Jacob Kovco - Death

Death

PTE Kovco died from a single bullet wound to the head. The incident occurred in the accommodation barracks he shared with two other soldiers, shortly after he returned from an observation duty. Kovco was moved to a nearby US military hospital immediately after the incident but was announced dead on arrival.

It was initially reported by Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson that PTE Kovco had shot himself accidentally while cleaning his weapon, a Browning Hi-Power Mk. III pistol. This story was later changed to suggest the pistol discharged spontaneously. These explanations conflict with standard weapons handling procedures for ADF personnel on deployment, which require all weapons to be unloaded upon entering the perimeter of a fortified barracks such as PTE Kovco's. The possibility of the pistol discharging by itself was discredited by the former head of Australia's military, General Peter Cosgrove, when asked on radio whether he had seen a pistol such as Private Kovco's self-discharge during his 40 years of military service, he replied, "Weapons tend not to self-detonate."

In the days after PTE Kovcos death Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson spoke widely to the media, making a variety of claims, including:

"e might not have been actually handling the weapon but it was very close to him," "There was obviously a live round in it, which there should not have been," "He was doing something other than handling his firearm and in the process of fiddling about with the other equipment he had, it would appear that in some way he knocked the gun and it discharged," and "There is no suggestion it was anything other than an accident."

In a Media Release of 29 April, Defence Minister Dr. Brendan Nelson asked for speculation on the death to cease, stating "I think what's most important now is that Australians appreciate that speculation, much of which is wild and ill-informed, is as unhelpful to getting to the bottom of the death of PTE Kovco as it is hurtful to the family."

Chief of Defence Force (CDF) Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston made a statement that two other soldiers (PTE Kovcos roommates) were in the room with PTE Kovco but "it appeared that neither of them was looking at PTE Kovco when the weapon discharged. Essentially when they looked up he had clearly been shot," he said.

Suggestions of suicide were vehemently rejected by PTE Kovco's mother, who suggested that senior military officials knew what happened to her son but refused to tell the truth. Although the ADF refused to respond officially pending inquiries, a "senior military source" made a statement that PTE Kovco was "emailing when the gun fired", and that it appeared that the computer had slipped off his lap and landed on the pistol, causing it to discharge.