UK Justice Forum 🇬🇧
Alleged Miscarriages of Justice => Mark Alexander was in September 2010 convicted of the murder of his elderly reclusive father Samuel (70), an Egyptian-born former University lecturer. => Topic started by: Daisy on March 13, 2017, 08:21:00 PM
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The following extracts are taken from the Honourable Judge Reddihough’s summing up of the trial:
“I was aware during late summer of a horrible smell. It was close by our back
door” She and her husband were keen on watching hats which roosted over
their utility room, and it was when they were outside doing that that they
became aware of the smell….”it was late August or early September…when I
first noticed this terrible smell. I initially thought it was the drains, but it wasn’t
and it disappeared after 2 days…”
I’ve no doubt SPr and her husband were telling the truth when they recalled smelling something, but whatever and whenever it was, it was coming from their own property not ours:
“The smell extended from the front of (our) garage by about 6 or 8 metres” IPr
“She agreed it was very localized and none of her neighbours had made any
mention of it at all..Having been reminded of a David Attenborough film
(featuring) a cave full of bat droppings, IPr was not very convinced by a
suggestion that this smell was caused by the bats or bats’ droppings” Hon.
Judge Reddihough.
SPr’s home sat adjacent to our garden, but about half an acre of land separated her property from ours. There is simply no way that the smell could have emanated from anywhere other than her own garage/back door.
“Bear in mind that nobody beyond SPr ever became aware at any stage of this
or any other horrible smell” – Hon. Judge Reddihough.
Our home was positioned at the top of the Close, and the garage looked out over the main street and a public footpath. Anyone wishing to enter or leave the Close had to walk past our house – including SPr and her her husband IPr:
“(IPr) went for a run …and had gone past number 2(the family home) in doing
that, and there was no sign of this smell as he ran past number 2” – Hon.
Judge Reddihough.
The village postman came to our front door every morning. Neighbours even went into our garden to water the plants:
“When I went around, the plants looked as though they had been watered, but I
didn’t know by who as we hadn’t had any rain” SPi.
Had a body been decomposing in the garage, as the prosecution claimed, or anywhere else for that matter, all of us would have smelt it: but that just simply wasn’t the case. This was nothing more than a red herring, needlessly deployed by the prosecution to distract the jury from the real substance of the case.
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I tend to agree on that point.
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I tend to agree on that point.
Yes, I do too.
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An attempt to burn the body probably failed so what remained was dismembered and put in plastic bags before being hastily buried.
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An attempt to burn the body probably failed so what remained was dismembered and put in plastic bags before being hastily buried.
But we still don't have any confirmation of any burning or dismemberment from pathology report(s) which Daisy is supposed to be posting.
I jumped the gun by mistaking a rotting body for bat doodah... not going to fall for the Daily Mail's wicked ways this time!
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An attempt to burn the body probably failed so what remained was dismembered and put in plastic bags before being hastily buried.
The judge made it clear at the start of the trial that the body was NOT dismembered. Why do you keep quoting this?
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The judge made it clear at the start of the trial that the body was NOT dismembered. Why do you keep quoting this?
The body wasn't burned or dismembered?
what was the cause of death?
How many ordinary people can identify the smell of a decomposing body? Extrodinary!
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The judge made it clear at the start of the trial that the body was NOT dismembered. Why do you keep quoting this?
My mistake on the dismembering bit. There appears to be little dispute however that the body was burned and body parts put in plastic bags before being encased in concrete. The fact that the body was burned meant that the pathologist could not ascertain the cause of death. Whoever killed Sami made a huge effort to cover up the cause of his death. For all we know he was poisoned.
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Hmm yes indeed. But by whom?
So an attempt to burn the body will have given off a vile, disgusting smell, body fat and bone is not a pleasant smell at all! I read about this when I was reading about the death camps In Gemrany. The smell was obnoxious according to soldiers and victims alike.
So maybe the neighbour had a whif of that. which would be completely different from a decomposing body.
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The body wasn't burned or dismembered?
what was the cause of death?
How many ordinary people can identify the smell of a decomposing body? Extrodinary!
Please read the information I have already posted. The cause of death was unascertained.
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The judge made it clear at the start of the trial that the body was NOT dismembered. Why do you keep quoting this?
If the body was stored for a period whether in the garage or elsewhere and later moved, then parts such as the feet could fall off and so resemble dismemberment. If they were cut off though, there might be tell-tale saw marks on the bones.
This is why we need to see results of the pathology report.
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Please read the information I have already posted. The cause of death was unascertained.
Surely the pathologist could recognise if any part of the body had been burned, even if only partially - such as carbonization of the skin? Not necessarily that he died that way, but evidence of a first attempt at disposing of the body.
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If the body was stored for a period whether in the garage or elsewhere and later moved, then parts such as the feet could fall off and so resemble dismemberment. If they were cut off though, there might be tell-tale saw marks on the bones.
This is why we need to see results of the pathology report.
I will post it as soon as I receive it. Mark will not have it in prison so it takes time for paperwork to be scanned and sent out.
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Having the pathologists report will answer some questions and hopefully put the myths to bed.
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So an attempt to burn the body will have given off a vile, disgusting smell... So maybe the neighbour had a whif of that. which would be completely different from a decomposing body.
This is an interesting idea, but the smell the couple complained of was far too localised for that, as you can see from these photos:
http://www.freemarkalexander.org/mistake-3
(http://www.freemarkalexander.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/aerial-768x398.jpg)
(http://www.freemarkalexander.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/back_garden-768x500.jpg)
According to SP, the smell “was close by [her] back door”, extending “from the front of [her] garage and into [her] garden by about 6 or 8 metres”. Smoke from a fire of the type you are describing would travel over a much wider radius. The Judge noted that "she agreed it was very localised and none of her neighbours had made any mention of it at all"... "Bear in mind that at no stage did anybody else notice any smell in or near to number 2"
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If the body was stored for a period whether in the garage or elsewhere and later moved, then parts such as the feet could fall off and so resemble dismemberment. If they were cut off though, there might be tell-tale saw marks on the bones. This is why we need to see results of the pathology report.
Please see our post on an earlier thread, with attachments:
You may find the following attached report useful in terms of confirming that the cause of Sami's death was unascertainable. Please note, things were complicated by the fact that a Scenes of Crime Officer struck the skull with a Kangol pneumatic drill during extraction. It was impossible therefore to establish whether the fractures were caused by the drill or had existed before SOCO smashed the skull. Another Home Office Pathologist later addmited that "I can't completely rule out that those fractures occurred after death".
If Samuel had suffered a head injury, this may not have been fatal. The expert findings suggest that he may well have died of other causes unrelated to the head injury: "There was no evidence of any decomposing blood clot within the cranial cavity. This would be a common accompaniment to severe head injury and often persist even when there is severe decomposition".
www.freemarkalexander.org/mistake-1
www.freemarkalexander.org/mistake-2
http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=7959.0;attach=15149
http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=7959.0;attach=15151
We can confirm that no saw marks or cut marks were found. A Forensic Archaeologist and Anthropologist examined the remains and concluded that "there was no likely dismemberment of bones... I didn't observe anything that clearly showed the sheering or cutting of any bone".
He also considered "the overall condition of the remains, any taphonomical changes such as burning, and evaluate whether any bone fractures were the result of fire, dismemberment, or peri-mortem trauma".
"It is my opinion that these bone fragments were not intentionally separated… Most of the fractured edges appeared to be irregular, not clean cut, and therefore broken as a result of the fire and then decomposition. Possible transportation of the body for burial would have likely resulted too in the movement of some bones".
www.freemarkalexander.org/mistake-1
The Independent Press Standards Organisation recently issued the following ruling: https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=05896-18
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Please see our post on an earlier thread, with attachments:
We can confirm that no saw marks or cut marks were found. A Forensic Archaeologist and Anthropologist examined the remains and concluded that "there was no likely dismemberment of bones... I didn't observe anything that clearly showed the sheering or cutting of any bone".
He also considered "the overall condition of the remains, any taphonomical changes such as burning, and evaluate whether any bone fractures were the result of fire, dismemberment, or peri-mortem trauma".
"It is my opinion that these bone fragments were not intentionally separated… Most of the fractured edges appeared to be irregular, not clean cut, and therefore broken as a result of the fire and then decomposition. Possible transportation of the body for burial would have likely resulted too in the movement of some bones".
www.freemarkalexander.org/mistake-1
The Independent Press Standards Organisation recently issued the following ruling: https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=05896-18
What is the point to your post, can you explain?
Whatever way you look at it Sami Alexander's body was burnt and at some point depositisited into the hole in the ground where the police found it after reports by neighbours for the concern of his welfare.
Don't alarm bells ring that it was the neighbours who were concerned for Sami's wellbeing and who raised the alarm and NOT his son Marks?
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What is the point to your post, can you explain?
Whatever way you look at it Sami Alexander's body was burnt and at some point depositisited into the hole in the ground where the police found it after reports by neighbours for the concern of his welfare.
Don't alarm bells ring that it was the neighbours who were concerned for Sami's wellbeing and who raised the alarm and NOT his son Marks?
I agree. If Mark Alexander was innocent he would have made attempts to contact his father but none of that ever happened. Instead, he invented this ridiculous tale that he had voluntarily gone off the radar. IMO there isn't a scintilla of evidence to support anything he has ever claimed. I don't believe he has shown an ounce of remorse or displayed any signs of shame for what he did.
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I agree. If Mark Alexander was innocent he would have made attempts to contact his father but none of that ever happened. Instead, he invented this ridiculous tale that he had voluntarily gone off the radar. IMO there isn't a scintilla of evidence to support anything he has ever claimed. I don't believe he has shown an ounce of remorse or displayed any signs of shame for what he did.
Since Mark is protesting his innocence, it is not surprising that he is not showing remorse or shame!
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What is the point to your post, can you explain? Whatever way you look at it Sami Alexander's body was burnt and at some point depositisited into the hole in the ground where the police found it after reports by neighbours for the concern of his welfare.
You're spot on there. We posted a copy of the post-mortem and a report from the Scenes of Crime Officer who smashed Sami's skull on another thread, so the link above will take you to that. It helps to answer your question as to cut marks (there weren't any).
Don't alarm bells ring that it was the neighbours who were concerned for Sami's wellbeing and who raised the alarm and NOT his son Marks?
Thanks Nicholas, the board is getting a bit spaghettified! You might have missed this earlier thread below.
http://www.freemarkalexander.org/diary/#top19
http://www.freemarkalexander.org/diary/#top20
http://www.freemarkalexander.org/faq/#church
Mark doesn't for a minute deny that he took his eye off the ball here. There a number of problems. First of all, he was used to his dad either not being around, going away on 'business' trips without further explanation, and not returning his calls. This was just normal behaviour in their household. Odd to all of us, but normal for them.
Secondly, he had been brought up not to question his father's intentions, not to put his nose into his father's business. He, like his mum, had grown up in an environment in which huge emphasis was placed upon guarding his father's privacy and secrecy. So, even if Mark was concerned, or worried, which he was, he wouldn't have dreamed of involving the authorities, for risk of getting his father in trouble and upsetting him.
Thirdly, Mark drew some reassurance from the fact that the social services were monitoring his dad. If there had in fact really been an issue, they would have contacted him, or so he thought. The fact that they hadn't allayed his concerns.
Fourthly, Mark had become completely absorbed in his life at university, where he was not only studying, and enjoying student life, but running a business. Mark has a habit, evidenced here in this very Forum, of committing himself to too much and losing track of other things, like Rosie's letter. It took him 8 weeks to respond to her. It took him almost 12 weeks with his father, before he realised something was up on his return to the UK. Mark has never claimed to be perfect, but innocent people are no less fallible than the rest of us!
Finally, of course, Sami had had a go at Mark the last time they spoke. Mark was holding out for an apology, stubbornly, proudly, perhaps, but nevertheless he didn't want to be the first one to reach out.
All of this created the conditions in which Mark didn't react quickly enough to his father's silence, and failed to read the warning signs that something was wrong. Mark constantly questions whether he could have prevented his father's death if only he had acted sooner, and this possibility, that he could somehow have saved his father continues to plague Mark to this day.
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I agree. If Mark Alexander was innocent he would have made attempts to contact his father but none of that ever happened.
You might have missed this:
Police analysis of Mark's phone shows that Mark made 19 attempted calls to his father between September 2009 and the day of his arrest. This included a call on Christmas day from Prague, at 00:09, and a text message on his arrival at Heathrow Terminal 5 at 12:35 on his return to England on 11 January 2010. You'll note from the report that Mark had a habit of speaking to his father in private, so this would explain why his girlfriend wasn't aware about the call or the text.
I don't believe he has shown an ounce of remorse or displayed any signs of shame for what he did.
Not an easy task if you haven't done anything to be ashamed of or remorseful about. That said, Mark's real grief over his father's death is palpable, as are his regrets over his short-sightedness:
http://www.freemarkalexander.org/eulogy/
http://www.freemarkalexander.org/diary/#top4
http://www.freemarkalexander.org/diary/#top20
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Thank you for your reply and explanation
I notice they live surrounded by farm land can we discharge the smell as that of normal farm smell. (sludge, slurry manure). I would imagine they would be used to that smell.
It is interesting looking at the photos .. smells travel via wind direction- hence why one neighbour did smell and others didn't... were all the neighbours at home when this smell was eminating?
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I should think the smell of a rotting corpse is much less fragrant than farmyard manure. But a nonstarter really, because the body was believed to have been wrapped in plastic bags, stored in the garage with closed doors, and perhaps had begun to desiccate without any smell escaping.