THE prosecution case was expected to be opened today in the trial of a Monmouth man charged with the manslaughter of a teenage army trainee during a caving exercise.
Instructor Matthew Doubtfire, aged 33, of Rockfield Road, has pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of 17-year-old Private Kevin Sharman, from Derbyshire, in July 2002.
The trial, before Mr Justice Roderick Evans, at Swansea crown court, is expected to last seven weeks.
It was due to start yesterday, but the day was taken up with legal arguments and the swearing in of a jury.
Private Sharman died during an underground exercise at the Porth-yr-Ogof cave complex in Ystradfellte, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons.
He was based at the Army Technical Foundation College in Arbor Field, near Reading, for a 28-week training course, and had been due to join the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
When he died, Private Sharman was at the beginning of a five-day training course that involved caving, canoeing and other outdoor activities.
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