Bamber's dyed hair

[anglolawyer]

Hello all

I'm new both here and to this case.  FWIW I think Bamber is probably guilty.   I also think Julie was extremely lucky not to be prosecuted as his accomplice and/or for concealing, itself a serious crime.     Indeed, I suspect some dodgy dealings surround the fact that she wasn't.   Whatever.  I have a couple of questions arising from a reading of Ann Eaton's long witness statement which I found here, the one from mid-Sep 1985.   She records a couple of weird things from the morning of 07 Aug 85, first the absence of towels in JB's bathroom and second, that not only had he dyed his hair but he seemed to have blacked up like an Asian person.

I have a theory about this (which has some holes in it) but I was wondering what you folks make of it, if anything.

[John]

Hello all

I'm new both here and to this case.  FWIW I think Bamber is probably guilty.   I also think Julie was extremely lucky not to be prosecuted as his accomplice and/or for concealing, itself a serious crime.     Indeed, I suspect some dodgy dealings surround the fact that she wasn't.   Whatever.  I have a couple of questions arising from a reading of Ann Eaton's long witness statement which I found here, the one from mid-Sep 1985.   She records a couple of weird things from the morning of 07 Aug 85, first the absence of towels in JB's bathroom and second, that not only had he dyed his hair but he seemed to have blacked up like an Asian person.

I have a theory about this (which has some holes in it) but I was wondering what you folks make of it, if anything.

Welcome to the forum anglolawyer, I would be interested to hear your theory. 

[anglolawyer]

Welcome to the forum anglolawyer, I would be interested to hear your theory.

Thanks for the welcome.

I think he may have cycled back along the road, not across fields or anything like that.   At 2 or 3 in the morning there was little chance of encountering any vehiclea and their headlights would give plenty of warning so he could dive into a ditch if necessary.   I think he blacked up that evening to reduce the chances of being spotted out and about.   In drying himself off, some of the dye came off on his towels so he made them disappear.


What I can't figure out is how he expected to explain this away but, aside from Ann, to my astonishment, no one else seems to have taken any notice.   I would appreciate other views.

[Myster]

Hello, lawyer from England... how on earth did I manage to figure that out!?  &%+((£

I think Bamber was preparing himself for his black-carpet appearance at the funeral, and possibly for the later trip to St Tropez. His tanned or Asian appearance was more likely the result of a few sunbed sessions which he had at the cottage. I believe Julie bought him some brown dye too, but was surprised when he went over the top and his hair turned out black. It probably scared the h*ll out of Ann Eaton too!

I don't think too much should be read into the absence of towels... they might not have been kept in the bathroom anyway. But if so, they could have had traces of spattered blood if he'd used them to wipe the sweat off after an arduous bike ride back from the farm.

[anglolawyer]

Hello, lawyer from England... how on earth did I manage to figure that out!?  &%+((£

I think Bamber was preparing himself for his black-carpet appearance at the funeral, and possibly for the later trip to St Tropez. His tanned or Asian appearance was more likely the result of a few sunbed sessions which he had at the cottage. I believe Julie bought him some brown dye too, but was surprised when he went over the top and his hair turned out black. It probably scared the h*ll out of Ann Eaton too!

I don't think too much should be read into the absence of towels... they might not have been kept in the bathroom anyway. But if so, they could have had traces of spattered blood if he'd used them to wipe the sweat off after an arduous bike ride back from the farm.

Ah yes, the sunbed thing.   I forgot that.   He looked pretty pale at the funeral, or perhaps I haven't looked at those pics recently enough.   Still, a bathroom without towels (his allegedly regular practise) does seem odd.

[Myster]

Ah yes, the sunbed thing.   I forgot that.   He looked pretty pale at the funeral, or perhaps I haven't looked at those pics recently enough.   Still, a bathroom without towels (his allegedly regular practise) does seem odd.

You've probably read about Brett Collins joking that JB should wear white make-up at the funeral to give him that sad mournful look. Perhaps Bamber took that as a serious suggestion.

[anglolawyer]

You've probably read about Brett Collins joking that JB should wear white make-up at the funeral to give him that sad mournful look. Perhaps Bamber took that as a serious suggestion.

No, I hadn't read that.

I have another off the wall theory which I don't mind sharing, or having shattered.   Could Bamber have rendered the cordless phone inoperable himself?   It only went wrong two days before.   It featured in Julie's version of his plan because it would retain a record that a call was made to JB, but he may have had last minute second thoughts, perhaps because it might also log the time and duration of the call or some such.   Knowing that the rotary phone would be switched downstairs, he went for that.   

[Myster]

No, I hadn't read that.

I have another off the wall theory which I don't mind sharing, or having shattered.   Could Bamber have rendered the cordless phone inoperable himself?   It only went wrong two days before.   It featured in Julie's version of his plan because it would retain a record that a call was made to JB, but he may have had last minute second thoughts, perhaps because it might also log the time and duration of the call or some such.   Knowing that the rotary phone would be switched downstairs, he went for that.

That's possible, but I believe there were two phones in use at any one time in the kitchen... one that was damaged by a thunderstorm (or deliberately broken by JB as you suggest) and was sent for repair, the other was found by Jean Boutell under a pile of magazines jammed between the worktop end and a mini-cooker, when the relatives were allowed back into WHF.  This she tested it and found it to be working. I can't remember the phone types offhand, but I thnk they're detailed in CAL's book.

[anglolawyer]

That's possible, but I believe there were two phones in use at any one time in the kitchen... one that was damaged by a thunderstorm (or deliberately broken by JB as you suggest) and was sent for repair, the other was found by Jean Boutell under a pile of magazines jammed between the worktop end and a mini-cooker, when the relatives were allowed back into WHF.  This she tested it and found it to be working. I can't remember the phone types offhand, but I thnk they're detailed in CAL's book.

Barbara Wilson said it was not unusual for them to transfer the bedroom phone to the kitchen.   June hated using the kitchen phone, apparently.   Bamber likely knew this.   How likely is it that he thought he could 'hide' the kitchen phone in a pile of magazines?   Not very IMO.   Either the need for repair to the cordless screwed his plans and made him change them or he engineered it.  I don't rule out the latter.

One problem, if he did, is that it makes Nevill's call less credible.   Now, rather than a single push button call, Nevill had to dial a 5 digit no. with a Maldon prefix (plus waiting for a slumbering Bamber to wake up and grope his way downstairs) with an armed schizophrenic on the rampage.   

[anglolawyer]

Another conundrum.   This time one which you guys have probably gone over many times: the phone calls.   What is the likeliest sequence?   This is where I am, based on Ann Eaton mostly.

3.00 a.m. call from WHF to Bamber's place - this is Bamber's estimated time.   It's likely to be reasonably accurate because he thought BT could establish these times.

3.02 or 3.15 Bamber to Julie.   The first time is Sue Battersby's adjusted clock and the second is what Julie said on 07 Aug after calling her flatmate to verify (after saying 3.30).

3.26 - 3.37 Bamber to PC West.   Start time from PC West and end time a combo of Bamber saying it took them 11 minutes to do anything and Bonnet's 3.36 despatch time.

Time for Bamber to get through to Chelmsford after wasting time calling Witham, looking up no. etc - '10 minutes at the outside' according to his statement to police (given in September when he was in the frame).

The sequence above is the wrong way round.   He claimed he called the police before Julie, but that would mean (assuming police times are correct) he called Julie after 3.36 which is way after his flatmates' times.   In his story, also, 26 minutes passed between the WHF call and his call to the police.   This was his problem and why he maybe planned to use a hitman before ditching the idea.   How to react fast enough to Nevill's call given that he had to pedal like crazy to get home.   I figure he made the phone call last, jumped on the bike, cycled home like Wiggo, called Julie (who was to make sure her flatmates registered the call) then pretended to spend 10 minutes looking up the cops' phone number.

Again, nobody questioned this account, except Ann of course.

[Myster]

I think your penultimate sentence summary is correct, maybe with the ten minutes spent making sure he was clean and blood-spot free before coming face to face with the police.

For a newbie you've got a better grasp of this case than the vets here!

[Myster]

Barbara Wilson said it was not unusual for them to transfer the bedroom phone to the kitchen.   June hated using the kitchen phone, apparently.   Bamber likely knew this.   How likely is it that he thought he could 'hide' the kitchen phone in a pile of magazines?   Not very IMO.   Either the need for repair to the cordless screwed his plans and made him change them or he engineered it.  I don't rule out the latter.

One problem, if he did, is that it makes Nevill's call less credible.   Now, rather than a single push button call, Nevill had to dial a 5 digit no. with a Maldon prefix (plus waiting for a slumbering Bamber to wake up and grope his way downstairs) with an armed schizophrenic on the rampage.

That's true... why would Nevill phone his son knowing that it would take a long time for him to answer when his daughter was supposedly going crazy upstairs?  If Nevill wasn't injured at the time then surely he would have attempted to disarm Sheila before phoning anyone, but if he was badly wounded, needed rescuing and urgent treatment, a 999 call seems the most rational thing to make. I've had to do the same in the middle of the night... twice.

[anglolawyer]

That's true... why would Nevill phone his son knowing that it would take a long time for him to answer when his daughter was supposedly going crazy upstairs?  If Nevill wasn't injured at the time then surely he would have attempted to disarm Sheila before phoning anyone, but if he was badly wounded, needed rescuing and urgent treatment, a 999 call seems the most rational thing to make. I've had to do the same in the middle of the night... twice.

Ann Eaton thought it would take 2-3 minutes for Bamber to answer the phone.   I think that's too long but a minute to a minute and a half maybe.   That's still a heck of a long time for Nevill to be wasting when he could be doing much more immediate and useful things.

[anglolawyer]

I think your penultimate sentence summary is correct, maybe with the ten minutes spent making sure he was clean and blood-spot free before coming face to face with the police.

For a newbie you've got a better grasp of this case than the vets here!

How long do you figure to cycle from WHF to Goldhanger?   It's three miles I read.   Faster than Roger Banister I reckon.   10 minutes?   That's only 18 miles an hour.   Should be easy.   Don't go over the fields, use the road.   Then he's home at 3.10 or so.   Call Julie to tell her everything went Ok and make sure Sue Battersby knows about the call.   Some cleaning up, as you say, then 3.26 call to PC West.   It works if no one pays attention.   He got very lucky with Taff Jones though.   I don't think its a great plan.   If he had encountered suspicious police, as Scott Peterson did, then it would have fallen apart quickly.

[Myster]

The police did a house to house in Goldhanger to find out if anyone heard or saw anything during the night. No-one did, so he got lucky. If Bamber had blacked up as you suggested and had an accident on the bike or was picked up by a patrolling police car, he might have had some serious explaining to do.

I think Chris Bews, Stan Jones, Bob Miller and one or two others sussed him from the outset. It was just a matter of biding their time and hoping for some breakthrough which came belatedly when Julie coughed up.