INNOCENT - Fighting miscarriages of justice back to INNOCENT main page Jeremy Bamber Lawyer Giovanni di Stefano claims Essex police failed to disclose evidence: article in Daily Mirror by Don Mackay And Geoffrey Lakeman, 28 October 2006 Bamber in new bid to clear name  3 August 2005 Bamber lauches third appeal Roddy Ashworth, East Anglia Daily Times, 3 August 2005 Jeremy Bamber's web site Articles reprinted here: Bamber appeal rejected - Guardian 12 December 2002 Bamber loses appeal over murder convictions - Guardian 13 Dec 2002 Multiple murderer given date for second appeal - Independent 4 July 2002 Four-month inquiry into killings - BBC News 30 July 2001 Police reinvestigate multiple murderer - BBC News 30 July 2001 'Evil' family killer granted appeal - Guardian 13 March 2001 15 years for the murder of his family. But was he guilty? - Independent 13 March 2001 Murder most foul, but did he do it? - The Times 18 March 2001 See also:Trialand Error: The Case of Jeremy Bamber by Scott Lomax 12 December 2002 Bamber appeal rejectedJeremy Bamber, jailed for life in 1986 for the murdersof five members of his family, today had his latest appeal rejected.The court of appeal judges, who reviewed his caserecently during a 12-day hearing, ruled that his convictions were "safe".Lord Justice Kay, reading a summary of the ruling in the packed courtroom,said: "We have concluded that there was no conduct on the part of the policeor the prosecution which would have adversely affected the jury's verdict."Bamber, 41, who was not present in the courtroomas Mr Kay, Mr Justice Wright and Mr Justice Henriques gave their decision,had been told of the ruling in advance and broke the news on his website,jeremybamber.com, yesterday.A message on the site, signed "Jeremy", stated: "LatestNews: It is with regret that I have to inform you that my recent appealhas been denied."Lord Justice Kay said that for a number of reasonsthe court had concluded "that the jury's verdicts were safe". He pointedout that it was not the function of the court to decide whether or notthe appellant committed the murders. The judge said: "We do not doubt thesafety of the verdicts and we have recorded in our judgment the fact thatthe more we examined the detail of the case, the more likely we thoughtit to be that the jury were right, although as explained we can never gofurther than that."Bamber, now 41, was convicted for the murder of hismother, father, sister and her twin six-year-old sons. He has continuedto protest his innocence after being convicted at Chelmsford crown courtin 1986.His website states: "I was wrongly convicted of murderingfive members of my family and I've been in jail for nearly 16 years."I have protested my innocence through all the usualchannels and tried hard to find a successful path to the appeal courts."The court of appeal has turned my appeal down, Itherefore feel it important that the evidence is made available to thepublic so that they can make up their own minds on this matter."Contained in the following pages is proof of myinnocence, backed up by documentation that was not available for me touse at my original trial."I am innocent and the following facts speak forthemselves."The website contains pages of evidence from the appeal.The initial message ends: "Stay in touch, Jeremy".His case was referred back to the court of appealby the criminal cases review commission, which investigates possible miscarriagesof justice.Bamber's mother June, 61, and his nephews Nicholasand Daniel were shot dead in their beds at White House Farm in TolleshuntD'Arcy, Essex, in the early hours of August 7, 1985.His father Nevill, 61, was found slumped downstairs,while his sister Sheila Caffell, 27, a model nicknamed "Bambi", was foundby her parents' bed.Bamber had alerted police in the early hours of August7 saying that his father had telephoned him to say his sister had gonecrazy with a gun.Detectives initially suspected that Sheila, who hadnot been taking her medication for schizophrenia, had murdered her parentsand sons before turning the gun on herself.But three days after the shootings, a cousin of Bamber'sdiscovered a silencer in a cupboard at the farm, apparently with Sheila'sblood on it, casting doubt on the theory.Four weeks later Bamber's then girlfriend Julie Mugfordwent to police and claimed he had often bragged to her that he was goingto kill his parents.Bamber, who stood to inherit almost £500,000from his parents' estate, was arrested when he returned from a holidayin France.But he claims the prosecution case against him wasbuilt on a "series of deceits" by police.Defence counsel, Michael Turner QC, told the judgesduring the hearing that there had been "many compelling points" in hisfavour at trial supporting his case that he did not "assassinate" his entireadoptive family, but that they were killed by his sister before she committedsuicide.It was also argued that evidence was "deliberatelywithheld so as to unfairly bolster the prosecution's case and secure aconviction".But Victor Temple QC, opposing the appeal, told thejudges that the Crown's principal submission was "that there has been noevidence placed before your lordships to enable this court to doubt thesafety of these convictions".Mr Temple told the judges: "At the end of the daynought plus nought equals nought and if that is right ... these convictionsfor murder remain safe and we would invite you to uphold these convictions."Bamber's first appeal attempt was rejected in 1989.13 December 2002Bamber loses appealover murder convictionsMan who killed five members of hisadoptive family will remain in prison for life after judges dismiss caseBy Sarah HallJeremy Bamber is to remain in prison for life afterthree court of appeal judges yesterday dismissed his bid for freedom andstressed they had no doubt about the safety of his original conviction.The killer, described by the judge at his 1986 trialas "evil almost beyond belief", had argued there were 15 grounds for appealingagainst his conviction for the murders of five members of his adoptivefamily - including new scientific evidence.But Lord Justice Kay, sitting with Mr Justice Wrightand Mr Justice Henriques, threw out each of these in a 522-point judgment,and went as far as they could in stressing his guilt. "We do not doubtthe safety of the verdicts and we have recorded in our judgment the factthat the more we examined the detail of the case the more likely we thoughtit to be that the jury were right", they said in a summary at the courtof appeal, in London.The ruling - at which Bamber did not appear - wasgreeted with relief by the remaining members of his family, including hiscousins Anne Eaton and David Boutflour.In a statement read out by Anne's husband Peter,who still lives at the scene of the murders, in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex,they questioned why the criminal cases review commission (CCRC), whichexamines possible miscarriages of justice, had permitted the appeal, andadded: "We hope the younger generation of our family are allowed to livefree from the intrusions we have had to endure."Essex police - who Bamber accused of employing "aseries of deceits" to frame him - also expressed relief at being exoneratednot only by a 14-month inquiry by Scotland Yard's murder review group,but by the judgment which found "there was no conduct on the part of thepolice or the prosecution which would have adversely affected the jury'sverdict"."It's unfortunate that many of the points in thisappeal have questioned the honesty and integrity of witnesses and long-standingserving and retired officers," said a spokesman.But, on his website, Bamber, one of 19 prisoners- including Rose West - for whom life really means life, continued to protesthis innocence. "Let no one doubt that in years to come justice will beachieved and my conviction will be quashed." No further appeal would bepossible, however, unless fresh evidence was brought.Bamber, serving his sentence at Whitemoor prison,Cambridgeshire, was convicted in 1986 of killing his adoptive father Nevilland mother June, both 61, his sister Sheila Caffell, 27, and her six-year-oldtwin sons Nicholas and Daniel, to secure the family inheritance.He has always maintained that Caffell, who had schizophrenia,had killed the family before committing suicide, but her innocence - andBamber's guilt - was assured when her blood was found inside a gun silencer.Bamber lost one appeal in 1989, but succeeded inbringing this one after the CCRC ruled the court of appeal should addressfresh evidence that pointed to DNA belonging to June Bamber - not Sheila- being found in the silencer.Yet, when forensic scientists began to examine theinside of the silencer still further, they found DNA which appeared tobe Sheila's, so flooring Bamber's argument.Yesterday, Lord Justice Kay stressed that, whileit was right the CCRC had referred the case, the blood evidence used inthe original trial still stood.Bamber's 14 other grounds - including the claim thatpolice officers were deceitful; that Julie Mugford, the ex-girlfriend whotold police he had boasted of committing the perfect crime had been motivatedby selling her story to the News of the World for £25,000; and thata cousin who gave evidence may have been swayed by hopes of inheritance- were also all dismissed by the court.Glamour, intrigue and horrorIt was the murder trial that electrified the 1980swith its sensational combination of money, glamour, family intrigue, andhorror.In the early hours of August 7 1985, Jeremy Bamber,an angelic-looking wastrel son, crept into his adoptive parents' farmhousein Essex, and massacred them, his sister, 27, and her six-year-old twinsons in order to inherit the family's £436,000 farming fortune.He almost got away with it, by placing his schizophrenicsister Sheila Caffell's fingers around the .22 rifle that fired 25 shots- to suggest she assassinated the family before committing suicide - ascenario originally accepted by the investigating officers from Essex police.Three days later, Bamber's cousins discovered a silencercontaining Sheila's blood in the farmhouse's gun cupboard which made sucha scenario impossible.For if Sheila had shot herself, there was no waythat she could have replaced the silencer after doing so and then run backupstairs to the spot where her body was found.The testimony of Bamber's then-girlfriend and thecombined evidence proved persuasive at Chelmsford crown court where, afteran 18-day trial in October 1986, Bamber, then 25, was convicted by a 10-2majority verdict, with the trial judge, Mr Justice Drake, informing himhe was "evil almost beyond belief." 4 July 2002Multiple murderer givendate for second appealNew DNA evidence could free man convictedin 1986 of killing his adoptive family and blaming his sister for the crimeBy Robert Verkaik Legal Affairs CorrespondentJeremy Bamber, sentenced to life for murdering fivemembers of the family that had adopted him, could be free by the end ofthe year after the Court of Appeal confirmed yesterday that it would hearhis case in three months.Bamber, 40, who was described as "warped and evilbeyond belief" by his trial judge, has always protested his innocence ofthe killings at the family farm in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, 17 years ago.He was convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court in October, 1986.The six-week appeal, which starts on 14 October,is expected to focus on DNA evidence from blood on the silencer of themurder weapon, a .22 rifle. Bamber's legal team has had the blood subjectedto tests, using DNA-related techniques not available at the time of theoriginal investigation. These tests raise the prospect that the blood couldhave come from his adoptive parents Neville and June Bamber.The trial jury had been told that June, 61, and six-year-oldnephews Nicholas and Daniel were shot dead in their beds. His father, Neville,was found slumped downstairs, and his sister Sheila Caffell, a model nicknamedBambi, was found by her parents' bed.Detectives at first accepted Bamber's claim thatMs Caffell, who had not been taking her medication for mild schizophrenia,had used the rifle, kept for rabbits, and shot her parents and her twochildren, then killed herself. Ms Caffell was found by her parents' bed,her fingers curled round the stock of the rifle after Bamber telephonedChelmsford police and said his sister had "gone crazy" with a gun.The case appeared to be resolved as a straightforwardmurder and suicide until Julie Mugford, Bamber's girlfriend, told policehe had frequently bragged about how he was going to kill his parents tocollect a £436,000 inheritance. In court, she said Bamber had talkedabout sedating his parents and burning the farm. She claimed he changedthe plan to hiring an assassin.Three days after the shootings, Bamber's cousin DavidBoutflour and his wife Anne, of Wix, Essex, discovered the silencer, allegedlywith traces of Sheila's blood on it, and police began to formulate a caseagainst him. Nine weeks after the murder, Bamber was arrested after hereturned from a holiday in France.At his trial, a doctor, giving expert medical testimony,said it was impossible that Sheila could have returned the silencer tothe cupboard, given the injuries she had suffered after the first shot.Scientific evidence showed no traces of gun oil onSheila's nightdress, though 25 shots were fired and the rifle had beenreloaded two or three time. The prosecution also questioned whether Sheilawould have had the strength to batter Bamber's 6ft 4in father to death.Bamber's first appeal was dismissed in 1989, butlast year the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the case to theCourt of Appeal again. He has always maintained his innocence.Cases pending in the court of appealJeffrey Foster, from Knutsford, Cheshire,was sentenced to life in prison in 1986 after being convicted of robbingand murdering a 74-year-old pools collector. Although he was of low intelligencethere was no appropriate adult present at police interviews. His appealis to be heard on Monday.Barry George was convicted of shooting theTV presenter Jill Dando outside her home inLondon in April 1999. His appealwill be heard on 17 July. Lawyers, led by Michael Mansfield QC, will arguethat the original trial judge should not have allowed certain identificationevidence to be put before the jury.Russell Causley, an insurance broker, wasconvicted at Winchester Crown Court in 1996 of killing his wife, CarolPackman, 11 years earlier. Mrs Packman's body was never found, but yearsafterwards Causley faked his own death and claimed the life insurance.Confessions about the murder he allegedly made to prisoners while on remandfor the insurance fraud are to form the basis of his appeal.Harry MacKenney and Terry Pinfold were foundguilty of murdering Terence Eve, which the prosecution said was part ofa plan to take over Eve's toys business. They tried to get rid of the bodyby putting it in an industrial mincer. Both were convicted in 1980. Questionsremain about reliability of one of the prosecution witnesses.MichaelShirley, a Royal Navy able seaman, was convicted in 1988 of rapingand killing Linda Cooke in Portsmouth while on leave. The jury was toldthat she was stamped to death. Evidence about one of shoe prints foundon her body is to be contested by the defence. Referred to the Court ofAppeal on 20 April 2001.David Cooper andMichael McMahon were accused of shooting a sub-postmaster duringa robbery in Luton in 1969 and convicted the following year. The case hasbeen referred to the Court of Appeal four times: in 1971, 1975, 1976, and1978. In July 1980 the two men were released by the Home Secretary becauseof a "sense of unease" about police evidence but the convictions stood.Both have since died.Ruth Ellis was the last woman to be hangedin the UK after being convicted of shooting her lover, David Blakely. Sinceher execution on 13 July 1955 the law of provocation has changed. If shewas sent for trial now the prosecution may have accepted a plea of diminishedresponsibility. The case was referred to the Court of Appeal on 21 February.Alfie Bain from Grenada, West Indies, wasconvicted of killing a prostitute in 1970. After his release he went backto the West Indies. He tried to clear his name but he died last year afterhis case was referred to the Court of Appeal. 30 July 2001Four-month inquiryinto Bamber killingsA team of police officers has been given four monthsto complete fresh inquiries into the case of Jeremy Bamber, who was convictedof killing five members of his family.Bamber, 39, was jailed for life in 1986 for murderinghis mother, father, sister and twin nephews at the family farmhouse inTolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex.Three appeal judges heard on Monday that the policeteam was being selected and its work would begin later this week.Bamber's mother June, and six-year-old nephews Nicholasand Daniel were shot dead in their beds at White House Farm in August 1985.His father, Neville, was found slumped downstairs,while his sister Sheila Caffell, was found by her parents' bed.Family inheritanceBamber's fingerprints were found on a gun that wasused in the murder and his former girlfriend, Julie Mugford, told policehow he plotted to murder his parents to get his £500,000 inheritance.At a preliminary directions hearing in London, appealjudge Lord Justice Rose, sitting with Mr Justice Bell and Mr Justice StanleyBurnton, approved a timetable agreed between prosecution and defence forthe disclosure of the mass of material required in the appeal hearing.Lord Justice Rose said the prosecution, with theaid of the police investigation team, would "set out its stance" on thenew DNA evidence by 1 October.All material emanating from inquiries conducted byEssex Police in 1986 and City of London Police in 1991 into the handlingof the murder investigation would be disclosed to Bamber's defence lawyersby December 1, together with any material not disclosed at the originaltrial.The Crown said it was "treating the matter as oneof priority".It agreed to disclose to the defence original laboratorysubmission forms, in particular those relating to hand swabs taken fromSheila Caffell.Details would also be provided about the destructionof blood-based exhibits in February 1996.The Court of Appeal will re-examine the case nextyear.The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) saidit had referred the conviction to the appeal court after considering theevidence against Bamber.An earlier application for leave to appeal againstconviction was refused by the Court of Appeal in 1989.30 July 2001Police reinvestigatemultiple murdererA police investigation team is to begin fresh inquiriesinto the case of multiple murderer Jeremy Bamber.Bamber was jailed for life in 1986 for shooting deadhis mother, father, sister and twin nephews at the family farmhouse inTolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex.He has always maintained his innocence and forensicscientists have reportedly uncovered crucial DNA evidence about blood onthe silencer of the gun used in the massacre.His case was referred back to the Court of Appealby the Criminal Cases Review Commission after his first application forleave to appeal was refused in 1989.Lord Justice Rose, sitting with Mr Justice Bell andMr Justice Stanley Burnton, said the prosecution, aided by the police investigationteam, would "set out its stance" on the DNA evidence by 1 October.The appeal judges heard that the team was still beingselected and would start work on Wednesday.Bamber's mother June, 61, and nephews Nicholas andDaniel, both six, were slaughtered in their beds at White House Farm inAugust 1985.His father, Neville, was discovered slumped downstairs.Mild schizophreniaAnd his sister, model Sheila "Bambi" Caffell, wasfound by her parents' bed.Detectives suspected Miss Caffell, who suffered frommild schizophrenia and had not been taking her medication, had murderedher parents and sons then shot herself.But nine weeks later they arrested Bamber when hereturned from holiday in France.His fingerprints were found on the murder weapon.And the 39-year-old's former girlfriend, Julie Mugford,told police he had planned to murder his parents for his £500,000inheritance.The Crown agreed to disclose to the defence originallaboratory submission forms, including those relating to hand swabs takenfrom Sheila Caffell, and details about the destruction of blood-based exhibitsin February 1996.13 March 2001'Evil' family killergranted appealBamber relies on 'forensic issue' tooverturn 1986 convictionBy Steven MorrisThe case of Jeremy Bamber, one of the most notoriouskillers of the last 20 years, is being referred to the court of appeal,it emerged last night.Bamber was convicted of shooting dead five membersof his wealthy family, including six-year-old twins, at their Essex farmhousein 1985.The trial judge described Bamber as having a "warped,callous and evil mind" and characterised his conduct as "evil beyond belief".He became one of a handful of prisoners in Britain who have been told theywill spend the rest of their lives behind bars.However, there have long been doubts about the safetyof his conviction. Experts from the criminal cases review commission, whichinvestigates suspected miscarriages of justice, have been examining thecase for several months and have now decided it should go to the appealcourt.Bamber was convicted of shooting his adoptive parentsat their home in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, his sister, Sheila Caffell, and hertwin sons. The prosecution alleged he murdered them to inherit a £500,000family fortune.But Bamber claimed Mrs Caffell, who had a historyof mental illness, killed the family and turned the gun, a .22 semi-automaticrifle, on herself.On a website set up on Bamber's behalf, he says thesubmission to the commission would focus on a "narrow forensic issue" butdoes not give details.It is understood the appeal could centre on tracesof blood found in a silencer believed to have been used in the killings.The prosecution suggested the blood was Mrs Caffell's and could not haveentered the silencer had she killed herself.It is believed that forensics experts consulted bythose acting for Bamber may have cast doubt on this theory. The way thetests on the blood were carried out could have resulted in errors.Bamber, 39, claims on the website: "I was wronglyconvicted in 1986 of murdering five members of my family and I've beenin jail for nearly 16 years. I have protested my innocence through allthe usual channels and tried hard to find a successful path to the appealcourts."He says the crucial forensic information has beendisclosed only to his legal team but adds: "In time, I will publish thisinformation but there are compelling reasons why I cannot do so now."Bamber also appeals for anyone with any other informationwhich could help his fight for freedom to come forward.Bamber claims he has had 17 jail moves and 89 cellmoves during his imprisonment. At present, he is in the high security Whitemoorprison, Cambridgeshire.An earlier application for leave to appeal againsthis conviction was refused by the court of appeal in 1989.Bamber then applied to the Home Office for a reviewof his conviction and his case was transferred to the criminal cases reviewcommission after March 1997, when it assumed responsibility for the reviewof suspected miscarriages of justice.In 1995 Bamber lost his high court attempt to challengethe home secretary's decision that he should remain behind bars for therest of his life. The appeal was seen as a test case for 14 other convictedmurderers.Following Bamber's conviction, Essex police werecriticised for the way the investigation was handled. Bamber's supportersbelieve vital evidence could have been destroyed.13 March 2001Jeremy Bamber has served15 years for the murder of hisfamily.But was he guilty?By Ian Burrell, Home Affairs CorrespondentFor more than 15 years, Jeremy Bamber has been knownas a "monster", one of the small band of men and women who must under nocircumstances be released from prison. In the Who's Who of Britishcriminality, the young man described by his trial judge as "warped andevil beyond belief", has been bracketed with the gay serial killer DennisNilsen and the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe.Unlike many other famous multiple murderers, Bamber'svictims were his family, slaughtered so he could lay claim to a £500,000inheritance. But Bamber's notoriety as the man who shot his parents, hissister and her two children, at an isolated Essex farmhouse in August 1985,may be wrong.The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), afterconsidering fresh evidence, announced yesterday that it was referring thecase to the Court of Appeal. The decision raised the prospect that Bambermay be, as he has claimed, an innocent man who has had to spend a decadeand a half in prison.If cleared, Bamber would be not only the victim ofa miscarriage of justice but a victim of the most appalling crime, whowas forced to grieve for his murdered family from his cell.Bamber, communicating on the internet from Whitemoorhigh-security prison in Cambridgeshire, said he was "thrilled to bits"at the chance of clearing his name.The murder of the Bamber family at White House Farmin the Essex village of Tolleshunt D'Arcy was one of the most shockingcrimes of the Eighties. Police found wealthy Nevil Bamber slumped downstairs,dead, with several wounds from a .22 semi-automatic rifle. His wife, June,had been shot dead in bed. Alongside the bed was the body of the couple'sadopted daughter, Sheila Caffell.She was a model, nicknamed Bambi, and she had a historyof mental illness. Sheila was known to have referred to her twin six-year-oldsons, Nicholas and Daniel, as "the Devil's children". The boys, too, werefound murdered. Jeremy Bamber, who had also been adopted and was broughtup with Sheila by Nevil and June in what has been described as a "repressedreligious atmosphere", has always claimed he was not at the farm at thetime of the murders.He called police in the middle of the night to sayhis father had phoned him, telling him Sheila was shooting at members ofthe family. When police arrived at the farmhouse they found all five victimsdead.Sheila had been suffering from mild schizophrenia,and she was not taking her medication. At first, detectives agreed withBamber's theory – that she had shot the other four then shot herself. ButBamber's girlfriend, Julie Mugford, told police he had spoken of planning"the perfect murder", which would secure him an inheritance of nearly £500,000.At Chelmsford Crown Court, the jury decided by a majority of 10 to twothat Bamber was guilty. They accepted the theory that he had killed hisnephews believing they were doomed by Sheila's mental state.Bamber was sentenced to five life terms, and DouglasHurd, the Home Secretary at the time, ruled he should never be released.But Bamber, now 40, would never accept his conviction. His repeated questioningled to an inquiry by the Police Complaints Authority. He said Essex Policehad tampered with the evidence. The PCA concluded in 1993 that his claimswere unfounded.Officers who had been with Bamber for several hoursoutside the farmhouse believed someone was alive inside. Their statementsappeared to contradict medical reports, which suggested all the victimsdied instantly. Bamber's fingerprints were found on the murder weapon,with those of Sheila, but there was no other forensic science evidenceto link him to the killings.The CCRC investigation is understood to have centredlargely on blood samples found on the silencer, or sound moderator, ofthe rifle. Blood believed to be Sheila's was found on the inside and outsideof the silencer, which was not on the rifle, but in a box downstairs. Theprosecution said for Sheila to have shot herself, place the silencer inthe box, then climb the stairs to die was impossible.The trial judge said if the jurors believed the bloodon the silencer was Sheila's blood they should convict. But Bamber's legalteam has had the blood on the silencer subjected to tests using new DNA-relatedtechniques. These tests raise the prospect that the blood could have comefrom Nevil and June Bamber. Attempts to confirm this have been blocked.Essex Police have destroyed the evidence, citing the length of time sincethe conviction.But yesterday, Bamber said an appropriate DNA samplehad been found against which to match the blood on the silencer. He said:"The result was 100 per cent that it could not be Sheila's blood on thesound moderator. This is absolutely clear-cut. So the court was misledand wrongly directed by the judge on this matter, albeit unintentionally."The convicted killer believes that finding is fundamentalto his case to prove his innocence. "Every time I have tried to have mycase reviewed ... it always comes down to this issue of the blood in thesound moderator," he said.The prospect of Bamber being freed is a dire onefor Essex Police to contemplate. The force has already been criticisedfor its investigation, with officers accused of being responsible for missingevidence, losing a hair before it reached forensic laboratories and handlingand moving the murder weapon without gloves.Bamber took his case to the CCRC four years ago.The new hearing is likely to be in London this year.Bamber's use of a website to highlight his campaignhas been criticised by his local MP, who said it was not appropriate. Butthe prisoner was undeterred last night, posting this new plea: "If by anychance any member of my original jury reads this and believes it alterstheir verdict then please contact my lawyers as their help would be mostuseful." 18 March 2001Murder most foul,but did he do it?It is one thing when a massmurderer - described by the judge at his trial as "warped and evil beyondbelief" - appeals against his conviction. It is another when the murdererhimself breaks the news on his personal internet website in the chattytones of a phone-in host: "As you can imagine, I am thrilled to bits atbeing one step closer to clearing my name."Jeremy Bamber was sentencedto life in 1986 for the murder of five family members in their Essex farmhouse- his adopted parents, his adoptive sister and her six-year-old twins.Last week his case was referred back to the Court of Appeal by the criminalcases review commission. If the three appeal judges are more impressedby new evidence concerning a bloodstained gun silencer than they are byBamber's audacious website, the man who was accused of coolly plotting"the perfect crime" could be free before Christmas.The White House Farm murdersbecame one of the most infamous criminal cases of the past 20 years, involvingnot only a massacre in the English countryside on a summer's evening butall the classic ingredients of a whodunit. On the tragic cast list wereoverbearing parents, a mentally unstable daughter, a scheming, enviousson, a jilted girlfriend who blew the whistle and, inevitably, bunglingpolice.Bamber, now 40, has alwaysprotested his innocence, claiming that his adoptive sister committed thecrimes before killing herself. Fresh DNA evidence, not available at thetime of the crime, may cast doubt on at least part of the prosecution case.But the reopening of the files has not pleased Bamber's surviving relativeswho describe him as a "psychopath".Bamber was the illegitimateson of a vicar's daughter and a married army sergeant and was adopted whenhe was six weeks old by Neville Bamber, a former RAF pilot, and his wifeJune who farmed near the Essex village of Tolleshunt D'Arcy. An adoptedyounger sister, Sheila, joined the family a few years later. Both childrenwere given a private education by the wealthy couple, but had to endurediscipline imposed by parents who were said to have taken their Christianfaith to the point of zealotry.Sheila, known as Bambi, wasa pretty girl who became a model and had a London flat paid for by herparents. Bamber found it difficult to settle down to farming, as his fatherhad hoped, and drifted through a series of casual jobs. He was a huge successwith the sort of women who like pseudo-suave types.Sheila married and had twins,but when the marriage broke down she became depressed and began to sufferfrom schizophrenia. According to one psychiatric report, she thought herchildren were from the devil. She and the twins moved back to the farmhouse.Bamber had set up home withhis girlfriend Julie Mugford, a student teacher, in a rent-free cottageprovided by his parents at Goldhanger, five miles from the farmhouse. Hisfather offered him a job on the farm at £170 a week, but refusedto let him join the family's other concern - a caravan park - because hethought he had no business sense. Mugford later told the court that Bambermade murderous threats against his "old" father, his "mad" mother and hissister who had "nothing to live for". He spoke first of arson, then ofhiring a hit man. She did not take him seriously.It was Bamber who roused thepolice at 3.26am on August 6, 1985, to report that his father had justphoned frantically to say Sheila was going berserk with a semi-automaticrifle. As officers sped to the farmhouse they overtook Bamber, making hisway there at a sedate 30mph. When they broke in, June's bullet-riddledbody was in a bedroom and Sheila's twins had each been shot several timesin the head. Neville was fatally shot but had also been beaten as he struggledto the kitchen to summon help. Sheila's body had a bullet wound to thethroat and her hand rested on a .22 rifle.Bamber, who had warned policeabout his unstable sister, broke down and was offered tea and whisky bya kindly sergeant. He appeared to be highly upset and persuaded policeto burn bedding and carpets, even though they might have contained furtherevidence. He wept again at the family funerals, although he was alreadymaking the most of his parents' £500,000 fortune. He entertainedfriends to expensive champagne and lobster dinners and went to Amsterdamto buy a large consignment of drugs. Notoriously, he offered semi-nudepictures of Sheila from her modelling days to tabloid newspapers.The police inquiry was proceedingon the basis that Sheila was the culprit, but a chance discovery by relativesand a jilting altered everything. What relatives found in a cupboard (andthe police somehow missed) was a silencer for the murder weapon, with aspot of blood inside that forensic experts deemed to be Sheila's. Withthe silencer fitted, the rifle would have been too long to commit suicidewith. In any case, Sheila could hardly have killed herself and then putthe silencer back in the cupboard.Then Mugford became furiouswith Bamber for flirting with another woman and contacted the police. Shetold them not only of the murderous plans she had previously dismissedas fantasies, but that on the night of the massacre Bamber had called hertersely, saying: "Tonight's the night." There was a later phone call fromhim, at about the time he called the police, saying: "Everything's goingwell." She still refused to take him seriously, but when she finally arrivedat the scene of the carnage Bamber took her to one side and said: "I shouldhave been an actor."Bamber was arrested as he returnedfrom a holiday abroad and in the witness box he cut an arrogant figure.Accused by the prosecution of not telling the truth, he loftily replied:"That is what you have got to establish." He was convicted on evidencethat was largely circumstantial, but contained a ruthless logic. If Sheilacould not have committed suicide, she was murdered - and Bamber's storyabout the phone call was a lie. If he was lying, it could only have beenbecause he was guilty.In a variety of prisons, Bamberseems to have been treated in a remarkably indulgent way - despite beingtroublesome. At Long Lartin, Worcestershire, he was given the key to hiscell and excused prison work so he could study for GCSE sociology and mediastudies. He had a daily badminton session after breakfast at 8am and earnedextra money by having an agent outside who sold pictures of supermodelsthat he had drawn in art class. He boasted that he had three relationshipswith women inside prison (one with a trainee policewoman) and regularlyreceived a mailbag of 50 letters a week from admiring females.Bamber's funds were also boostedwhen he received "thousands of pounds" in compensation for whiplash injurieshe received when a lorry crashed into a van moving him between prisons.The prison also paid him compensation when a Gameboy was stolen from hiscell.He once attacked another prisonerwith a broken bottle, however, and was put in solitary confinement whenhe angered other inmates by revealing too much about their comfortablelifestyles to journalists. Even before Bamber created his website earlierthis year, he seemed to have unusual access to the media for a convictedmurderer. From Whitemoor prison in Cambridgeshire he airily called TalkRadio UK to protest his innocence.In his trial, the prosecutionclaimed that blood on the silencer got there when Bamber put the gun toSheila's head and killed her (it was also pointed out that the slenderSheila was unlikely to have inflicted such a physical beating on Nevillewho, although 61, was a strapping 6ft 4in). Based on a blood sample fromSheila's natural mother, and using new DNA techniques, it is now claimedthat the blood on the silencer was not Sheila's after all. If true - andleaving aside the other elements of circumstantial evidence - this removesa definitive reason why Sheila could not have committed suicide.It does not, however, helpmuch in answering the essential question about the massacre in the farmhouse.If the appeal court finds in Bamber's favour, who was guilty? back to INNOCENT main page |
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