Army
Deepcut: Inquest Begins Into Death Of Pte Cheryl James
A fresh inquest in to the death of Private Cheryl James at Deepcut Barracks finally starts today, more than twenty years after she was found with a gunshot wound to the face.
Private James was 18 and undergoing initial Army training with the Royal Logistics Corps at the Princess Royal Barracks. She was discovered with a single gunshot wound to the head, close to her abandoned guard post on 27th November 1995. The Royal Military Police conducted the original investigation and no ballistics or forensic tests were carried out.
More from Forces TV: Body Of Deepcut Recruit Exhumed For Second Post-Mortem
The original inquest, which was held three weeks after her death, lasted an hour and heard from seven witnesses. The coroner recorded an 'open' verdict. This fresh inquest is scheduled for at least seven weeks and will be overseen by His Honour Judge Brian Barker QC CBE, who will hear from more than 100 witnesses.
Cheryl was the second of four recruits to die at Deepcut between 1995 and 2002.
- Sean Benton died in June 1995, aged 20.
- Geoff Gray was 17 when he was found dead in September 2001.
- James Collinson, also 17, was found dead in March 2002.
- All four died from gunshot wounds.
Surrey Police reinvestigated the deaths in 2002, and concluded there was no evidence of third party involvement.
In 2011, the James family and lawyers from Liberty used the Human Rights Act to access the evidence gathered in to Cheryl's death. In 2014, they appealed for a fresh inquest, which was granted by the High Court.
Cheryl's father Des says:
"I've always been angry about the clear injustice of everything that happened after Cheryl's death. Now I look back and I think how could the Coroner allow an inquest to take place after three weeks? How could he allow the military to conduct an investigation that clearly should have been carried out by the Surrey police?"
Timeline
9 June 1995 Private Sean Benton, 20, is found dead from five bullet wounds to the chest. Within one month, the Coroner recorded a verdict of suicide.
27 November 1995 Private Cheryl James, 18, is found dead with a bullet wound to her head. She had apparently been posted alone and armed with an SA80 rifle to guard a gate known as the A2 or Royal Way gate.
21 December 1995 An initial inquest in to Pte James's death is held. It lasts less than an hour, hears from seven witnesses and the Coroner records an open verdict.
17 September 2001 Private Geoff Gray, 17, is found dead from two gunshot wounds to the head.
23 March 2002 Private James Collinson, 17, is found dead from a gunshot wound to the head whilst performing guard duty.
June 2002 The families of all four soldiers call for a public inquiry into their deaths.
July 2002 Surrey Police launches a reinvestigation into all four deaths, which concludes that there is no evidence of third party involvement in any of the deaths.
4 November 2005 The Surrey Police inquiry is criticised in a review by Devon and Cornwall Police. It concluded key officers adopted a particular ‘mindset’ in favour of suicide as the most likely explanation which affected the approach to the investigations.
March 2006 Nicholas Blake QC publishes a review into the deaths. It concludes they were most likely self-inflicted, but raises concern about a culture of bullying, binge drinking and promiscuous behaviour at Deepcut Barracks.
2011 Des and Doreen James approach Liberty. Liberty threatens Surrey Police with action under the Human Rights Act unless they give the family access to evidence pertaining to Cheryl’s death. They hand over more than 90 lever-arch files of forensic evidence, photographs, statements and other evidence.
18 October 2013 Liberty announces it has applied for a fresh inquest into Cheryl James’ death, by lodging an application with the then Attorney General Dominic Grieve QC MP.
March 2014 The Attorney General grants his fiat, the process whereby a case can be referred to the High Court for a hearing to determine whether a fresh inquest ought to be ordered.
18 July 2014 The High Court orders a new inquest into Cheryl James’ death following an application by Liberty. The judges say there had been “an insufficiency of inquiry” into her death.
August 2015 Cheryl's body is exhumed, at the request of the family, in an attempt to gather ballistics evidence.
1 February 2016 Fresh inquest starts in to the death of Private Cheryl James at Woking Coroner's Court.
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