Soldier's suicide note withheld from family for 14 months

Soldier's suicide note withheld for 14 months
By Murray Brewster
The Canadian Press

He had five — possibly six — previous suicide attempts.

OTTAWA – A Canadian soldier’s suicide note was withheld from his parents for 14 months by military police in what Cpl. Stuart Langridge’s stepfather calls a calculated deception.

Shaun Fynes, in his second day of testimony before a public inquiry, said he believes his son’s last communication was kept back to protect the military.

“My son had (post-traumatic stress disorder), he was in pain and he couldn’t take it anymore,” Fynes testified Thursday. “That was the truth of that note and that was part of the coverup.”

The Canadian Forces National Investigative Service says it held on to the note because it was evidence in an ongoing investigation.

It acknowledges 14 months does not represent “expeditious” handling of the note, but has never explained why it needed to keep it beyond the first few days of the investigation.

“I am left to conclude it was not inept and it was a very calculated deception designed to protect the uniform from embarrassment,” Fynes said.

The family has never received a formal apology regarding the note, although the military has conceded it was wrong to withhold it.

Fynes says when the family did finally receive the note, it was a photocopy, and they had to demand the original.
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