25 April 2023 , 14:40
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An Army officer cadet was found dead in her room after she felt like she was 'under a microscope' after spending the night with a sergeant, her friend has claimed.
Olivia Perks took her own life at the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy back in February 2019.
The 21-year-old was said to have spent the night with Colour Sergeant Griffith, following the Falklands Ball, on February 1, 2019, an inquest at Reading Town Hall heard.
The Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, which was attended by Prince William and Prince Harry, has a complete ban on personal relationships with the officer cadets.
Both Olivia and the sergeant denied any sexual activity had taken place.
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Olivia Perks, 21, was found dead at the elite military academy (PA)
A friend described the treatment Olivia faced as like she was 'on trial' (PA)The next morning she missed a parade and had to walk past her colleagues in her ball outfit from the night before.
Later, she hit her head against the bed frame and “trashed” her room in front of colleagues as a friend, Captain Madeleine Brownlow, told the hearing she thought Olivia had been “shouted at” on her way back from the sergeant’s room.
She added: "My impression is that she had been sort of interviewed and persistently questioned ... over two days.
"She felt under the microscope. My impression was that they were trying to work out whether he was in the right or the wrong and whether he should remain in the academy.
"Her welfare was collateral damage."
When asked whether this approach was too heavy-handed, she replied: "It is almost like she was on trial."
She went on: "He definitely was a mentor figure and she felt a lot of guilt about what happened. She felt like she was going to cause him to lose his job."
At one point, Olivia was put back on parade just two days after she made an attempt on her own life (PA)She said fellow officer cadets were banned from speaking to her about what happened by the platoon commander at a briefing to inform them Colour Sergeant Griffith had been suspended.
Captain Brownlow and another friend were eventually allowed to after challenging their superiors.
The inquest also heard that Olivia’s friends were left uncomfortable with her being put back on parade just two days after she made a “significant” suicide attempt during a Royal Engineers visit in July 2018.
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Captain Brownlow said she felt “squashed” after a meeting with a priest where she and others were told Olivia wasn’t “actually suicidal” and had been seen by medics.
She explained that the priest said, "do not worry about Liv, she is not actually suicidal, she has been seen by medical staff. She got so drunk she suffered from suicidal ideology which does not actually mean someone is going to take their own life and there is no need to worry".
She added: "I felt quite squashed after it and kind of silenced", but claimed the priest did provide some reassurance.
The inquest also heard little formal support was available to junior officer cadets, especially in their first term and it was not always clear what help was available.
On Monday, the hearing was told Olivia was deemed at "low risk of reoccurrence" after the suicide attempt at the Royal Engineers visit.
Dad Ian Perks said: "It breaks my heart to know now that [she] was suffering so unnecessarily."
In a statement read out by coroner Alison McCormick, her mother Louise Townsend said: "Liv was the most wonderful, vivacious and captivating girl.
"From a young age she showed fearless determination to push forward."
A previous damning internal military report into the circumstances surrounding Olivia's death revealed that she had been a victim of "a complete breakdown in welfare support."
Colonel Rob Manning, a member of the AH Reserves, said that he had compiled a report made up of over 300 pages about her death and experiences at Sandhurst.
He said there had been "several aggravating features", including her relationships with officers and her alcohol consumption.
He told the inquest in Reading: "There was a complete breakdown in support during her time at Sandhurst and despite her being discussed as numerous management meetings - nothing had been put in place to support her."
The inquest continues.
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