New claims of Aussie soldier’s death shows ‘failure’ of ADF to preserve potential crime scene

An ex-cop and army officer has weighed in on revelations about a young dad who died in Iraq as his family demands answers.

A former cop and army officer says new claims about the fate of an Australian soldier who died in Iraq highlights the “failure” of his employer to preserve a potential crime scene.

Private Jacob “Jake” Kovco, 25, died from a gunshot wound in 2006, shot in the head by his own pistol at his Baghdad barracks in the Australian embassy.

A military board of inquiry and subsequent inquest questioned whether someone else could have pulled the trigger. Both concluded the dad-of-two died from “skylarking” with his gun and accidentally shot himself.

Private Jacob “Jake” Bruce Kovco. Shelley Kovco. Picture: AAP Image/Department of Defence

Private Kovco died in Baghdad.

It has previously been disclosed that soldiers were allowed into the bedroom where Kovco died, taking things out before investigators arrived.

An investigation by news.com.au has revealed new claims that Kovco’s parents received a chilling phone call from an unknown person telling them “your son’s been murdered”.

This call came before the soldier’s identity was publicly revealed and no suspicious details of his death had been aired in the media.

The news.com.au investigation also uncovered claims a soldier who served in Iraq made three “confessions” to three separate people that he killed Kovco.

Martin and Judy Kovco, the parents of Private Kovco. Picture: AAP Image/Julian Smith

Glenn Kolomeitz, a former army officer and ex-NSW policeman, has worked for the State Coroner in a number of investigations into the deaths of Australian Defence Force (ADF) members.

Dr Kolomeitz said that “regardless of the veracity of these latest claims, they further highlight the failure by Defence to preserve crime scenes involving the death of their members”.

“The proper preservation of scenes facilitates proper investigations,” he said.

“A failure to do so, which allows anybody to trample the scene, leaves open situations like this.”

Dr Kolomeitz, a Senate candidate for the Jacqui Lambie Network at this year’s federal election, said commanders demanding entry to the scenes of death because it’s “their base” or “their soldier” have, in the past, had the potential to adversely impact the work of the coroner and prejudice investigations.

“That is not in the best interests of the deceased ADF member or the interests of justice.”

Senator Jacqui Lambie with Senate candidate and lawyer Glenn Kolomeitz. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Martin Ollman

Dr Kolomeitz assisted Navy personnel in the immediate aftermath of the Navy Sea King helicopter tragedy on Nias Island, Indonesia, in 2005.

He said “the Navy put me in direct contact with personnel on the ground on Nias to whom I gave advice regarding the preservation of the crash scene and the proper handling of the bodies of the deceased ADF members.

“This was a sensible approach taken by Navy which assisted the State Coroner in the process of identifying the deceased personnel and enabling proper post-mortem activities.

“A similar approach could have been taken at the outset regarding the death of Private Kovco.”

The military’s handling of Kovco’s death was plagued by mistakes including the ADF sending home the wrong body to his grieving family.

Then a report into how this mistake had happened was left behind at a Qantas club and ended up in the hands of a journalist.

Parents Judy and Martin Kovco said they were dissatisfied of the military’s handling of the case — especially as the narrative of Kovco’s cause of death kept changing.

First the army told them Kovco had been killed while on duty.

Then they were informed Kovco was cleaning his gun when it went off.

They were also told he was playing a game of Russian roulette.

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson initially announced Kovco shot himself accidentally while cleaning his weapon, then said the pistol had spontaneously discharged through some unknown malfunction.

Then it was that Kovco must have knocked the weapon while “fiddling about” with other equipment.

“The story kept changing that in the first 24 hours there were so many different stories,” Martin told news.com.au. “It just kept going, (I thought) what the hell’s going on here? What the hell? What’s actually happened? Cleaning the guns, something else, and different stories that come up with it.”

A photograph taken shortly after Private Kovco’s death which was tendered to a 2008 coronial inquest.

The military board of inquiry heard that on the fateful day Kovco died, music was playing loudly in his room, which he shared with his two roommates, Lance Corporal Rob Shore and Private Ray Johnson.

Neither of them is the soldier who allegedly confessed to killing Kovco, nor are they accused of any wrongdoing.

The inquiry also heard that the three men were playing music from Johnson’s iPod, jokingly singing along to the hit song “Dreams” by Irish group The Cranberries.

Both Shore and Johnson were in the room at the time of Kovco’s death but told the military board of inquiry they had been looking away and did not see the moment he pulled the trigger of his 9mm Browning pistol.

Both have been contacted for comment.

News.com.au has also contacted the accused soldier for comment.

Private Kovco’s wife Shelley Kovco (centre) mourns at his funeral.

The military board of inquiry ruled Kovco died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, most likely done by accident while skylarking with his pistol.

Unhappy with the board of inquiry’s outcome, the Kovcos called for a coronial inquest into their son’s death, which came to the same conclusion.

Judy is demanding her son’s case be reinvestigated in the wake of the new allegations. “I want his children to know that daddy didn’t have an accident and I want my son’s name cleared,” she said.

“I want my son’s name cleared because I know he wouldn’t have left his children like this. This would not have happened. He would not have pulled that trigger.”

The family received a letter from Defence Minister Richard Marles, via their local member of parliament, at the end of 2023.

Judy Kovco maintains her son did not pull the trigger.

“The Special Investigations team within the AFP assessed the letter and decided that no further action was to be taken based on information provided and previous investigations,” Mr Marles wrote.

A spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Marles, reiterated this statement and referred news.com.au to the AFP.

The AFP declined to comment, while NSW Police only made references to the 2006 board of inquiry.

A spokesperson for the Department of Defence said they had already conducted an in-depth inquiry into Jacob Kovco’s death through the military board of inquiry.