The Jeremy Bamber Case In Facts And Photos
JEREMY Bamber is in the news. Back in the news. Bamber was jailed for life in 1986 for murdering five of his family at their Essex farmhouse in 1985 – he shoot dead his adoptive parents Neville Bamber (shot eight times) and June Bamber (shot seven times), his sister Sheila and her twin sons Daniel and Nicholas – the boys shots 3 and five times, respectively, in the back of their heads.
But is he guilty? New evidence has come to light that suggest he is not. Team Bamber have seen evidence presented to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC). Will the CCRC refer the case to the Court of Appeal?
Bamber has always maintained his innocence. He says the murderer is his sister Sheila Caffell, a former model nicknamed Bambi.
Sheila was found lying next to a Bible with two gunshot wounds to her neck. The murder weapon, a .22 Anschutz semi-automatic rifle, was found in her hands.
There has always been some doubt as to his guilt. Bamber was convicted by a majority jury of 10-2 at Chelmsford Crown Court.
But if guilty, why did he do it? The prosecution at his trial said he had carried out the murders out of greed, hoping to inherit a £500,000 fortune.
The Lover:
Bamber was famously pictured holding hands with girlfriend Julie Mugford behind his parents’ coffins, struggling to contain his grief. Then Julie, 21, discovered he had cheated on her and told police he had discussed hiring a hitman to kill his parents. Detectives were reluctant to change their minds but then a silencer stained with blood and paint was found by Bamber’s cousins.
Evidence 1
The police phone log – the one the police “lost”.
The log, entitled “Daughter gone berserk”, reads: “Mr Bamber, White House Farm, Tolleshunt d’Arcy – daughter Sheila Bamber, aged 26 years, has got hold of one of my guns.”
It came ten minutes before a second emergency call from Bamber himself, who told officers his father had telephoned him in distress before describing an almost identical situation.
According to the second log, Bamber told police: “You’ve got to help me. My father’s just phoned me, he said, ‘Please come over, your sister has gone crazy and has got the gun’.”
The judge told the jury – who were unaware of the first log – that whether the conversation between the two took place or not was a key point on which the case hinged.
Evidence 2
He believes analysis of crime scene photos shows scratches in the White House Farm kitchen were made AFTER the murders.
Bamber’s legal team say a forensic expert has examined recently developed pictures of the room taken on Aug 7, 1985.
He was unable to find any sign of marks on a kitchen shelf which were in a photo taken 34 days later and shown to the jury.
There was no sign of red paint on the floor similar to flecks on a silencer found two days after the murders.Police used the marks to establish that the silencer was on the .22 rifle during the killer’s struggle with Nevill Bamber.
Bamber’s solicitor Barry Chivers says: “The significance of this cannot be underestimated. The scratches were pivotal.”
Facts:
Detectives initially assumed she was behind the killings before suspicion fell on Bamber when scratch marks were found on a shelf above the Aga, allegedly caused by a silencer fitted to the murder weapon.
The silencer was found in a gun cupboard, and police deduced it would have been impossible for Ms Caffell to return it there after shooting herself.
Photos
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Julie Smerchanski, formerly Mugford, as she leaves the Court of Appeal in London. Mrs Smerchanski attended the appeal of her former boyfriend Jeremy Bamber, who is appealing against his 1986 conviction for the murder of five of his family members. * She gave crucial evidence against Bamber at his trial 16 years ago, but was not called to give evidence today.
Posted: 5th, August 2010 | In: Reviews Comments (50) | TrackBack | Permalink
