Parents of Private Geoff Gray believe son was murdered at Deepcut

May 13 2009 The Journal

THE parents of a young soldier who died at the controversial Deepcut barracks said last night a new Army report showed he was shot by someone else.

Geoff and Diane Gray believe their son, Private Geoff Gray, was murdered and did not take his own life, as one previous investigation concluded.

The 17-year-old recruit was found dead at the Surrey base in September 2001 with two gunshot wounds to the head. An inquest recorded an open verdict.

Mr and Mrs Gray, originally from Seaham, County Durham, and now living in London, said the Board of Inquiry report should lead to a fresh inquest and renewed their calls for a public inquiry.

After receiving an advance copy of the report, Mr Gray, 45, said: “We have waited an awfully long time for this report.

“There are some very serious allegations in the report and it should be shared with everybody else. This report could give us at least a new inquest into Geoff’s death. A public inquiry has to happen.”

He continued: “There was a mention of a warm weapon on the night that Geoff died – one soldier alleges that another soldier had a warm weapon. As far as I’m concerned, if somebody has a warm weapon, it means it has been fired. I truly believe that Geoff was murdered.”

Mrs Gray, 44, said: “The bullets were not checked in, so they do not know who has fired how many bullets.

“I believe my son was murdered. You can’t shoot yourself once either side of the head on single shot mode.”

She said she felt “a little bit cheated“ by the 80-page report, adding: “It’s no substitute for a public inquiry but we still keep on fighting until we get there.”