Soldier 'tried to hide' death of fellow comrade truth

A soldier accused of killing his comrade in a murderous assault at a barracks in Shropshire sought to hide the truth of his crime from the start, a jury has been told.

Lance Corporal Richard Farrell, who denies murdering fellow member of The Royal Irish Regiment Corporal Geoffrey McNeill, had hidden a "concealed truth" according to Christopher Hotten QC, prosecuting.

In closing remarks at Birmingham Crown Court, Mr Hotten said it was the prosecution case Farrell not only bore the legal responsibility for Cpl McNeill's death but "the moral responsibility" for the death of another soldier who hanged himself, in part over unanswered fears he had in fact been the one who killed his close friend.

Both men had been out drinking heavily on a night in the nearby town of Market Drayton, which ended with Cpl McNeill, of Ballymoney, Northern Ireland, flooring 23-year-old Farrell with a right hook after claiming he had been "trapping off".

Farrell, a veteran of Afghanistan, woke up in the guardroom of Clive Barracks in Tern Hill later on the morning of March 8, claiming he recalled nothing of the previous evening's events after he was punched.

Earlier in the trial, the prosecution detailed how Cpl McNeill, also an Afghanistan battle veteran, sustained "heavy blows" including to his testicles.

Farrell, of Dublin, had previously told how he had discovered McNeill's body in his room later that morning, attempting to revive the 32-year-old before raising the alarm.

He also told how he "grabbed his (Cpl McNeill's) testicles" in order to test the older man's consciousness and was "90%" sure that he had been taught this on at Army medical course at Otterburn, in Northumberland.

A soldier who had come through basic training with L/Cpl Farrell, describing him as a friend, told how he had also learned the same technique.

He said medics taught them to assess a battle casualties' level of awareness using a system of checks, including "pinching the septum, the earlobe, the neck, and even if it comes to it - the nipples".

"You may also check the inside of the legs and testicles," he added.

Stephen Linehan QC, defence counsel, asked: "Had you been taught that then?", to which the soldier replied "Yes".

However, Mr Hotten asked the soldier under cross examination whether he was sure he had ever learned such a technique on the Army's combat medic course.

When the soldier replied: "Yes", the prosecutor said: "That's a lie, isn't it?"

Mr Hotten added: "I am suggesting to you that's not true."

But the soldier responded: "No, I am suggesting to you it's the truth."

Mr Hotten also established the man had visited Farrell in jail once already, while the young lance corporal was awaiting his trial.

The jury then heard from an Army medical trainer - a man whom Farrell had previously referenced in evidence as having taught him to check the testicles of an injured comrade.

The soldier, a serving sergeant, said he had read press coverage of the trial, reporting what Farrell had stated with "disbelief, as this is not taught".

He added that certain techniques were taught, but others were "deemed overkill" and "inappropriate".

Asked specifically by Mr Hotten: "Have you ever taught it's appropriate to poke an eye or testicles?", he replied: "No".

In his closing remarks, Mr Hotten also raised the death of another soldier in the regiment who took his own life, in an incident connected with Cpl McNeill's death.

That man had also been out the same night as Farrell and Cpl McNeill, but was so drunk he could not remember and on finding out about the older's man's death "lost all sense of perspective", fearing he was responsible.

Mr Hotten said the dead man's "inability to remember what happened that night ate away at him".

"He convinced himself that Geoff knew the answer, and that he would have to speak with Geoff.

"But as Geoff was dead, he would have to be too."

Mr Hotten said the soldier had "fallen victim to his own demons, not by knowing he had killed, but by fear of what he had done that night".

He added Farrell bore responsibility for the deaths of both men.

In closing, Mr Hotten invited the jury to consider the "compelling" circumstantial evidence against Farrell, who hid a "concealed truth" about his actions that night.

He added it was for this reason Farrell behaved the way he did when he awoke a few hours after Cpl McNeill's death, lying on the floor of the base's guardroom, first washing and laundering his clothes, and then seeking out the dead man's room.