Tragic Deepcut soldier’s ‘note of apology to his tormentor’
HOURS before he was found dead Deepcut soldier Sean Benton wrote to apologise to a sergeant who had allegedly tormented him, an inquest heard.
The letter to Sgt Andrew Gavaghan said sorry for calling him an “arsehole”. Pte Benton, 20, was found dead at the Army barracks in Surrey in 1995 with five bullet wounds in his chest.
The note added: “I just can’t except [sic] being discharged.” It said he was leaving a football shirt to a friend. Retired Major Paul Ward said at the Woking inquest Corporal Martin Holder told him he tried to seize a weapon off Pte Benton but failed to stop him firing it into his own chest. The first inquest into the death of the private, from Hastings, East Sussex, recorded a verdict of suicide. In 2016 the High Court ordered a second one. The hearing continues.