Website launched for Mark

[Daisy]

This phone call wasn't made with the knowledge of his father's death, so people are only ascribing a 'lack of emotion' to it now because they think he did know. This is an easy mistake to make, but if they're wrong, then this interpretation is baseless, because what reason would he have had to be 'emotional' if he believed his father was alive? Listen to it again with this in mind and see what you think. It requires a different perspective.

Best wishes for Christmas folks, we'll pick things up again in the New Year.

I wasn't referring to the phone call but the police questions. If someone asked me if I had killed my father I would be highly emotional & strongly emphasis I had nothing to do with it. I would cry as well. He simply replied "no I didn't" There was no emotion there. I suggest you listen to it again and ask yourself is this the reaction of an innocent man.

[Nicholas]

Mark and his father were Coptic Christians. Copts celebrate Christmas in January, not December. As a strict Orthodox, Mark's father did not subscribe to Western traditions of celebrating Christmas. So, for example, he would never put up Christmas decorations, buy a Christmas tree, or exchange presents with people. This is why Mark didn't buy him a present, and in fact had never bought him a Christmas present in his life.

Why then did he send Christmas cards to neighbours signing his fathers name?

[Nicholas]

We can all sit down and think of alternative explanations when the evidence doesn't fit the current theory, but this doesn't get us anywhere without proof. The risk we take by doing this is falling into the trap that the police fell into, which is one of tunnel vision, fitting the evidence to the suspect. But when all the evidence starts to fall apart, instead of trying to make up some other theory, shouldn't we instead be asking whether we might have got the wrong guy in the first place? The refusal to accept that a terrible mistake may have occurred here seems worringly familiar, it's exactly what criminal justice agencies have done time and again in the worst miscarriages of justice.

The evidence does fit the current theory and there is strong circumstantial evidence that points to Mark.

Why do you claim the police had tunnel vision?

What evidence are you claiming is falling apart?

I'm not sure what you mean by worryingly familiar? What are you suggesting the criminal justice agencies have done in this case?

[Nicholas]

Is this because it doesn't suit your current theory? If we looked at all the evidence in this light our justice system would be in a very worrying place. We need to be willing to accept that our preconceptions about this case might be wrong, because if we don't, we risk condemning all victims of miscarriages of justice to a perpetuity in prison.

What preconceptions are you referring to?

[Myster]

I wasn't referring to the phone call but the police questions. If someone asked me if I had killed my father I would be highly emotional & strongly emphasis I had nothing to do with it. I would cry as well. He simply replied "no I didn't" There was no emotion there. I suggest you listen to it again and ask yourself is this the reaction of an innocent man.

That's what I thought too... so deadpan as if he'd realised his plan had been rumbled and was accepting his fate.  And like you, if I definitely had nothing to do with my father's death, I'd be protesting such in no uncertain terms to that officer... fuming and probably banging on the table as well!  The second answer he gave to dismemberment could be truthful in an odd sort of way, because if Sami's body had become mummified and dried up whilst stored in the garage, carrying, then positioning it at the burial site might result in parts of it dropping off.  As opposed to dissecting the body using a knife, axe or saw, unless there was evidence of this in a pathology report we aren't privy to.

https://youtu.be/u38H89FuPNM?t=549

Hint: Hit F5 to repeat.

[John]

To mitigate on behalf of Mark for a moment, his weird upbringing by his father probably moulded the character he became.

[Myster]

To mitigate on behalf of Mark for a moment, his weird upbringing by his father probably moulded the character he became.

A combination of Victor Meldrew and the dad from hell... but that doesn't mean he deserved burying under two and a half tons of concrete.

[Myster]

What do you think about this weird case, mrswah?

[mrswah]

What do you think about this weird case, mrswah?

Yes, it is weird.

I don't know whether or not Mark killed his father: I don't think it's by any means clear  that he did, but if he did, I think he was provoked. By all accounts, his father was a strange man, and didn't always treat Mark well, and I think the judge should have taken this into consideration when sentencing him, and that Mark should have received a shorter sentence for that reason.  I haven't yet followed up all the links that have been posted recently, and will do so when I have time.

Sami obviously had various secrets in his life, however, and we do not know whether he had made enemies along the way, any of whom could have killed him.

[Nicholas]

Samuel Alexander : Son of university lecturer arrested on suspicion of murder
Retired university lecturer Samuel Alexander, 70, has not been seen since attending a garden party in his home village
7:30AM GMT 10 Feb 2010

"Samuel Alexander, 70, has not been seen since attending a garden party in his home village last August and police fear that he is dead.
The alarm was raised when, at a Neighbourhood Watch meeting a resident in the small village of Drayton Parslow, Buckinghamshire, mentioned to a Police Community Support Officer that no one had seen Mr Alexander for six months.
Officers have since begun digging up the garden of Mr Alexander's £450,000 five-bedroomed home and have erected several police tents.
Meanwhile senior detectives called a news conference to appeal for help from the public in solving the mystery disappearance of Mr Alexander, who is also known as Sami Yacoub El-Kayoubi.
They confirmed that a 22-year-old man, understood to be the pensioner's son Mark, had been arrested last Friday, less than 24 hours after the Preston family raised the disappearance at the village meeting.
Detective Chief Inspector Joe Kidman said that the man, who he refused to name, had been arrested in London on Friday on suspicion of murder but had been released on police bail pending further inquiries.
Egyptian-born Mr Alexander had worked as an English lecturer at the De Montfort University, Bucks, but retired a few years ago.
He has lived in England for 40 years and had resided in Drayton Parslow for 22 years.
Det. Chief Insp. Kidman said Mr Alexander had one son in England and the next closest relatives were his sisters.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police described Mr Alexander as having olive coloured skin and of slight build. He walked with a stoop and sometimes with the aid of a Zimmer frame.
"He has receded grey hair, dark eyes and occasionally wears glasses and usually wears plain neutral coloured shirts and trousers," said the spokesman.
On Mark Alexander's Facebook page it says he attends King's College University London and is studying law.
In the "about me" section it he describes himself as "a man of many talents."
He says he went to Rugby School, a co-educational boarding school in Warwickshire, for sixth form in 2006 and before that went to Aylesbury Grammar school.
He says he worked as a software engineer for IBM between Aug 06-07.
He also says he has set up his own web design company called Uproar Design in September 2007, he calls it: "An innovative technology enterprise run by young entrepreneur, Mark Alexander."
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/7197311/Son-of-university-lecturer-arrested-on-suspicion-of-murder.html

[Nicholas]

Yes, it is weird.

I don't know whether or not Mark killed his father: I don't think it's by any means clear  that he did, but if he did, I think he was provoked. By all accounts, his father was a strange man, and didn't always treat Mark well, and I think the judge should have taken this into consideration when sentencing him, and that Mark should have received a shorter sentence for that reason.  I haven't yet followed up all the links that have been posted recently, and will do so when I have time.

Sami obviously had various secrets in his life, however, and we do not know whether he had made enemies along the way, any of whom could have killed him.

"In mitigation, the 22-year-old's lawyer, Michael Borelli QC, said his mother was driven out by the 'boorish and bullying' behaviour of her then husband when the defendant was only six years old.

From then on, Mr Alexander had a hold on his son's life and even used a bell to summon him.

Alexander was kept apart from other children and made to practice music and study for long hours under the orders of his father, the court was told.

Mr Borelli said he was so fearful of his parent that he could not tell him of plans to stay in London with his girlfriend.

"The murder came after 'a huge build up of tension', Alexander's lawyer said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1310848/Law-student-Mark-Alexander-murdered-controlling-father-jailed-16-years.html

[Angelo222]

Yes, it is weird.

I don't know whether or not Mark killed his father: I don't think it's by any means clear  that he did, but if he did, I think he was provoked. By all accounts, his father was a strange man, and didn't always treat Mark well, and I think the judge should have taken this into consideration when sentencing him, and that Mark should have received a shorter sentence for that reason.  I haven't yet followed up all the links that have been posted recently, and will do so when I have time.

Sami obviously had various secrets in his life, however, and we do not know whether he had made enemies along the way, any of whom could have killed him.

It probably came to the point where the old man had lost his control over his son and he knew it. One can only but speculate what the final straw was that brought about Sami's death.  Only Mark Alexander knows what happened but whatever he did do to his father he tried to cover it up by attempting to cremate his remains.  It could very well have been an accidental death following a scuffle, a fall downstairs or hitting his head on a solid object. If that was what occurred then Mark made a very silly mistake in trying to cover it all up, in those circumstances he has paid a heavy price.

I don't think innocence can ever be a factor though, Mark Alexander was involved and denying it is doing himself no favours.

[Myster]

"The murder came after 'a huge build up of tension', Alexander's lawyer said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1310848/Law-student-Mark-Alexander-murdered-controlling-father-jailed-16-years.html

Whose side was Mark Alexander's lawyer on?!!!

[Fact Checker]

You've moved the goal posts regarding telephone calls. However what's dates did Mark go to Moscow and return?

Mark left the UK with his girlfriend on 21 December 2009. They spent Christmas in Prague, and then the New Year in Moscow. They returned on 11 January 2010.

And what time are you using for the ATTEMPTED alleged single telephone call to his father on Christmas Day? Moscow or UK?

00:09 is the time logged on Sami's phone.

So as a "Coptic Christian" why did Mark send Christmas cards to the neighbours.and sign his fathers name?

Putting up a Christmas tree is for your own benefit, whereas sending someone a card is for their benefit. You can send someone a Christmas, Hannukah, or Eid card without being a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. Cards are really just a show of respect, recognising that someone is celebrating an event.

Prospect Close has 15 residents. Mark sent just 3 cards, signed "from Sami and Mark". The prosecution really hammed this up, but they made too much of it: http://www.freemarkalexander.org/faq/#cards

[Fact Checker]

Why did she dump him and close her justice for Mark Facebook account?

Both of these statements are inaccurate. The couple came to a mutual understanding about 18 months after Mark's arrest. She remains administrator of the same campaign group.