Jeremy Bamber and his supporters never give up, they remain confident that he may one day be released if they continue submitting legal challenges against his 1986 conviction for the shooting murders of five members of his family in August 1985.
The latest was a submission to the Criminal Cases Review Commission on the 19th March 2021. The CCRC decide on a referral to the court of appeal. The theme of Jeremy Bamber’s latest application is that Essex police detectives not only ‘framed’ him but they tampered with the crime scenes and removed evidence.
In August 2022 I had a meeting with Michael O’Brien, a key patron within the JBIC, (Jeremy Bamber Innocence Campaign). I was very grateful to Michael and whilst we might not agree on many issues I have some respect for him. His relationship with Jeremy Bamber is very unique because they shared time in prison together. Michael is a successful published author and an active and very busy Miscarriages of Justice campaigner.
We also share a publisher, real crime specialists – Waterside Press.
Jeremy Bamber was convicted for murdering five members of his family during the night of 6-7 August 1985. This included his two six year old nephews, Daniel and Nicholas Caffell.
There was no direct evidence, but the circumstances that convicted him was largely of his own making. Ironically, if Jeremy Bamber had never called the police or claimed his father had called him on the night of the murders. If he had not said a word to anybody about his family prior to the murders, the outcome might have been very different.
The factors that eventually determined Jeremy Bamber’s conviction centred around his actions, statements, responses and behaviour. His comments in front of the three police officers who swiftly responded to meet him at the farm property following his desperate telephone call started to arouse suspicion. He had called the local police, claiming that his father had telephoned him saying his sister had gone berserk with a gun at the family home.
The image above is a view of Tollesbury Road looking east as the route departs the village of Tolleshunt D’Arcy a mile from the farm. This is where the three officers in ‘Charlie Alpha 7’ on their way to the farm from Witham in the early hours of the morning came up behind a very slow moving Vauxhall Astra and overtook it near the junction you can see on the left. The senior officer amongst them was Sgt Chris Bews who despite my having had contact with over the past couple of years I actually met on 13 June 2024. Chris is a very articulate gentleman with a very clear memory.
When the same Astra pulled up behind them minutes later in Pages Lane outside the Bamber farm they initially thought it might be another police vehicle. It was in fact Jeremy Bamber who they were expecting to be ahead of them and already waiting. All three officers were immediately confused by his odd actions. Remember at this stage they had no idea what was in the farmhouse, Bamber was creating an uneasy suspicion right from the onset. After they had overtaken Bamber on Tollesbury Road he must have actually stopped and waited for a couple of minutes. When he initially spoke to them he was keen that the officers go into the house. They refused on the basis that Bamber had reported, (supposedly via his father), that his sister had gone berserk with a gun. Sgt Bews requested an armed team. They kept asking him why he hadn’t called 999 instead of directly phoning Chelmsford Police. Bamber was dismissive and shrugged and considered it had made no difference.
The other poignant issues were his confessions to his partner Julie Mugford, and her subsequent statements, the phone calls on the night of the murders, his impatience and behaviour, his overt greed in front of numerous people, his inappropriate behaviour at his parents and sister’s funerals and his arrogant courtroom challenge.
In addition and very significant was the use of the murder weapon.
Post conviction, his insistence that his family and Essex Police were corrupt and the prosecution he faced was composed around lies compounds his situation. He clings to the fact that the initial police investigation concluded that it was indeed a murder suicide; we have to remember that that was exactly the scene he was eventually accused of creating. But that said, was it possible that his sister Sheila Caffell prosecuted the murders, is he actually innocent of the crime?
The central feature in this narrative is the murder weapon, how it was chosen, prepared and used. It was the most complex firearm in the farmhouse, that is a fact, it is not my opinion. The technical and physical details must be fully understood and they cannot be overlooked. There was nothing simple about using this rifle.
The White House Farm murders have attracted a great deal of attention since they were perpetrated in August 1985. Continued interest in these brutal killings that took place in the peaceful surroundings of rural Essex has been ironically kept in the forefront by Jeremy Bamber himself who was convicted for the offences in October 1986. He has always maintained he is innocent. With the aid of a campaign team he diligently pursues and overlays supposedly undisclosed evidence. He and they insist that his sister Sheila Caffell perpetrated the murders then committed suicide.
His support team consists of some very well respected, intelligent and articulate individuals who are working hard to secure further appeals that will, they hope, ultimately bring about his release.
This includes a new Patron, Michelle Diskin Bates, the sister of Barry George. It was George who was initially found guilty but later acquitted for the murder of Jill Dando in 1999.
This team consider Bamber’s incarceration to be major miscarriage of justice. They are impressed by his continued insistence that he is innocent even after 36 years in prison. His stance and dogged determination convinces them that he is a unique, innocent and wrongly imprisoned victim.
To get a broad view I would recommend that you look at the Jeremy Bamber campaign website and read the narratives that his supporters have posted. One particular post by Robin Cox, gives an interesting ‘opinion’ based account of the murder weapon and how it was utilised. It is a fascinating insight into his supporters and the lengths they are prepared to go to support him.
Jeremy Bamber’s supporter’s go to great lengths to reveal and remind us of the vast quantities of what they consider to be, undisclosed evidence. Their analysis of how the murder weapon was utilised however is very simplistic, they claim that is was easy for Sheila Caffell to murder her family. This conclusion they argue is an important element that supports Jeremy Bamber’s innocence. Their collective expert view is as follows.
‘It is an absurd suggestion that the daughter of a farmer, who grew up on a farm during the 60’s and 70’s before gun laws were tightened, who had a brother who used rifles and who herself went to shooting parties, did not know how to fire a weapon. This aside, even if Sheila had never actually picked up a gun before, there was one sitting on the settle in front of her in the scullery on the night of the tragedies, the magazine loaded and ready to fire and more bullets on the side waiting to be used’.
‘The family were all shot at very close range, most shots within a few inches, the furthest being 4 feet away; at this distance how could anyone be expected to miss?’.
On Wednesday 8th Jan 2020 ITV featured the first of a six part factual drama, White House Farm, produced by New Pictures. The last episode was screened on Wednesday 12 Feb 2020. This was based on the extensive research found in, ‘The Murders at White House Farm’ by Carol Ann Lee, (2018) and the tragic personal material featured in Colin Caffell’s book, ‘In Search of The Rainbow’s End’ (1995). Colin is the ex-husband of Sheila Caffell and father to Daniel and Nicholas Caffell.
Jeremy Bamber said:
“It is being broadcast in the middle of a judicial review and is likely to interfere with the CPS being able to pursue the option of a retrial”. He goes on to say that it is promoted as a drama based on Carol Ann Lee’s book and for the most part it is made up. “It’s a disgrace”.
Channel 5 featured a documentary on the 7th October 2020. White House Farm Murders: The New Evidence. Jeremy Bamber could be heard giving short accompanying narrative to aspects of the investigation and accusations. He does sound very convincing. Later in 2021 Sky Crime broadcast the Louis Theroux production, The Bamber’s: Murder at the Farm.
Jeremy Bamber is not unique at all. The New York killer, Alejandro Henriquez, 59, sentenced for 75 years in 1992 for the murder of three young girls shares the same psychopathic profile. Despite all the evidence Henriquez continues to vehemently deny any guilt. His self-centred narcissistic need for power, control and attention has never ceased all the time he has been in prison.
In 1969 Paul Beecham, then 24, shot and killed his Mother and Father and his visiting Grandfather and Grandmother in his parents house in Tewksbury, Gloucestershire. He used a semi-automatic .22 rifle. His Father ran a successful boat building company which employed him. He was convicted on the basis of diminished responsibility and spent 16 years in Broadmoor. He became an accomplished and skilled artist. During this time he met and was befriended by a fellow artist, Christopher Berry-Dee who later became a successful crime writer.
When Beecham was released he set up home in Bracknell with Rita Riddlesworth, a member of Broadmoor’s League of Friends. They lived a seemingly happy and normal existence, Paul Beecham even joining the Berkshire Rotary Club. In November 1997 things had started to go wrong and fearful that their circle of friends would find out about his past he murdered Rita and buried her under their garden patio telling friends and family that she had gone away on holiday. On 12 November 1997 He committed suicide with an illegally acquired shotgun.
In June 1994 a family murder occurred in Dunedin, New Zealand in circumstances very similar to the White House Farm murders. David Bain, then 22 was convicted for shooting to death five members of his immediate family in their home with a .22 semi-automatic rifle. He then made the scene look like his father had committed the murders and had then killed himself. The prosecution argued that Bain had a clear motive, he would inherit the family estate. In June 2009 David Bain was actually acquitted after a long campaign and re-trial. Controversy still surrounds the case.
In February 2019, July 2021 and again in June 2024 I visited the vicinity of the White House Farm Murders in Essex. I discovered that the road, track and footpath approaches to the farm, the village of Tolleshunt D’Arcy and the village of Goldhanger where Jeremy Bamber lived is still much as it was in 1985. I find it interesting how people can form strong opinions about the potential perpetrator routes to and from a shooting murder location without actually visiting the location in person.
The start of the Hungerford Massacre in 1987, the gun murder of Jill Dando in Fulham London in 1999 and the 2012 Annecy shooting murders in France are other prime examples.
I have handled firearms in my military career and in shooting sport pursuits for over 45 years. I understand their technical functions and the knowledge and skills required to utilise them. I further appreciate the psychological, physical and proprioceptive demands and dark burden associated with hunting and killing human beings with a gun. I also understand the physical clandestine processes of planning a path to a target with the minimum risk and maximum chance of success.
The study of Ballistics and the physical use of Firearms should not be confused.
Ballistics is the strict and exacting scientific study of projectile propulsion, flight dynamics, and properties, (internal and transitional), and aerodynamics, atmospheric resistance, gravity, target strike and penetration, (external and terminal).
A forensic ballistic investigator’s expertise should not be confused with the study profile and abilities of a shooter. Leaning on the evidence discovered by ballistic specialists and trying to link or associate them up with a perceived perpetrator that fits a preference, prejudice or bias is no basis for judging a shooters ability to utilise a firearm.
Making an assessment of the technical skills, the proprioceptive demands and the dark burdens associated with shooting somebody to death has nothing to do with ballistics any more than a PhD in astronomy, astrophysics or aerospace engineering qualifies the recipient to judge an astronaut’s ability to pilot and control a space craft.
In October 1986 Jeremy Bamber was tried and convicted for the murder of his adoptive parents, Nevill and June Bamber, his adoptive sister, Sheila Caffell and her two 6 year old twin sons, his nephews, Daniel and Nicholas Caffell. The murders had taken place in the early hours of August 7th, 1985 at the family home, White House Farm near Tolleshunt D’Arcy in Essex. The victims had all been shot with an Anschutz 525 semi-automatic .22 rifle that belonged to and was licenced to Nevill Bamber. A total of 25 rounds had been fired at close range into the victims, no shots had gone astray. Initially Essex police concluded that Sheila Caffell had committed a murder suicide.
Bamber’s part in this came to light after some of his relatives became suspicious and his ex-girlfriend, Julie Mugford told police that he had confided in her about plans to kill his entire immediate family in order to secure the wealthy family estate. Bamber she claimed had even contacted her in the hours before and after deliberating the crime. She had considered his plan to be so monstrous she found difficulty believing he would do it. When the initial police investigation and inquest determined that it was likely to have been Sheila Caffell who committed murder/suicide, Julie Mugford, still in a relationship with Bamber, accepted that conclusion. Subsequent further investigations established that Jeremy Bamber committed the murders leaving the crime scene to look as if this occurred. The plan almost worked.
Confident that he had got away with the crime his arrogant and strange behaviour did not escape attention. He finished his relationship with Julie Mugford, the very person he had confided with about his plan. Julie Mugford, frightened and confused confessed her knowledge to the police. As more findings and facts emerged Jeremy Bamber was arrested. Eventually he was put on trial and was found guilty of the 5 murders. The jury convicted him on a majority verdict of 10-2 and he was sentenced to 25 years. He has never admitted guilt and has now spent 37 years in prison. Both he and his supporters continue to insist that his sister, Sheila Caffell committed the murders.
Gun Facts v Gun Thoughts
Only 1.6% of people in the UK use and have legal access to guns. This includes our police and military as well as sporting shooters. Private ownership and licencing of shotguns and firearms can only be granted for sporting use. Unlike the USA, guns in the UK, (with some exceptions in NI), cannot be procured for personal protection. Therefore, shooting as a sport has to be associated with a desire and interest. Within that 1.6% gun handling population only 10% are female.
Women are far less likely to commit murder than men advises Adam Lankford, a US criminal justice professor. In the USA where firearms are far more accessible than in the UK only 8% of firearm homicides are perpetrated by females. On the rare occasions when women kill, they are far more likely to poison, stab, suffocate or start fires than use a gun.
There is a very straightforward philosophy called ‘Ockham’s Razor’ which is a problem-solving principle that suggests that simpler solutions are more likely to be correct than complex ones. When presented with competing hypotheses to solve a problem, one might consider the solution with the fewest assumptions. Not enough to immediately solve crimes but it is an interesting reflection.
Within my descriptions I like to use analogies. I appreciate that most people don’t understand firearms and how they operate so I will cross associate with common everyday skills that we regularly undertake or can more easily associate with, I hope that will help. Guns and their characteristics are so often misunderstood, misplaced, and misinterpreted. Unfortunately very few journalists and writers can accurately describe, debate or discuss them. The reason for this is simple, most people don’t use guns. Writing about firearms and ammunition with reference to crime and the taking of lives has to be absolutely accurate. There can be no room for error.
A great deal of focus, attention and deliberation has been applied to certain features of this crime. The telephone calls to the police, the sound moderator, (rifle silencer), and the mental and physical condition of Sheila Caffell. This is all relevant and important, but I am going to focus my study on three other aspects to this crime. The choice, preparation and use of the murder weapon. The single, detachable Anschutz 525 10 round magazine and the approach and return cycle and walking routes to the farm that it was considered Jeremy Bamber might have taken.
We know that Jeremy Bamber was totally familiar with his fathers Anschutz .22 rifle and regularly used it to shoot rabbits around the farm. That is what the rifle was designed for. It was the most complex firearm in the house. Bamber had handled firearms from an early age. Some people are natural shots and take to handling firearms smoothly and easily; they are not unlike naturally skilled drivers, footballers and artists. Others are awkward and uncoordinated and may become quickly frustrated and disinterested. A lot of people are physically frightened of the mere thought of handling and discharging a firearm. Most of us drive but we don’t need to be interested in cars. That does not apply to guns and shooting in the UK. The Jeremy Bamber campaign team describe a .22 bullet on their website as being the size of a fingernail; it is actually smaller. As the image below clearly shows, it is roughly the size of the push button on the top of a common ink pen.
If Sheila Caffell had any interest in shooting and the attendant skills needed to operate a semi-auto rifle it would not have escaped attention. Most people in the UK do not know how to operate a firearm any more than they could operate and drive a steam engine. Those same people could learn of course but there must be a desire to apportion a reasonable amount of time.
If Sheila Caffell committed the murders she had mysteriously acquired the instinctive, autonomous skill stage that a regular and interested user would posses. She had developed the proprioceptive skills and knowledge to confidently operate the .22 Anschutz in what would be a very pressured situation. We assume she had the will and desire to kill her mother and father and her two 6 year old sons, (but strangely not her brother Jeremy). She had planned the entire event which included her own suicide. She was able to overpower her father after she initially failed to kill him outright. Nevill Bamber was a very tall and powerful man. She was able to twice recharge the rifle magazine, carry out all the drills necessary and all in the pursuit of killing her family.
The rifle scope had been removed before the murders
A family member had noticed in the weeks prior to the murders that the telescopic sight on the Anschutz had been removed. The scope whilst an ideal sighting accessory to shoot rabbits would have been a burden to a shooter trying to use such a weapon in the close confines of a property to shoot people. If the killer was Sheila Caffell we must assume that she had anticipated this. Either the scope was coincidentally and conveniently removed by Nevill or Jeremy Bamber in the period just before she used it or she did so and neither of them questioned it. You need the tools and the knowledge. For the purpose of shooting rabbits removing the scope made no immediate sense but either Nevill or Jeremy Bamber could have simply reasoned that he wanted to try the rifle without it, using the open iron sights; that would have been reasonable. If Sheila Caffell had removed it surely both men would have questioned it and they would have interrogated the family. Jeremy Bamber stated that the scope was removed so the rifle would fit into a cupboard.
When Derrick Bird perpetrated the Cumbria shootings in 2010 he left the scope on his bolt-action CZ .22 rifle. He possibly anticipated he would be killing victims from longer ranges. Fortunately some of his targets survived because the weapon was more cumbersome at the closer ranges and in the confined locations that he was actually shooting at people.
Sheila Caffell never voiced or displayed any interest in firearms or shooting. If she had and if only to fulfil a plan to kill her family maintaining a secret shooting pursuit in the UK would have been extremely difficult. There was certainly evidence that Sheila Caffell had a rudimentary experience of firing a shotgun but that does not qualify someone to purposefully and individually operate it or any other firearm. It has also been implied that because she was brought up in a rural farming family, she would learn how to handle firearms. That is a very common, urban inspired myth and likened to supposing a Merchant Sea Captain’s daughter is skilled at deep sea fishing and tying knots. Sheila Caffell would have needed to have been able to do the following, quickly and confidentially.
Magazine charging / Loading / Making ready
Unless she had acquired extra magazines, (which were never found), she would have to be able to charge a single magazine twice with a maximum total of 20 x .22 bullets. Jeremy Bamber admitted to leaving the rifle within easy reach with a full magazine beside it after looking for rabbits on the evening of the murders. That was convenient for Sheila Caffell. Nevertheless she still had to load the rifle, (attach the charged magazine into the magazine housing). Make ready, (withdraw the cocking handle to the rear and let it go – the bolt assembly flies forward under spring tension and picks the top round off the magazine and feeds it into the breech. This also cocks the internal hammer. The process of making a semi-auto rifle ready, (loaded and cocked to fire), is not natural, it takes practise. The natural inclination of the inexperienced shooter is to keep hold of the cocking handle and guide it forward. This will generally fail to pick up a round and will result in a stoppage. The analogy here is when we learn to allow an open car bonnet to drop the last couple of feet to enable it to lock. It’s not natural…but we only learn after we are initially shown.
Placing fired rounds with no hesitation or mercy
She was able to remove the safety and then very confidently bring the weapon to bear, (this is where removing the scope was so important). Firing and placing rounds into shouting, flailing, pleading human frames at close range would require some cold composure; despite being a schizophrenic, physically weak and uncoordinated. Her proprioceptive skills and co-ordination here was truly remarkable, she found her target on every attempt, not one round missed.
If you think shooting people at close range, some of whom are determined to resist or try to escape is an easy task I question how you can conclude that. I can assure you it isn’t.
Killing a family
If it was Sheila Caffell who failed to kill her father in the bedroom she followed him downstairs after killing her mother and fought him in the kitchen, overwhelmed him, striking him with the rifle stock and barrel so hard that a shard of the wooden stock broke off and was later found. Having managed to detach the magazine and reload it, make the weapon ready again she continued to fire more rounds into his head until he was dead. Throughout the entire murderous scenario, she removed the magazine and recharged it twice. A full magazine reload at speed would take between 20-30 seconds. That is with the rounds accessible and at hand. How did she achieve this, she was wearing a nightdress. She managed this without dropping any cartridges or leaving any lead deposit or bullet lube on her hands, fingers or clothing. She was also able to do this with long natural nails and without damaging them. She had no stoppages that we know about but if she did, she dealt with them, picking up the small live rounds which having been ejected out of the ejection port would have been difficult to immediately find. Her handling drills were swift and smooth. There would have been no fumbling, panic, odd bullets dropped and cast around. She entered her sons bedroom and coldly shot them both in the head whilst they lay asleep.
Sheila Caffell’s suicide or murder
She then returned to her parent’s bedroom, laid down, turned the rifle around and shot herself in the throat, planning to discharge a bullet through her palate and into her brain. She failed but despite the shock and pain of that attempt she managed to realign the weapon again and on the second attempt successfully killed herself. She had accounted for her rounds perfectly and had had a single round left for her own departure but when she failed to kill herself she reloaded the rifle having conveniently access to one further round and finished the job. So with all this in mind she had been able to count her rounds in the most peculiar circumstances. Now having killed herself she had even left the weapon ‘safe’; no rounds in the chamber or magazine. She didn’t even take her own life in her son’s bedroom as her ex husband Colin Caffell had pointed out and insisted she would have done if she had ever resorted to something so diabolical.
Subsonic hollow point .22 rimfire ammunition is designed for small game shooting. Used against a human form and particularly multi shot at close range it can be devastating. When these soft lead bullets strike a hard feature like bone they can splay or fracture as indicated by the examples above. Licenced .22 rifles are commonplace in the UK.
Counting rounds, being acutely aware of ammunition expenditure, timing reloads etc are drills practised by the military and armed police. In the heat of a live murderous shooting, this slightly built, physically weakened schizophrenic became a hideous Lara Croft; she was absolutely remarkable.
The single Anschutz magazine, or were there more.
If the perpetrator was Jeremy Bamber, he could have acquired 2 further Anschutz magazines at some point well before the killings took place and had a total of 30 rounds already loaded and available. One already in the house where he left it and an extra two on his person. To plan a killing in these circumstances with a single magazine would demand a great deal of confidence. It would require somebody with a clear plan who appreciated that whilst the .22 rifle was the best weapon available to them, it was not ideal. Compared to the shotguns it gave the greatest rate of fire but to be effective the perpetrator would have to get close to his victims and possibly use a lot of ammunition. The rifle and .22 ammunition kept in the house required a Firearms Certificate to buy, store and determine its use which was for vermin control. That was the responsibility of Nevill Bamber. It was his habit and ultimately his deadly mistake to allow this rifle and indeed his shotguns to be easily accessed within the property. In practise he should have had them all secured in locked gun cabinets when they weren’t in immediate use. This was a condition of his licence and he and only he should have had access to the keys.
Neither Jeremy Bamber or Sheila Caffell had an FAC, (Firearms Certificate), for that rifle but you don’t need one to purchase magazines; they are not part of the weapon’s determined operational mechanism, they are detachable supporting items. Nevill Bamber did not need to account for how many magazines were used with the rifle so Jeremy or Sheila could have them without his knowledge. The police could not deduce what ammunition was available before the murders because any amount of it could have been used for target or rabbit shooting.
If Jeremy Bamber was the perpetrator, having used 23 rounds, (now on the third magazine or third reload), he had to use 2 rounds to kill Sheila Caffell. He then unloaded the Anschutz and placed the original empty magazine on the rifle and then placed the weapon on her body. He took the other two magazines, (if he had them at all), along with perhaps the remaining 5 x .22 rounds ready for disposal. They were small items, it would have been extremely easy.
If Bamber only used the single magazine it was of course entirely possible, and it would suggest he was fit, physically strong, agile, coordinated, sufficiently practised, calm, calculating, knowledgeable and utterly ruthless. Jeremy Bamber fitted that criteria. Sheila Caffell could only have used a single magazine and if she was the killer she would have been all the above.
Why did Sheila Caffell spare her brother, Jeremy Bamber
The immediate Bamber family were all in White House Farm on the evening of the murders. If Sheila Caffell was planning to kill them and then take her own life why didn’t she include her brother, Jeremy Bamber. She was eating and talking with her parents. Jeremy Bamber was in and out of the house whilst working and in close proximity before he went home that evening. Her children were upstairs in bed. He had left what became the murder weapon totally accessible to her along with a fully charged magazine after apparently looking to shoot rabbits. Her supposed knowledge, determination and attendant skills would have made the task that much easier. First her parents and brother, then her boys upstairs, (they being totally unaware of what had happened downstairs); and then her suicide next to them. Why did she wait until her brother had gone home, why did she spare him?
The routes to White House Farm
In her statement Julie Mugford stated that Jeremy Bamber had told her about his plan to kill his family and that it would take 15 minutes to cycle to Whitehouse Farm from his cottage in Goldhanger. By road, the most obvious cycle route would have been via Tolleshunt D’Arcy but it would have taken longer than 15 minutes on a regular pushbike. If Julie Mugford was lying why was she so specific about the timing. DI Robert Wilkinson cycled various routes between Goldhanger and White House Farm and concluded that the most practical route by bike was via the Brook House Farm track.
This meant starting out of from Jeremy Bamber’s home in Goldhanger, Bourtree Cottage, No 9 Head Street, (image below), turning onto the B1026, Maldon Road and then after 2 miles turning right on the road track which passes through the farm location and leads across field perimeter tracks directly to the back of White House Farm. This cuts off a huge corner and avoids Tolleshunt D’Arcy. It took DI Wilkinson 16 minutes. This part of the route had easy access but it is also well screened and would minimise the likelihood of being seen.
It was a wet day when I found and cycled the route on the 04 Feb 19. The last 400 metres on the approach to White House Farm was muddy. My mountain bike was probably better than the bike Wilkinson used and I was 63 and considering the conditions I did it in 17 minutes on approach and 18 minutes into a slight headwind on return. That was pure riding time. I stopped to take photographs. There was only one gate to open. The route was easy and it would have been equally simple at night with the available ambient light. If Jeremy Bamber used this route he was a young and fit 24 year old and the tracks would have been dry in the summer of 1985.
He doesn’t agree and claims to have no knowledge of potential cycle or walking routes to the farm across fields from Goldhanger. He considers that in the dark it would have been impossible, even laughable to attempt it. On 18 July 2021 I visited the location once again. The weather was almost identical to the night of the murders. I set off on a mountain bike down Fish Street in Goldhanger at 10:30 pm. I found the other proposed route which initially follows the sea wall flanking Goldhanger Creek. Turning north after just over 1.5 kilometres offers a variety of track and field side path options towards Pages Lane and White House farm. I didn’t meet or see anybody. The going was flat with a 360 degree horizon and once my night vision was established it was so easy to see. It was further than the Brook House Farm route but walking or cycling was no problem and it completely avoided tarmac roads.
On 14 June 2024 I investigated this route again in daylight but this time on foot. I headed directly inland from the start of the creek sea wall path via Lauriston farm and reached Pages Lane about 1 kilometre south of WHF in 43 minutes.
If he had used additional rifle magazines, he could have taken them along with any .22 rounds he had in them or loose on his person. They would have been easy to dispose of. Jeremy Bamber’s defence maintain that this route was a ridiculous exaggeration and nobody witnessed him. I didn’t see or meet a single person on the farm track portion of the route and that was in daylight. Who saw me?
If Sheila Caffell committed those murders she is, and would remain entirely unique in the UK. As a real life, hideous version of Lara Croft she would be the only female, gun slay mass murderer with no knowledge of firearms that has ever existed in this country since the invention of gunpowder.
Sheila Caffell never showed any interest in shooting or handling firearms. She also had no desire to learn to drive and she never held a driving licence. Here’s a simple analogy most of us can immediately understand.
Based on the theory that she simply picked up a semi-automatic rifle, reloaded it twice and murdered her family the driving equivalent skill set would have seen her as a non driver, grabbing a set of family car keys, driving into Chelmsford in the dark, reverse parking into a space on the top floor of a multi-story then departing, filling up with fuel and driving home.
Jeremy Bamber in written communication with me does not agree with my analogy. Whilst he concurs that the perpetrator would need to have completed some practise in magazine filling, loading and preparing the rifle to fire he considers the required technical dexterity to be more akin to mastering the operation of a food mixer. He at least demonstrates an understanding of how the murder weapon worked which ironically is more than can be said about his supporters.
your assessment of the case brings up some very valid points. i am currently doing a study on whether jeremy has enough doubt for a new appeal, totally bias.
I would be interested to see your analysis.
With respect you say you tried these routes on a mountain bike, I don’t think the bike Julie mugford was suggesting could be called in any shape or form a mountain bike, you say you saw nobody, that does not mean nobody saw you? It’s pure speculation on your part, you seem to be focusing on how it might be Jeremy and it could not be shelia? Unlike you I believe the killer was found in the farm the evidence we have now suggests this, shelia in a psychotic frenzy killed her family, if Jeremy had been there she would of had less opportunity or maybe she would have killed him too, but no it was better she waited till he was not there, as she wrote on her wall I HATE THIS PLACE her mind was not in a good place, that reaction occurred on the 7/8/85 when as Jeremy suggested her parents neville and June suggested having her children put into foster care shelia was very ill, and suffered from schizophrenia tell it how it is, -J 4 J
She never wrote this…… the boys did
Sheila admitted to Colin Caffell that she wrote ‘I hate this place ‘.
You’re absolutely wrong about her physical capabilities.
Thanks for your comment Mary.
Unfortunately Michael, La Tricoteuse swallow bullcrap like this every day and ask for dessert.
The “author” starts from the position that Jeremy MUST be guilty and then comes up with the biggest pile of equine excrement I’ve seen in a very long time.
“The Anschutz was the most complicated weapon in the house” is however actually true because all the others were shotguns that a chimpanzee could load. The Anschutz 525 is literally child’s play to operate.
As to this berks “credentials”, it’s just so much anally expelled methane.
Thanks Chris. I need to get out more.
We all know he did it. Take it from me. I like Jeremy was once fitted up for a crime I DID commit. Long story, but fact is years ago I got sentenced for 2 armed robberies. I was guilty as hell, the evidence against me was cleverly fabricated. I have no beef. Done my bird, never went back. 30 years ago.
Point is. I am right. Jeremy is hanging on to in discrepancy’s that will occur in a fit up, but he is nonetheless guilty as hell. Fluff your pillow up Jeremy. You are going nowhere.
A very forthright comment Gary! Thank you for your contribution.
Yes. Thank you!!! I think he’s guilty as hell too. There’s no way she committed suicide by shooting herself twice and having no evidence of a firearm being in her hands.
Using the Ockham’s principle you mention and paying particular attention to your assessment of using this particular type of firearm. Could it be possible the sister on this same summers evening went up the back fields and aquainted herself with this firearm? Could it also be possible there was a box of bullets? that she could place somewhere upstairs initially? The telescopic sight issues you raise have similar arguments to the perpetrator using a silencer/moderator. No logical sense, why do apparently bank robbers use sawn off shotguns? In this case surely too speed and maneuverability would be priority. A longer gun with a moderator could cause problems. Some other points too maybe worth mentioning. Sister likely awake all time if perpetrator, so her eyes fully adjusted to dark environment an advantage. Apparently prosecution at trial conceded sisters body found where she died, her body not moved from say landing or another room. The apparent fight you mention in kitchen, latest news evidence seems to contest this. New expert evidence shows what caused the burn marks on the fathers back and his body moved. Apparently adds to the view that the crime scene was altered dramatically by attending police perhaps unintentionally but dramatic and important.
I’m sure people generally didn’t believe all these years that the sister couldn’t have done it even taking the silencer/moderator out of the equation. Another hypothesis could be any injuries to the father found in the kitchen were caused after his death by the perpetrator not during a fight. Its possible all family members were dead after the first round of bullets. Therefore giving an hypothesis that the reloading, further bullet wounds and injuries happened afterwards with no pressure of time involved.
Other things don’t make sense either….so if a retrial ever occurred prosecution now have nothing forensic linking silencer/moderator to crime? apparently at 2002 appeal stated DNA must have got wiped off? and CCRC at same appeal went to extended family to obtain DNA profile from a fingernail? how can court be sure fingernail was sisters? didn’t prosecution obtain a blood sample from sister all those years ago when murder suicide direction? were prosecution all those years obstructing access? don’t CCRC have powers of access? but in any event if prosecution evidence isn’t in place anymore why should somebody be still locked up? has the blogger let this blog go, pray give us your thoughts….
So at original trial the forensic linking silencer/moderator to crime was just a blood group? how many other cases in their day before DNA were people convicted on a blood group? normally a fingerprint or something. I think I read somewhere sisters blood group was rarer type 20% of population? but that’s 20% of people say in a town. Apparently the jury asked the trial judge whilst deliberating a straight question of ‘was it the sisters blood in the silencer’ to which judge replied ‘yes’. So jury not properly informed during trial maybe. First appeal about 1989 i think questioned judges ‘summing up’ but maybe didn’t cover that reply made to the juries question which would be classed as misinformation.
‘After the jury were sent out to reach a verdict, they returned and asked the judge for clarification on the silencer and blood evidence. The judge said it contained only the blood of Sheila Caffell. Seventeen minutes later, they returned and convicted Bamber by a 10 to two majority’
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/08/jeremy-bamber-lawyers-challenge-cps-over-withheld-evidence
There is so much wrong with that its unbelievable
Which part do you think is wrong?
Thanks. I am researching this crime and currently open-minded as to who did it. The police stated there were unidentified fingerprint son the rifle, that were not of any family members, this is interesting.
It’s either Sheila or Jeremy. Anyone else would take their own weapon to a house if they were going to kill people.
I think you’re absolutely right.
This blog is from a very confused older person who should know better. Someone obviously who has some guns knowledge and trying to impress and make that knowledge connected to this case. A firearms expert in US and now a UK expert too, shows bullet wounds on crime scene photos would be different mark if silencer was used. It was tested in a lab on pigs skin. This expert also shows the gun could easily be used and discharged by someone with limited knowledge or of slight build. The videos on youtube, why don’t you search for it before posting this type of conspiracy drivel. Stick to the main facts of the case, i.e. the prosecution claimed the silencer was used on the gun for the killings. Therefore claiming in that scenario sister could not have killed family and herself.
Thank you for your input. I thought I was keeping to the facts. I must study more expert opinion.
You were not keeping to the facts. They are very simple.
Shiela had a basic understanding of guns. Fact
There is no evidence that a moderator was used in the shootings.
Fact!
The moderator That was alleged to have been used was apparently missed by the police in their search.
Fact.
It was discovered days later by family members who had a very strong financial interest in having Jeremy convicted.
Fact.
They had opportunities to contaminate the moderator with crime scene blood.
Fact
They denied in court that they stood to benefit from Jeremy’s conviction.
Fact.
Their denial was a lie! Fact.
Reloading the Magazine was easy! There was no reason why Shiela would be unable to do that ! Fact
Initial examination of Sheila when found described only one gunshot wound. Fact
Jeremy Bamber is innocent!
I’ve certainly got a lot to learn Steve.
Thank you for your input. I thought I was keeping to the facts but being an older confused person I must consider your advice.
Conspiracy drivel? This is the opposite, in fact. I don’t agree with all of the conclusions this article asserts, but none amounts to, or relies upon, a conspiracy of any kind.
You are obviously claiming here that the killings were carried out without a silencer fitted to the gun. Besides being contradictory to the established evidence, such a proposal would be highly problematic when seeking to rely in any way upon it. 25 unmoderated shots of subsonic .22 calibre ammunition fired from the Anschutz 525 rifle would, while being relatively low in the context of firearm noise, have nonetheless created a considerable, and very distinctive level of disturbance, especially considering the ambient noise level of the quiet, rural setting at that time of the morning. No person in nearby farm cottages heard anything, which is highly suggestive of a silencer having been used. If no silencer was fitted, at least when SC was shot, that most certainly totally eliminates the possibility of it happening after the arrival on scene outside the farm of police officers; those shots would have been clearly heard, especially given that the master bedroom window was not fully closed.
Forensic reports indicate quite conclusively that a silencer was fitted to the gun for at least one of the shots fired each into June and Nevill Bamber. That much is established. Obviously it would be absurdly illogical to consider that it would only have been so for just one shot each; the overwhelmingly logical deduction is that the gun was silenced during all the shots fired into June and Nevill, and it would be similarly profoundly illogical to suggest that a silencer would not also have been used when Daniel and Nicolas were shot. The only way that a denial of this reasoned conclusion could possibly be of help to JB is by way of a convoluted theory which would necessarily involve police, the judiciary, family members and many others, including forensic experts, in a coordinated, elaborate, collusion to pervert the course of justice in order to entrap JB. That would be an awful lot of tight lips required, despite most of those people having been totally devoid of any motive and, in fact, would have created a considerable risk of severe personal harm to themselves by way of severe penalty. That would be what I would characterise as ‘conspiracy drivel’.
There are many aspects to this crime that are difficult to piece together, mostly because of failures on the part of the police. They switched off, that’s all, because they quickly and wrongly came to the conclusion that it was already solved and thus any evidence didn’t need to be protected. Inept, tunnel visioned and gullible, I think so, but they didn’t conspire to fit anyone up. The fact is, it would have been better, in terms of the police force’s reputation, if SC were actually able to be proven to be the killer.
A jury found, 10 to 2, that JB is guilty. They were fully presented with both sides of the argument. Any evidence that has surfaced since that conviction has been thoroughly reviewed. Grounds for an appeal were established over the DNA evidence taken from the silencer, not because of any error or impropriety on anyone’s part, but purely due to advances in forensic technology which were not available in 1986. That evidence established unequivocally that the silencer that was found in the office cupboard was fitted to the gun during the shootings. In some limited and ambiguous ways, this new evidence could have been interpreted as being helpful to the defense, thus it was granted as grounds for an appeal. However in many other ways, it was actually the case that it was damaging to the defense’s case. It centred around the finding that DNA traces matching two of the victims was present in the silencer, and which could only logically have been present if the silencer was fitted to the rifle when each of those victims was shot at least once. The reasonable conclusion that can be taken from that is that the killer removed the silencer from the gun at some point and hidden such that it was not discovered by police. The only way this could otherwise be explained is if the silencer were planted, and that those who planted it were somehow able to get hold of it somehow, find a way to not only inject blood from two of the victims into it, but also insert other DNA carrying matter from three of the victims deeper into the rows of baffles of the silencer. Further, swabs that were taken from deep within the silencer were retested at a much later date than the original testing, after non-blood DNA detection technology had advanced sufficiently and reliably enough to facilitate its evidential use as being legally acceptable. It found that SC’s DNA was present, and since the location from which it was taken was so deep within the silencer, contamination was ruled out as a possible explanation. The appeal was rejected largely because of this point. No matter how you might choose to interpret the evidence on this matter, there is at least one thing that is an established, indisputable fact: the silencer was in use for at least some of the shots fired during those killings. That being so, the very serious implication of it being removed and placed anywhere that was not in close proximity to or association with the body of Sheila is hugely damaging to the defense. As has already been pointed out many times, a woman who was supposedly intent on killing herself would have had no conceivable motive to put the silencer in a plastic bag and place it in the downstairs office cupboard. However, it makes perfect sense for a killer to put it back there after having realised that it had to be removed from the gun in order to stage the appearance of a suicide.
Whether you believe Jeremy Bamber is guilty or innocent, for me the biggest question is:
WHY do Essex Polce refuse to disclose evidence that remains undisclosed?
That Jeremy Bamber has convinced otherwise astute people of his innocence is no surprise. It is what psycopaths do. They are plausible. The Babes in the Wood murderer, Russell Bishop, did the same. There are countless others. The clincher to me was always the impossibility of Sheila calmly reloading her gun after shooting herslef in the throat and then firing the fatal shot. She would have been incapacitated by the first shot. And the idea that a distrubed young woman, with no specialist firearm knowledge, could have loaded and reloaded her gun – reloaded a single magazine – without fumbling or dropping a round, and so precisely calculated her ammunition supply as to finish the night with no ammo remaining … is absurd.
One thing disturbs me. There is an odd and offensive tone in the comments published above, particuarly by somene called Dimitriars. I do not participate as a rule in these blogs but is this normal? If it is it is remarkably unhelpful. The man Dimitriars calls this careful analysis ‘conspiracy drivel’. It is nothing of the sort. It is a lucid and expert assessment of the facts and argues that there has been no conspiracy or miscarriage of justice, that Mr Bamber was guilty as charged and fairly convicted. Let us at least be civil.
Thank you for your intelligent comments, I am very grateful.
‘the clincher’ you be careful I don’t clinch you somewhere troll !!!!
did you read the comment about civility above?
Dimitrius is obviously one of Jeremy Bamber’s supporters, and they are very, very strange, confused people
Jeremy is not a psychopath he has been examined by over 30 different psychiatrists and psychologists and shows no psychiatric or psychotic traits infact it’s fair to say he shows highly intelligent characteristics, he also passed a polygraph test ( lie detector) in 2007 terry gubbins who held the tests is convinced of jeremys innocence only 5% of people who take these actually pass!
Great article. We also came up with the scenario you present re J having taken extra pre-loaded magazines with him. Pretty much worked out a scenario for each shot fired, each victim in order, and when reloaded, which tallys with number of shots received by each person and in which room, and casings found in each area. I’d like to know where he ultimately disposed of the extra magazines (he probably temporarily buried them in land and moved later). Agree that if only one magazine were used it would be time consuming to reload magazine and reload gun, and is convenient that no bullets were left…
Thank you indeed. There was plenty of opportunity to dispose on the route back.
Following on from my post a few weeks ago, I think this is how it may have happened: I believe he went over during the day and took the sights and moderator off the gun to make it easier to handle indoors, and loaded the magazine. He put the gun away (but just told the police he’d conveniently left it out). He came back during early hours and got in through the window that he’s mentioned he got in through regularly. He takes the phone off the hook. He brought with him an extra preloaded magazine that he had secretly purchased to make reloading quicker.
He had to take out the biggest threat first: Nevill, so shot him four times, then June five times, he thinks they are dead but they are subdued at this point. He takes Sheila into parents’ room, probably under the guise of telling her that look, it’s ok now, they’ve gone. He shoots her once and believes she is dead too. He reloads with his preloaded magazine and goes to the twins’ room; eight bullets are fired here. He now has two left.
He thinks it’s all over but Nevill is now up and heading downstairs for the phone, Jeremy chases him, shoots once, accounting for the casing found on stairs, chases him downstairs and shoots again but Nevill is still active. He is now out of bullets and with no time to reload ten bullets into the magazine he has to beat Nevill to stop him. He overpowers him, reloads ten bullets into magazine and shoots Nevill twice. Checking that he is now dead, Jeremy prods him in the back with the barrel, which accounts for the marks on Nevill’s back.
He now goes upstairs to set the suicide scene, but June is up and by the door so he shoots twice. Sheila is on floor but is still alive so he shoots again and poses her to make it look like a suicide. He takes his second magazine out and replaces it with the empty original magazine, which accounts for there being no bullets left in gun when found. He leaves, hides the second magazine and clothes somewhere on the farmland, to permanently dispose of later. Gets home, phones police.
I would be very surprised if Nevill had been shot 4 times that he could then get up, go downstairs and reach for the phone! He was an older man and I would not have thought his body would have the strength to recover from being shot 4 times and to then venture downstairs! You also mention about June being shot 5 times and then also getting up. She looks to be slightly built and again, I would not think that her body would have the strength to stand upright after being shot 5 times!
This is quite a story but that’s really all it is, first of all it is just total speculation, there are no facts there what’s so ever, the only thing clear is you believe Jeremy did it, well let’s look at facts police logs stated and correct me if I am wrong here there was no signs of forced entry! 2. Prior to armed police entering WHF at 05.25am police logs suggest they were in conversation with someone within the farm house, who was that person? Someone was still alive you cannot converse with a dead person, at 06.09am a 999 call was made to the police, that call was monitored by pc MILLBANKS we now no this because a priority action order was sent out by the 2002 stokenchurch enquiry who wanted to interview the officer, the same enquiry also interviewed Ds Stan Jones who admitted under oath that a suicide note had existed all along, that being the case that would suggest the polices first press statement was correct (ie) murder suicide however stokenchurch never revealed this evidence, the question is why? Because it clearly shows that Julie mugfords evidence was lies, and purely revenge for being dumped, if Essex police new there was a suicide note why persist with Julie mugford, she had already lied once blaming Jeremy saying he hired a hitman Matthew McDonald, who had a cast iron alibi, so why give her a second chance, she was a woman scorned, who by the way made a deal to sell her story to the NOTW for 25,000 payment on conviction only, not only that she had all her convictions quashed, a nasty piece of work was ms mugford as she said in her own words I tried to suffocate Jeremy, because I thought if he was dead nobody else could have him, well she made good on that promise she made sure nobody would have him (she lied) her testimony should be struck off anyway it is hearsay nothing more, I mean if you were going to bump your family off, would you confide in someone, you were no longer wanting to be with, that makes no sense at all, it was pure revenge ! There is not a single piece of evidence to link Jeremy to these crimes, Essex police have defied three court orders to produce evidence, but placed some evidence behind PII although to have a fair trial this evidence should have been given to jeremys defence team Essex police have consistently hidden evidence from the defence team, however we can now undermine every aspect of evidence against Jeremy prouduced at his trial, in short his trial was flawed led by a bias judge mr justice drake, we now can prove Jeremy should have been aquitted and it is now a clear murder/suicide as Essex police initially said-J4J
Thank you for your comments Micheal. You are clearly passionate about Jeremy Bamber’s innocence. You have every right to be but that doesn’t mean he is. I have studied these murders very closely, visiting the location, speaking with Chris Bews, the first police officer who met JB and I’ve corresponded at length with Jeremy Bamber himself. A story…just speculation? I focus on facts. You are absolutely right about lack of evidence. Bamber convicted himself, he could not play the innocent grieving son. If he had never made that call to Chelmsford Police Station and never said a word to Julie Mugford he might have, (quite wrongly), got away with it. What intrigues me about his supporters – not one of you can ever explain in detail how Sheila Caffell used the murder weapon. You always avoid it.
I doubt neville and june would still be walking about after being shot 4-5 times!
The Bamber case,
Why once again are we not told about the actual evidence (in detail) that was used to convict the man.
A through investigation was incomplete and unable to be compared to the excellence that is achieved today.
So, what is deterring one being lead in the correct way now. If the bodies have to be exhumed then why not.
Why are hypothetical scenarios not played with and detailed. Such as three men entered the property that night. The gun (more than one).
The women wasn’t a drug addict and had left a relationship that was abusive but was not abusive herself.
The house was watched from a far and accessible by absolutely anyone.
The women would not have caused those injuries herself perhaps one of the gunman put his hand over her hand and pulled the trigger. (Other considerations (if known) child maintance, expensive).
The violence of an armed drug induced person who are upset with little intelligence who are able to pick up on absolutely anything could be highly likely.
The book is not the best book – questions are unanswered – a ‘televised documentary! (Thank goodness so lighthearted).
Perhaps Bamber had nothing more to live for and knew he would have to take it all on himself – he wasn’t believed ever in the beginning and with a concoction of drugs he may have fallen into a subdued state. Believing the truth would manifest.
Are you sure the police at the time didn’t want some sort of guarantee confirmation – not examining the crime scene. That house was a mess. The reasons behind that are endless. Breakdowns, money, other people’s bankruptcy.
How many suicides took place at the time?
Bamber had travelled, in and out of the country taking drugs.
The man couldn’t go near the property out of fear. He ran for help. The father when he called could only say what he could because he was being held by gunpoint.
They killed and left. ‘They had held them up’ Bamber didn’t have time to commit the crimes.
Why don’t you properly interview the man for a fully comprehensive article detailing what he says so that the whole national can read it and go from there. 40 years is a long time for something that he didn’t do! So much has been written perhaps you need to clarify a few details.
Did you know you could go to a crime scene now and know more about the crime that was committed then emphasis) now. So much
Thank you for your comments and analysis.
Gobsmacking tosh. There are only two possible suspects because Bamber’s story is that he took a call from his father saying that Sheila had ‘gone mad’ with a gun. That means either a) Bamber is lying, he did it, or b) Bamber is telling the truth and Sheila did it. The above blog post makes it pretty clear that it’s the former. What couldn’t have happened is anyone else’s involvement.
It’s depressing to see people comment without taking a moment to think it through.
Very interesting, thoughtful and fresh perspective Andrew/Admin.
I suggest a podcast
I personally feel that what I have seen and read so far, is that there must have been two shooters, to begin with and would not have been surprised to find it was both Bamber and his partner who was jilted and then gave evidence against him because she was now not going to benefit in any way. don’t know if the toxicology comes back to say the presence of meds induced or not. would explain how the cartridges could have been disposed of though as no one investigated her at all did they? How can you shoot someone and not awake someone else whos asleep? unless there was a silencer on the gun, that got removed by the shooter. After all she was so keen to identify the family and not be disturbed by it. who’s clothing was it in the bucket with the blood and why have the dog put to sleep? because he was a (woofness) witness? As for the role of the head copper, he’s a four letter word for how he just wanted it wrapped up without investigation, removing destroying all evidence, I hope he gets fired in this drama talk about an aggresive violent bully.
His girlfriend cannot have been there. I know because I was with her that night.
Helen, I have just discovered who you are. I am sorry it took me a while to figure it out. Significant.
Are you related to Ann Eaton?
Helen Eaton is no relation to Ann Eaton. Helen was one of Julie Mugford’s flatmates in London.
Coincidence with the surname though!
The head copper Taff Jones died in 1986, it’s reported he fell off a ladder in his home.
I am an ex British Soldier and own a licensed .22 CZ which I use for rabbiting. I remember this crime when it happened. Regardless of what condition people say Bambi was in, it takes a certain type of human to take another human life and I do not believe that she was able to do so. Shooting a human at distance is one thing. Pumping several rounds into family members, including your children is quite another. “Silencers” do not silence a gun. If you fire a .22 round in a house, you are going to hear it very clearly. The silencer / suppressor on the .22 in question had been removed, for no good reason other than to cover up the crime. With the silencer on my .22, I am unable to put the barrel under my chin and reach the trigger, its too long. Equally, I have had to reload magazines “under duress” during my service and I can assure you, even the very experienced suddenly have bananas for fingers and .22 rounds are small and slippery which gives me even more doubt that Sheila was the culprit. My final thought is that once hit with a .22 hollow point round, there is no way, with the injuries that she would have sustained, would she have been able to reload a round into a magazine, go back upstairs, lay down on the floor and execute a second shot. I think that had Sheila only had the one head wound, he would possibly have got away with it but not with two.
Interesting read.The drama is quite gripping but what you realise is it is just that – a drama.
I am completely open minded as to Bambers guilt/innocence. What you do realise is that the wheels of justice grind very slowly and once a conviction is reached there is little appetite to revisit or examine new/withheld evidence. Also, and I do remember the news reports at the time vaguely; the media play a big part in coloring the publics view of a suspect and then filling in the spaces to condemn once convicted. The truth in the end seems immaterial. Thats not to say I think Bamber is innocent but:-
– I would suggest that there are question marks about conviction ‘without reasonable doubt’
– For a relatively intelligent man it seems to me Bamber put himself in a very compromising position been so open with his girlfriend about the killings and then to split with her and still expect her loyalty. Would someone be so arrogant to think such a horendous crime would go undetected if questions about his involvement were raised. Avoiding drawing suspicion to yourself would be paramount especially as if he is guilty the crime was very much premeditated and involved careful planning.
– The same can be said of his careless disposal of the silencer which brought question marks to the case.
-The motives of his girlfriend and also his cousin in securing a conviction cannot be dismissed in making their evidence unsafe in isolation without other supporting evidence.
I’d be interested in others thoughts on my points or direct me to a blog where these issues I raise have been discussed.
I think you make some interesting points. We have to remember that initially he did get away with it, the whole dreadful plan worked. He drew so much attention to himself to so many people with his behaviour, his arrogance got the better of him. He now refers to them all as being either liars or corrupt. The one person who holds the key is Colin Caffell; he didn’t have to research anything, that poor man was in the middle of it. His book is fascinating and deeply moving. The letters he received from JB are shocking. I think it’s interesting how JB supporters never refer to or comment about Colin. Why is that, surely they should offer some support to JB in this instance and seek to explain his actions.
Yes. Quite an elephant in the room for the JB acolytes that one, isn’t it. This is the possible reason, “I kind of walked straight into all Jeremy’s lies… and believed them to start off with”.
From 16 Jan 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afIXWrexiWk
I am intrigue about the silencer: did Bamber buy it and when, and why for shooting in the fields, or what other reason?
A sound moderator on a .22 rifle is a standard piece of equipment for rabbit shooting, there is nothing sinister about it. It will reduce discharge sound from around 140 decibels to 110. A moderator does not completely silence a weapon but it is less disturbing when used in more confined spaces near occupied buildings for instance. Other potential targets may also be less concerned and thus easier to stalk. Not always though! Jeremy Bamber could not have bought a moderator, he wasn’t a licence holder. His father Nevill Bamber would have purchased it along with the rifle and the scope. Standard stuff for rabbits.
Try the UK Justice Forum!
No one seems to be interested in the fact that if Neville had phoned Jeremy and then the phone had gone dead, as Jeremy states, that phone would have still been connected to Jeremy’s line and he wouldn’t have been able to call out on his phone for some time. He couldn’t have called the police or his girlfriend. So, the phone must have been off the hook long enough for the line to have been cleared. This would fit with Jeremy having taken the phone off the hook earlier to fit with the story he had prepared.
Just a bit of family information for added credibility.
Ralph Nevill Bamber (1924-1985)
The Nevill name derives from his mother’s maiden name of Beatrice Cecilia Nevill (1883-1981). There is no “e” on the end of “Nevill”. I don’t know why he used his mother’s maiden name for his everyday Christian name and not simply, “Ralph”. Not that it matters?
Thank you for the detail John. I had made a mistake spelling Nevill Bamber’s name.
It used to be common practice for sons to have their mothers maiden name as a christian name.
Just read the book. I agree with other comments that the evidence against Jeremy at the time is not very definite and certain. It seems mostly based on other peoples say so such as his jilted girlfriend and cousin who stood to gain from getting him out of the way. This is not to say i think he is innocent, just that i think more concrete evidence is needed before finding someone guilty and locking then up for such a long time. I also wonder why on earth he put the gun silencer back in the cupboard for people to find, instead of taking it and disposing of it. This seems a highly stupid mistake.
He had to put the silencer back — Sheila couldn’t have disposed of it when she was dead…
I do not believe that either Jeremy or Sheila killed them all, nor do I believe that Sheila killed herself. I think Jeremy was framed for the murder of his parents, the boys and Sheila, by a relative. Sheila’s mental health issues were always going to be used against her and provided the perfect ruse for the murders. I think there were many relatives of Nevill and June who were jealous of Sheila and Jeremy and the fact that they stood to inherit everything if anything ever happened to Nevill and June. The relatives still live at White House Farm, most of us could not live in a house if our relatives had been brutally murdered within it.
One massive problem though. If JB did kill everyone, how exactly did he manage to kill Sheila? it’s inconceivable that he killed her BEFORE the rampage (in the bedroom and next to the their sleeping parents who didn’t wake!) or that he killed her AFTER, when Sheila, as the lone survivor and after witnessing the slaughter of her family calmly followed JB’s instructions to lie down so that he could aim the gun under her chin and shoot her (twice!) without any resistance or struggle. No she wasn’t drugged or had alcohol as the toxicology tests confirm before anyone asks.
If JB did do it then he’s a criminal mastermind because he left not one shred of forensic evidence, was able to secure the whole house from the inside and make his escape without a single person seeing him. Yet despite this apparent meticulous planning and execution he put the silencer in a box in the cupboard and left!. Not stuck it in his pocket and chucked it in the sea on his escape route back home and yet that was the ‘evidence’ that convicted him.
There is still serious, serious doubt in the conviction of JB
Another massive problem is how on earth did Nevill Bamber manage to make two telephone calls during all the mayhem – one to 999 and the other to JB – allegedly? In 1985 no one had speed dial and the phone in the kitchen was the old type rotary dial and that had been moved from the main bedroom. Apparently they didn’t like using the ivory coloured Statesman push-button phone. There was another phone in the office mainly used by Nevill’s secretary, Barbara Wilson but he still had to get to that phone to make the calls.
It would probably be known by farm workers that there was a silencer to the gun! Lack of forensics was due to the fact that DCI Jones decided quickly that it was murder suicide and allowed the crime scene to be quickly contaminated.
The silencer wasn’t used. It’s a fact . It is no longer in the evidence . There was a test done on pigs skin . It was determined after a shot was fire with and without the silencer. Fact.
Some interesting points here. The rifle was already loaded I believe, so there would have been 2 reloads required. There were 28 shots fired according to casing maps, 3 were wild of target . I have not been able to find any details of fingerprints or dna on the casings. If they were clean of fingerprints, then sheila did not commit the murders. Who ever loaded the rifle first, would have left their prints on the magazine and cartridges. second reload would also have prints and dna on it If sheila had carried on killing and reloading the rifle, her prints. maybe smudges, would be on them. If no traces were found on the bullet casings then sheila did not use that rifle. As you say, 3 cleaned fully loaded mags were brought to the site. That I do not have a problem believing . What else bothers me is the so called fresh blood on her neck. Smoking cannabis, and taking herpidol would have thinned the blood, so she could have died earlier but thin blood would take longer to congeal. Would appreciate any advice .
I agree with a lot of the comments, major problems with evidence seemingly so weak even in 1985/86 and didn’t two jurors find him innocent. Overall I’m sure gamers would say on a scale of one to ten for JB to pull this crime off its probably 8/10 degree of difficulty.
Why leave the silencer behind? Why confide in girlfriend about plan? Why say you received a call from father? Surely you wouldn’t create all these additional risks. I did wonder why JB’s defence team didn’t contact a BT engineer at the time. Maybe someone who’d know inner workings of BT in 1985/86 with info which wouldn’t show up on a bill maybe even.
One comment above leads to a type of link to 2002 high court appeal judges decision. You start so see how complicated matters have become with over 500 paragraphs of reasons. I think the CCRC referred that on sisters blood DNA found in silencer. Its one of those cases whereby you’d think once DNA came out JB would be cleared.
Disgraceful really, I’m sure I’ve read stories of other people in prison and requesting access to prosecution blood samples for DNA testing to clear their name. Yet the police won’t allow them access to that evidence.
One comment about bullet casings? and sisters forensics on them? Were there bullet casings? and don’t forget the scene was treated as a murder suicide for first six weeks? Yet apparently even at original trial experts gave evidence as if nothing were contaminated.
I don’t understand why the supposed telephone call from Nevill Bamber to Jeremy was not traced and flagged up with British Telecom! What on earth were Essex Police thinking? It seems ludicrous that nobody bothered to check basic facts back then.
At turn of 80’s heard a story, person went to west coast America. Phoning home cost about $5 for 10 minutes. This person went into hotel lobby found $5 in phone, so as you do in UK ‘in pocket’. Then uses same phone kiosk to phone home at $5. At end of call the same $5 of coins fall straight through phone for collection. So as you do in UK ‘in pocket’. So gets not only a free call but also an additional $5.
Obviously in America they have different perceptions to this type of situation than UK which would be unknown at the time to this person.
Back in UK about 3 to 4 months later, evening time, this person gets a call. Its obviously long distance by the delay speaking. Women with American accent from some telecommunications company west coast seeking $5. Stating number dialled details of call made from kiost months earlier.
Moral to this story? Be careful when on holiday abroad or have good excuse ready to avoid paying the $5? Yes but….No…
This was turn of 1980’s APPROX 5 YEARS before the JB events. Did I read the phones at the farm were under maintenance at time of events? So the family were getting free calls? and no details of outgoing calls were being registered within BT?
The phone at the cottage where JB was staying wasn’t under maintenance….
Agree with the above…if having a wager I’d say calls would have ‘flagged up’
The phone at the farm was off the hook meaning Jeremy would not have been able to ring out from his own phone!
That’s a good point, I remember phones working like that back in 1980’s too if somebody didn’t replace their receiver back properly. If closer scrutiny does it suggest by JB being able to phone out that the father made call to police after phoning JB….
What’s your view on the silencer being used? The above doesn’t really mention it in detail but it is clear to me you have excellent knowledge of guns so would be curious as to your views.
– do you think it was used?
– if yes then why was Jeremy so slack with the cleansing of it? And how did the burn marks get on NB back?
– if no then how did it get blood inside it? And why was it used in the trial?
This was an excellent blog, especially around the route taken and the magazine being carried. I have always believed he had a belt on him as walking up and downstairs to reload just doesn’t seem logical. There are also pro Bamber supporters screaming about the bike being impossible to be used but you have just proven it could be , perfectly.
Thanks for taking the time to do this and helping join some more dots.
Thank you for your comments and questions. Yes, I am sure Bamber used the moderator. We have to remember that despite committing this dreadful crime he hadn’t done it before. He considered that using the moderator would allow him to carry out the killings in the separate bedrooms with reduced sound disturbance. He perhaps feared the thought of his family, including the two boys up and moving around. He surmised quite correctly that Sheila Caffell could not reach the rifle trigger when he placed the weapon on her but he’d overlooked this. Small panic; he removed it, cleaned any blood off the muzzle but didn’t consider any possibility of blood entering the internal baffles. He probably thought of taking it with him and disposing of it, that would have been easy but then thought that could incriminate him. The moderator was part of the licence condition. He put it back in the cupboard. Having extra magazines was just a theory of mine, we will never know. You don’t need a licence to buy magazines. The circular marks on Nevill Bamber’s back; they matched the circumference of the rifle muzzle but they were a bit of a mystery because they appeared like burns. Injuries the poor man received as a result of a beating as well as being shot to death.
Silencer or not (and I strongly believe not), how did he shoot her (twice!) under the chin? It’s inconceivable.
Tony, thank you for your comment. With respect, unless you have ever witnessed somebody threatened with a firearm and discovered how willing they are to conform, you will never know.
It is a common trait of this human race to form an opinion based on heresay. Most of which you seem to relish in. A couple of questions… 1: Why would Jeremy, if his intention was to kill all his immediate family, use a virtual pea-shooter instead of using a shotgun. Nevill Bamber was reputed to be fit and therefore the biggest danger to his killer, so surely he should have been the killers first target. 2: Why did the armed squad take so long to enter the farmhouse. 3: Why did the armed officers logbooks show that there were two bodies seen through the kitchen door window, one male and one female near the kitchen door. 4: Why didn’t these same officers ascertain as to whether Sheila was dead. 5: Why was there four ambulances called to the scene.6: Why did the police not produce ALL the evidence in court. You don’t need to answer that.. They did this because the first phone call to the police was from Nevill Bamber at 03.26 a full ten minutes before Jeremy called at 03.36.
An old saying that was said to me over 65 years ago, Believe half of what you see and nothing of what you hear!!!
Hi Eddie. I’ll try and answer point number 1. In all my years handling, using and coaching with .22 rifles I didn’t realise they were virtual pea-shooters. That’s a bit of hearsay I obviously missed.
Why people keep talking about a silencer instead of a moderator is unclear it is not like a silencer you see in films it changes the high frequency sound that animals hear, but makes very little difference to the human hearing of a 22 rifle shot.
An example of a similar 10 shot rifle being fired with and without a moderator is available on youtube.
https://youtu.be/YeY031-HElg
I have difficulty understanding how Sheila could have reloaded and extra magazines would make sense which would point to Jeremy.
The fresh blood would point to Sheila so there are points for and against either.
Some things are difficult to understand such as Nevill phoning the police mentioning Sheila and a gun which only came to light after the trial.
Also how the photographs taken at the time showed no scratches on the fireplace but later did.
I do not know who did it but think the police should not withhold evidence and on balance I am not convinced beyond reasonable doubt either did it, so I think a retrial with all evidence presented should be carried out as soon as possible.
I agree about the retrial and the Police withholding the documents relating to the murders. Those documents should be presented to Jeremy Bamber’s legal team.
Unless you know about gun terminology, most of us would say the word “silencer” as we would not know the difference.
I am glad that other people can look at the evidence without having a bias one way or the other.
There is far too much evidence from the police themselves which is not conjecture, that literally does not add up.
For example they recorded 2 people downstairs which could have been a mistake and if they had then recorded 4 people upstairs I would be more convinced it was recording mistake, but they did not they recorded 3 people upstairs which reinforces the recording of 2 downstairs.
I find it hard to believe experienced police and firearms officers would find it so hard to count 5 bodies accurately. There are far too many items that are not simple to explain so a retrial should now happen with all the evidence presented, none of us can say with certainty what happened which is in itself a problem and I do not see how anyone can be convinced of guilt or innocence without reasonable doubt.
The police did not make any errors regarding the number of bodies. PC Collins at first reported sight of a woman’s body that he could see through the window before the police team entered. This was the slumped body of Nevill Bamber. On entry Collins rectified his mistake.
What about the 3 bodies recorded upstairs?
There were 4 bodies recorded upstairs.
The original police log at the time said a further 3 bodies found, later it said 4.
This blog is very bias and opinions not based on any fact. You have no understanding of the out of date old judicial system JB has and is still dealing with including appeals. In fact I reckon you wouldn’t last 5 minutes, one week in his situation. Which makes your blog even more insensitive. There will be some idiots/scum inside who will view him as a child abuser/killer because of the official conviction. A brave person indeed and let’s all hope he gets out of that undignified hostage type situation soon.
Thanks for your comments. I would very interested to read your analysis of what happened. This should not be biased or insensitive but based on fact.
I could go through the whole lot on a factual basis. Most comments above cover those matters very well already though.
I would say on one major point alone the court standards have dropped to a level nobody should accept. That point being contaminated evidence, it’s a very sad day when people can be locked up for so long on evidence of that sort.
The gun silencer alone was not only contaminated by various people handling it but by people who could have deliberately contaminated it.
Arguments should be made before a trial to not allow the type of evidence in question and any court with an ounce of decency should be agreeable as a formality.
With reference to Chris’s post on the 21st Feb and in particular to his inclusion of a link to a Youtube clip showing a .22 semi-auto being used with and without a moderator there is an important point to be noted. The gentleman conducting the test firing in the video clip is using supersonic ammunition which will negate the effect of the moderator which can only dampen the muzzle report and not the sound of the round travelling through the air. For those reading this not familiar with firearms, that is why subsonic rounds are generally used with this type of weapon when noise is likely to be an issue. Travelling at less than the speed of sound there is no “crack” as the subsonic round moves through the air. Using a .22LR semi-auto rifle (a Ruger 10/22 – not the Anschutz 525 which was used in the killings but a very similar type of weapon) with subsonic rounds and a moderator I can confirm the major noise source when firing the weapon is that of the rifle’s action “clacking” back and forth as it ejects the spent round and delivers the next into the breech. While this may seem trivial information I think the salient point is that anyone watching the aforementioned Youtube clip may otherwise conclude that with or without a moderator the noise output from this type of weapon is very similar; with subsonic ammunition that is not the case. Incidentally my understanding is that Eley subsonic ammunition was used to commit the murders.
Thank you for your well constructed comments Ade, it is a pleasure to read narrative about firearms that is clearly understood by the author. It was apparently Eley subsonic that was used to commit the murders and that makes perfect sense. It was ammunition bought to shoot rabbits in conjunction with a sound moderator for all the reasons you have explained. I consider our murderous intruder considered the attachment of the moderator as perhaps an advantage, he thinking it would have been a little less noise alarming and thus giving him time to swiftly execute his victims before they could react. In reality it was a rather crude shock and awe tactic and it didn’t work. It is of course debatable as to whether it frankly made any difference at all once the shooting started. In such a confined space each shot report combined with the “clanking” working parts would have been clearly heard. It’s not the dull “phut” sound you hear in the movies folks!
The appeal court judgement is online and is an excoriating dissection of most if not all of the issues raised to exonerate Bamber. It is objective and detailed unlike so much of what is now being said. His supporters rely on ridiculous interpretations of actions and events and cite these as facts. It was Jeremy who created the binary option of it was ‘her or me’, it was him who rang his girlfriend and woke her 2 flat mates a full 20 minutes before he rang the police, or full 30 minutes if you believe the conspiracy theorists who say Nevill called the police first. He was an angry and frustrated young man, she was a fragile and disturbed young woman. Not only were her fingernails not broken, they were found to have nail varnish showing only minor wearing; just impossible in the circumstances of 3 magazine loadings and a ‘fist fight’ with her 6’4” father. As for why she sat down ‘to be shot’ none of us can know whether she passed out or what she was told – ‘sit down and I’ll bring the boys in’? What is incontrovertible is that it was only theoretically possible that she was conscious and mobile after the first shot from a short distance, there is no evidence she was, but having used weapons, it is much more likely the impact from the first shot through her throat would have made her unconscious and she would have slowly bled to death, the second shot, a contact shot, was to expedite her death.
All three adult victims had fight / defence wounds which were in some cases completely concealed from the jury, or the jury were misled regarding the nature of the wounds. By contrast, the man in prison had no fight / defence wounds. Although they were up against a high level of subterfuge on the part of the prosecution, its fair to say that the defence did a poor job. This, along with forced, drip fed disclosure on the part of the authorities has hampered Mr Bamber’s appeals. Ballistics experts in UK and USA do not believe a silencer was used in the shootings. This raises the spectre of deliberate contamination of the main prosecution exhibit. The appeal system is not designed to facilitate the opening up of such a can of worms – because to do so would impugn the integrity of previous enquires made by the authorities in to the case.
If JB did it he would’ve killed Bambi first. He could not risk her waking and shouting and obviously becoming hysterical. With regard to the lack of forensic most or all of it was disposed of by JB himself. Citing Bambi’s lack of experience with guns doesn’t rule her out either. Bambi being shot the way she was can’t be easily explained. If it was JB, how did he achieve that. As I say I think he would’ve shot her first, may be as he was creeping up the stairs he heard Nevill starting to get out of bed, then he had to take on Nevill first. It’s all a matter of opinion due to the lack of any real conclusive evidence. But the dead can’t defend themselves. If it was JB he made it easy for the police to suspect him. Hardly a criminal mastermind telling a girlfriend his intentions, then wafting around as if he had won the pools. The plot was straight out of a penny dredful novel, or a bad episode of Columbo. Just so very sad that two innocent children were killed..probably never know for sure who the killer was..unless JB comes clean on his death bed.
May I confirm What Ade said regarding subsonic .22 rounds. i also use a Ruger 10/22 rifle. The sub sonic rounds are about as loud as an air gun when used with a silencer. supersonic rounds in a house would make a very loud CRACK and the silencer would be useless.
A .22 round is totally inappropriate for shooting humans and no doubt caused slow and agonising death in some of the victims. Indeed it is illegal to use a .22 to shoot foxes for that reason.
Using a shotgun would certainly have been more humane but would have made a great deal of noise both inside and outside the house causing mayhem amongst the occupents and risking exposure . the gun would also have to be reloaded every 2 shots.
I am a farmer and have used guns all my life. It took me some time to work out how to replace a magazine using the gun manual. The idea that an inexperienced person could do this and reload without even scratching her nails is ridiculous
How hot would the end of the rifle get having let off those rounds? I’ve seen suggestions Nevill was burnt multiple times.
If that was the case the gun would have to stay hot or have been heated on the hob – not a spur of the moment thing a cold blooded killer working to a timeline would do, but something a person in a psychotic episode might do with time on her hands.
With the silencer on it would not have got nearly hot enough to burn flesh so I dont know where the burns came from
If we start from the begining. If the daughter had started shooting in the house the dad would have called the police first also he would have said your sister has shot me not your sister is going crazy and has a gun. If he was not shot he would not be calling instead he would be hands on on his daughter stopping her.
In regards to getting his sister to lie down its not complicated at all.
Jeremy drives to his parents sneaks into the house and shoots dad first then mum maybe following dad down to shoot him downstairs he then makes his sister tell the boys to stay in bed and instructs her to lie down or else he will harm the kids. she does so but probably flinches slightly when the gun touches her putting the first shot off he then shots her again to be sure. goes to the boys room and shoots them both. He cant throw the silencer because then he will look like the suspect.
I agree its near impossible for someone with nails to reload that quick so the magazine spares make sense.
he tried to sell his dead sister pics went on a spending spree and his gf said he did it? Why would she make the effort to lie about it.
getting home by bicycle would be easy and he wouldnt be noticed.
He called himself from the house and left it ringing. he then rode home by which time the call had ended but the phone was still off the hook hence why when the police called the house the line was still open.
If his dad had called him then when he tried to call the police and his gf he would not have been able to and would have said this to the police. So its impossible that his dad called him therefore he is 100% guilty
That said if his sister was the one shooting she could have cut the call with the same result however why would the scope and the silencer be removed from a hunting rifle why would he behave as he did and why would his gf say he addmitted it. Its far more likely he did it for greed than his sister shot her whole family and kids for nothing
It was not premeditated murder. If you have ever had to pin down a person with mental health issue who does extraoidinry things with strength you would not believe and probably doesn’t even know why they did it , then your narrative of planning the event is wrong. How many mentally ill people have killed since . Not her fault She was undermedicated and in my opinion in a state of Mixodemic madness .
Julia, I fully understand your comments about mental health but I fail to see how she did it and I have explained the reasons.
Julie Mugford is dismissed as merely ‘a woman scorned’ but she wisely knew that she would have been next victim on JB’s ‘kick the bucket’ list and had no choice other than to spill the beans. This is also why she was put under witness’ protection. JB told her what he planned because he was so delighted by the brilliance of his own plan and what a great fellow it made him appear. JB can only benefit by pleading innocence because in prison a killer of two little lads has to watch his back.
This is such a great write up and a perfect contradiction to the JBIC podcast that I’m currently listening to.
I have a few queries. The bike he’s believed to have used belonging to him mother. Was he known to use his mum’s bike? Where was the bike found? At Jeremy’s home?
And I’ve also heard somewhere that Jeremy was somewhat known for fast driving in his Vauxhall and this is why it was so surprising to see him dawdling along in his car when in reality a person who’d just received this news would be hurtling along.
I don’t know if his conviction is entirely safe though – would he not be blood stained?
Would appreciate thoughts
The bike issue seems to relate to JB having to get back to his cottage quickly….it seems to misguide matters when somebody first reads up on this case and probably misguided the original jury too. What would be the hurry? surely a pathologist? wouldn’t be able to give precise times of family deaths to within minutes.
The car driving speed issue? assume didn’t want to arrive before police maybe arrive simultaneously and sounds reasonable.
Seems strange to apparently make up call from his father. As you state rushing back up farm and may have blood stain or something on him.
Hope this assists….
Appreciate the recommendation. Will try it out.