Corporal may have been dead at barracks for weeks

THE wife of a soldier whose badly decomposed body was found in barracks accommodation at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire has questioned why he was not discovered sooner.

Lance Corporal Bernard Mongan was not reported as missing or absent without leave by the Army before his body was found in his bedroom on January 23.

Although tests are still being conducted to establish the cause of the 33-year-old’s death, police believe that he is likely to have passed away on January 1 or 2, meaning he remained undiscovered for three weeks.

He was separated from his wife Beth, the mother of his three children, at the time of his death but they were in regular contact. His mobile phone activity ended soon after New Year.

L/Cpl Mongan was in the Royal Corps of Signals, but was on an attachment to the Intelligence Corps while at Catterick. He has been due to transfer to a new posting with 77th Brigade in Berkshire on January 8, but neither unit appears to have raised concerns over his absence.

His wife also alleges he had been bullied over his Irish heritage during his time in the Army and had been physically assaulted by servicemen from Northern Ireland.

Beth Mongan, 30, gave an interview to the Sunday Mirror in which she questioned why nobody noticed his three-week absence or checked her husband’s accommodation when he failed to report for duty.

North Yorkshire Police told her they believed he had died around New Year’s Day before handing the investigation to the Army.

The Army said the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being investigated and offered no further comment.