's inquiry, announced yesterday, and a military probe. But the source said it appeared that the computer had slipped off Private Kovco's lap, landing on the pistol, which caused it to fire.The body of the young soldier was due to land in Sydney early this morning. Prime Minister John Howard yesterday assured Australians there would be no cover-up over his death.The NSW Coroner will investigate the "manner and cause" of Private Kovco's death, to be assisted by a senior homicide detective who has experience with gunshot victims. As the Government rushed to make amends for this week's bungled return of the wrong body from Iraq, Private Kovco's family including his wife, Shelley and their children were flown to Sydney aboard an RAAF VIP aircraft that usually carries Mr Howard.A defence spokesman said Shelley had asked that the body be flown to Sydney so that he could be met by his mates from the NSW-based 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australia Regiment. Private Kovco's body will be flown to Melbourne early next week and he will be buried in his home town of Briagolong with full military honours, probably on Tuesday. Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has cancelled a trip to Washington and will attend Private Kovco's funeral. He had planned to fly to the US on Thursday for meetings with members of the Bush Administration and Congress to discuss developments in Iraq.Private Kovco, 25, a member of the Australian Army security detachment in Baghdad, died on April 21 from a single shot to the head from his Browning 9mm automatic pistol. His mother has alleged an army cover-up over the manner of her son's death. Mr Howard said yesterday it was just not possible to give her a complete explanation without a proper formal legal inquiry. "The only answer I can give is that I do not know precisely what happened," he told Southern Cross radio. "This will not be covered up. It can't be covered up because there's going to be a proper investigation." Dr Nelson initially said Private Kovco was handling and maintaining his gun when it discharged. He subsequently said he was not handling the gun at the time. The best accounts of what happened appear likely to come from two fellow soldiers in the room at the time - although Defence Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said yesterday neither had seen what occurred. Mr Howard said the two needed to be properly questioned by the inquiry. "They may have said something in an informal way to people and that may have been passed on and that may have been misinterpreted in word being passed from one person to the next," he said. Meanwhile, an employee of the morgue in Kuwait where Private Kovco's body sat for five days yesterday told The Age that a number of Australian personnel had arrived at the Al-Sabah hospital mortuary on Tuesday morning to identify the body. He was present while the coffin was opened and the body inspected by one of the dead man's fellow soldiers and by an Australian diplomat who had Private Kovco's passport.The coffin was resealed and returned to a refrigerator after it was identified by the Australian embassy, he said. Staff at the morgue changed shifts and several hours later the wrong body was taken to the airport. It was learned shortly before the body was due to arrive in Melbourne that the coffin contained the remains of an unknown Bosnian who had been stored in an adjacent refrigerator. The mortuary papers relating to Private Kovco include an overseas death certificate and a release paper bearing the seal of the Australian embassy and what appears to be the signature of first secretary Alaster Adams. A note in English reads: "This is an appointment of the consulate representative to secure the coffin of the above mentioned with the consulate's official metal seal at the Al-Sabah hospital at the appointed date and time." It is dated April 25 but no time of release is shown.Dr Ali al-Massoud, the person in charge of the hospital mortuary, said yesterday: "The Australian embassy are responsible for this. Everybody who comes here, every foreigners' body, it is the embassy who is responsible for identification."The NSW Coroner, John Abernethy, has the power to investigate the deaths of NSW residents. Although Private Kovco is from Victoria, he is, as a member of the Sydney-based 3rd Battalion, officially regarded as a NSW resident. The executive officer of Mr Abernethy's office said the involvement of a homicide detective did not mean the coroner suspected it was homicide. -- With AAP.
© 2006 The Age
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