Family criticises 'unforgivable' delay in finding soldier's body at Catterick Garrison

ITV News

19-06-2025

The family of a soldier found dead in his barracks three weeks after he was last seen say it is "unforgivable" his body lay undiscovered for so long.
The body of father-of-three Lance Corporal Bernard Mongan, 33, was discovered decomposing in his bedroom at Catterick Garrison on 23 January 2020.
An inquest, held at North Yorkshire Coroners' Court in Northallerton, heard L/Cpl Mongan had "obviously been dead for some time" when he was found, and had last been seen around 27 December.
Doctors were unable to determine a cause of death because of the condition of his body.
The hearing, which started on 2 June, was told of claims L/Cpl Mongan was bullied by senior officers and that the family believed he had taken his own life.
Concluding the inquest, coroner Jon Heath said he was unable to say with sufficient certainty that L/Cpl Mongan had taken his own life and recorded an open conclusion.
Speaking afterwards, L/Cpl Mongan's wife Beth criticised the army's failings.
'I know they've apologised, but it doesn't take away the fact that they've failed him in that front and forever will be unforgivable,' she said.
The inquest heard evidence from former corporal Stephen Timmerman, who lived in the same accommodation block as L/Cpl Mongan, that he was 'downgraded' by superior officers, and that 'bullying would be an understatement'.
After an Army investigation into L/Cpl Mongan's death in 2021, Mrs Mongan said her husband "felt bullied" and was "telling people he was afraid".
The inquest heard L/Cpl Mongan had attempted to kill himself several years earlier when his marriage was breaking down.
In the days before he was last seen in January 2020 he gave away his Nintendo to a friend's son, told another friend he 'had bought pills but not taken them,' and made two donations to a suicide charity.
The two most likely causes of death were self-inflicted poisoning, after barbiturates were found in L/Cpl's system – one of which was bought illegally – or a sudden abnormality of the heart.
A Home Office pathologist told the inquest he could not say which of these was most likely.
Dr Nigel Cooper said: 'I've thought about this long and hard but I just don't think I can, I don't think I have enough positive evidence to go in one direction or the other.'
"He was an amazing dad"
Speaking outside court after the verdict, Mrs Mongan said she was expecting the open conclusion 'mainly due to the army's failure of leaving [L/Cpl Mongan] for so long'.
She said: 'I've come to my own conclusions over the years, it's hard not having it for the kids.
'It's been a rollercoaster.
'He was funny, he would try to make anybody joke, anybody laugh, he had a rather weird but wicked sense of humour. He was an amazing dad.'
Emma Norton, director of the Centre for Military Justice, represented Mrs Mongan outside court.
She said it was "shocking and appalling" that L/Cpl Mongan lay dead for so long.
"That failure has had terrible consequences today because it has meant that the coroner cannot be satisfied as to the medical cause of Bernie's death," she said.
'However, his wife Beth has been in court every single day and has heard and read all of the evidence for herself, and the coroner did find today that Bernie was subjected to treatment and was spoken to in a manner by his chain of command that caused him distress.
'The other word for that in his wife's opinion is bullying."
She added: "It remains the view of his wife that Bernie died by his own hand and that he was in lots of ways very badly let down by the army.'
' We deeply regret and apologise'
The Army said it was taking action to prevent similar cases.
A spokesperson said: "We deeply regret and apologise for the shortfalls in our duty of care towards him, which were clearly unacceptable. We're grateful to HM Coroner for the thorough and diligent examination of the circumstances surrounding his death.
'Bernie's service will not be forgotten, and we owe it to his memory, to his loved ones, and to all who serve to ensure that we consistently and diligently provide the duty of care our people need and deserve.'