The only witness to the shooting death of a former soldier at the Australian embassy in Iraq is expected to give evidence at a Brisbane coronial inquest.

November 8, 2019

A former Australian embassy bodyguard accused of taking drugs and pointing loaded weapons at colleagues in Iraq is expected to front an inquest into the shooting death of a fellow security contractor, to which he was the only witness.

Christopher Betts, 34, died from a gunshot wound to the head on May 12, 2016, following a night of drinking with fellow security contractor, Sun McKay, in the Baghdad embassy living quarters.

Mr McKay told investigators Mr Betts loaded a Glock 17 pistol, held it to his head and said “it’s time to play clear or not clear” before pulling the trigger.

But Australian Federal Police were unable to determine if the death was caused by misadventure or suicide, the Brisbane Coroners Court had heard.

The inquest has heard from several former bodyguards who told the court Mr McKay pointed guns at colleagues while drinking and regularly left his weapons loaded in his room.

This included one incident a month before the shooting when Mr McKay allegedly pointed his rifle at Mr. Betts head and said “do you trust me” with a very serious face before pulling the trigger.

Another colleague, former United Resources Group nurse and ex-NSW police officer Tanya Ferrai, said Mr McKay was a “loose cannon” who drank a cocktail of vodka, Redbull, cough mixture and Valium about four nights per week.

He also made disturbing remarks about murder, she said.

On Thursday, former URG security contractor Luke Duncan said Mr McKay had messaged him about a day after Mr Betts died playing down the incident.

Mr Duncan said he didn’t think Mr McKay was being genuine.

“I thought it was more of an arse-covering thing,” he told the inquest.

Asked to speculate about what happened, Mr Duncan said “I’m 100 per cent certain he let one rip into Chris” while skylarking.

However, the men’s team leader, Simon Hansen, said Mr McKay was a “very proficient” weapons handler, who always followed the rules.

“I’d never ever had a problem… he was a pretty good operator,” he said.

Earlier, Mr McKay’s lawyer Jamie Whitehead asked Coroner Terry Ryan if his client could give evidence via video link following “adverse” media attention during the inquest.

He said it would be difficult for Mr McKay to concentrate with media in the court and may even hamper his ability to give evidence.

But Betts’ family’s lawyer, Patrick McCafferty QC, opposed the application saying Mr McKay was not a vulnerable witness and the reporting had been fair and accurate.

“Mr McKay is the only person alive that can shed any light, assuming it’s true evidence, on what happened at 2.30am on 12 May,” he said.

“It’s necessary and vital for Your Honour to see him give evidence to assess his demeanour.”

The inquest continues on Friday.