Possible movements during night of Family on 6/7th August in WHF ??

[Mendoza]

Thank you for your info Holly, much appreciated. 
It seems to me that human blood inside or on the moderator, whoever in the family it came from, is damaging to JB. If SC had carried out the murders, it would indicate that she killed everyone with the moderator on the rifle,  put the moderator back in the cupboard, went back upstairs to the master bedroom and shot herself. Unlikely, but theoretically possible.
But as SC's wounds were contact or near contact shots,  it's reasonable to assume that some blood would be drawn back into the barrel without the moderator present. But I understand that that was not the case.
As you say, it's again theoretically possible that EP put pressure on the lab to come up with a result that would incriminate JB, given that other forces have been found to be corrupt and / or incompetent. But would the lab have complied, as I think they would not have wanted to risk ignominy if it got out.
Overall, IMO, the silencer is fatal to JB's  case.
But I would be interested to be proved wrong.  &%+((£
Thanks again.

[John]

I haven't contributed for a while but have been following the forum with interest. One question about your scenario Holly (well thought out and expressed imo) - if the sound moderator never left the gun cupboard that night, then how did blood ( mixed from persons, animals, whatever) get inside it? If it was tampered with by relatives/police, how could they have put blood into it, and more to the point perhaps, the "right" mix of blood to suggest it came from Sheila? This may sound a naive query, but I feel that the moderator and the DNA inside it is at the heart of this case.

The part which strikes me as significant is the fact that human blood was found on and inside the sound moderator/silencer.  There is no possible innocent explanation for this and Jeremy Bamber didn't even attempt to provide one.

In addition, the absence of identifiable fingerprints on the silencer means it cannot be linked to Sheila since people who are in intent upon murder suicide don't usually bother to wipe their fingerprints off the murder weapon let alone put the silencer associated with it away in a cupboard.

[Holly Goodhead]

Thank you for your info Holly, much appreciated. 
It seems to me that human blood inside or on the moderator, whoever in the family it came from, is damaging to JB. If SC had carried out the murders, it would indicate that she killed everyone with the moderator on the rifle,  put the moderator back in the cupboard, went back upstairs to the master bedroom and shot herself. Unlikely, but theoretically possible.
But as SC's wounds were contact or near contact shots,  it's reasonable to assume that some blood would be drawn back into the barrel without the moderator present. But I understand that that was not the case.
As you say, it's again theoretically possible that EP put pressure on the lab to come up with a result that would incriminate JB, given that other forces have been found to be corrupt and / or incompetent. But would the lab have complied, as I think they would not have wanted to risk ignominy if it got out.
Overall, IMO, the silencer is fatal to JB's  case.
But I would be interested to be proved wrong.  &%+((£
Thanks again.

You're welcome 

There's a significant difference between the blood on the outside and the blood supposedly found inside.   As you can see from the following table the blood on the outside of the silencer only provided a positive result for blood and human in origin.  Unlikely a jury would convict on this especially given the 'chain of custody' attached to it.  The blood inside provided a result for the ABO antigen, EAP and AK enzymes and  HP protein which matched SC's.  As I said before it's not statistically individualising but quite compelling to put before a jury.  This IMO is what swayed 8/10  jurors and it's this that needs overcoming if JB's sentence is to be quashed.

http://miscarriageofjustice.co/index.php?topic=7083.msg315462#msg315462

All this nonsense about blood being an intimate mix of NB's and June's.  Or SC shooting herself once and then returning the silencer to the cupboard is not even worthy of discussion.  There's absolutely zero chance.

I think the pathologist refers to SC's wounds as "loose contact".

Why do you think it's a reasonable assumption that some blood would be drawn back into the barrel without the moderator?  Draw-back is a complex phenomenon.  All the conditions have to be right:

- Anatomical location - head most likely
- Calibre of weapon - large
- Velocity of bullet - high
- Other biological material often present eg tissue and bone fragments.

In JB's case the conditions don't support draw-back ie anatomical location is neck, calibre is small and velocity is low and no other biological material present.  A silencer will minimise the chances further due to the way the gases are released when the firearm is fired.

It's worth noting too that it is thought, as per Malcolm Fletcher, that DC sustained a contact wound to the head.  Due to the anatomical location this would be more likely to result in draw-back but none of DC's blood was found in the silencer.

We could spend much time speculating about how the evidence was fabricated but why bother when we can demolish the conclusion.   £4%4£

[Holly Goodhead]

The part which strikes me as significant is the fact that human blood was found on and inside the sound moderator/silencer.  There is no possible innocent explanation for this and Jeremy Bamber didn't even attempt to provide one.

In addition, the absence of identifiable fingerprints on the silencer means it cannot be linked to Sheila since people who are in intent upon murder suicide don't usually bother to wipe their fingerprints off the murder weapon let alone put the silencer associated with it away in a cupboard.

Does it not strike you as strange John that FSS examined the silencer on 13th Aug and handed it back to EP for fingerprinting elsewhere and then safe-keeping.  EP then returned the silencer to FSS on 12th Sep and hey ho as if by magic a blood flake appeared inside.

As you know I've had email contact with a fingerprint expert.  He advised that fingerprints on firearms are rare due to the coating known as 'blueing'.  Are silencers also coated with this?  I don't know the answer.  In any event the silencer was fingerprinted and none were found.  The relatives handled the silencer.

[Myster]

Re PH bluing above: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/266351-how-not-to-clean-a-moderator/

[Mendoza]

Holly, I meant that it might have been expected that there would be Sheila's blood on the end of the barrel if either a) the moderator was never on the rifle in the first place, in which case there might have been everyone's blood on it, including hers or b) Sheila took it off before killing herself. I think I have read that there was no blood on the end of the barrel at all, is that right?
 Which says to me that the moderator was on the rifle for all the killings, including Sheila's.
Which would then point to JB's guilt .
I have to stress that I am unsure of his guilt or innocence at this point, so will keep an open mind and keep up with the forum.

[Mendoza]

Not necessarily drawn back up the barrel, but perhaps around the end of the outside of the barrel, as it was so close to the wounds.

[John]

Does it not strike you as strange John that FSS examined the silencer on 13th Aug and handed it back to EP for fingerprinting elsewhere and then safe-keeping.  EP then returned the silencer to FSS on 12th Sep and hey ho as if by magic a blood flake appeared inside.

As you know I've had email contact with a fingerprint expert.  He advised that fingerprints on firearms are rare due to the coating known as 'blueing'.  Are silencers also coated with this?  I don't know the answer.  In any event the silencer was fingerprinted and none were found.  The relatives handled the silencer.

I must admit the apparent movements of the primary sound moderator (two others were evident) could be construed as suspicious.  The changes to its labelling and referencing might appear odd but when it is explained it becomes very logical. It was sheer coincidence that two of the individuals who came into contact with the sound moderator, namely police photographer David Bird and Jeremy Bamber's cousin David Robert Boutflour both had the same initials. It was very logical therefore that the reference be changed from DB/1 to DRB/1.  In fact it is well documented in witness statements taken in 1991 as part of the COLP investigation.

The handling and custody of the moderator might appear sloppy but this was 1985 when these things just weren't done the way they are these days.  As far as the double testing of the moderator, what can one say?  Obviously the initial testing was seen as inadequate so further testing was called for.  Beyond that I cannot make any more of it.

The absence of identifiable fingerprints on the rifle, the magazine, the sound moderator and the shells indicates to me that the perpetrator wore gloves.  This again being something someone intent upon murder suicide would never consider necessary.

[John]

HOLLY'S RECONSTRUCTION


- Meanwhile in the kitchen NB hears shots he drops the handset on kitchen worktop leaving the line open and goes upstairs.

That not correct Holly.  JB stated the line went dead so whoever had the telephone handset cancelled the call before leaving the handset dangling.  Furthermore, had there been shots while Nevill was stood in the kitchen speaking to Jeremy on the phone then Jeremy would have heard them.  He didn't!

I find no support for the claim that Nevill was shot after speaking with Jeremy on the phone and after returning to the bedroom.  The location of the empty casings indicates Nevill had just got out of bed and was approaching his assailant from his side of the bedroom when he was first shot.

[John]

HOLLY'S RECONSTRUCTION

- NB is standing on the landing stairs immediately preceding main bedroom.  This places NB on a lower elevation than SC who is now standing at the entrance facing NB diagonally and on a higher elevation which account for the downward trajectory of both shots.
- SC shoots NB twice: lip and jaw. 2 casings:  DRH/3 and 4.
- NB turns and is now located on the main staircase facing down towards the hall.
- SC follows behind and is once again on a higher elevation with NB on a lower elevation which account for the downward trajectory of both shots.
- SC shoots NB twice: back of the left shoulder and left elbow. 2 casings: DRH/13 and 14.

This requires the gunman to be standing at the top of the stairs shooting down.  Had this occurred the spent casings associated with Nevill would have all been found on or at the bottom of the stairs and not in the master bedroom.

[Holly Goodhead]

Re PH bluing above: http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/266351-how-not-to-clean-a-moderator/

Thanks.  I assumed it was probably treated with 'bluing' but it's never a good idea to assume!  For the sake of completeness I will email the expert again and just clarify the silencer and also the butt section of the rifle puglove raised.  Are there any other questions you can think of in terms of fingerprints?

[Holly Goodhead]

Not necessarily drawn back up the barrel, but perhaps around the end of the outside of the barrel, as it was so close to the wounds.

Good point.  I hadn't really looked at it like that previously.  I've just concentrated my efforts on disproving the silencer was used.

I think ballistics is very complex with many different factors coming into play and you would need to research it taking into account SC's wounds, type of bullet and firearm.  The following gif gives some idea of what happens when a bullet leaves the end of a barrel and silencer.  You can see you will have 2 colliding forces: the hot gases exiting the barrel/silencer when the firearm is discharged and potentially blood and other biological material exiting a gunshot wound and depositing on and/or inside the barrel/silencer.  The  bullets used were subsonic and the speed in which they exit the barrel and enter the victim might be slower than any deflection of barrel away from wound site after the trigger is pulled.  Also the type of bullet used was hollow point which expand upto 3 x's their original size upon penetration.  I think these might be the sort of factors to consider.  The image of SC we are all familiar with shows the end of the barrel is positioned away from any obvious signs of blood.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=how+a+silencer+works+gif&safe=strict&client=firefox-b&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNidup-8XOAhUOM8AKHcYkB6YQsAQIHQ&biw=729&bih=339#imgrc=XjzMHPP97UONnM%3A

Unlike the silencer I haven't seen any diagrams showing the blood on the rifle.  I've only seen the following text and confirmation no blood was found inside the barrel on a pull-through:

"71. The rifle bore blood smearing on the barrel in the region of the fore-sight and around the mechanism and there were splashes of blood to the left side of the weapon. The appearance of the blood staining was consistent with it having been used to strike somebody who was already bleeding. On analysis the blood was found to be human blood but tests to determine grouping were unsuccessful. A "pull-through" on the barrel of the rifle was conducted for any traces of blood within the weapon. There were none".

If the silencer/draw-back can be discredited surely this begs the question how blood ended up inside and suggests this evidence was fabricated?  If evidence was fabricated why if the case against JB was strong?  Why didn't police, scientists, prosecutors consider the barrel and run tests showing that had SC shot herself with the barrel in contact, albeit "loose contact", then blood and/or other biological material eg tissue, bone fragments would be on the end of the barrel?  It is possible to create simulations, 'No humans need apply'!

[Holly Goodhead]

That not correct Holly.  JB stated the line went dead so whoever had the telephone handset cancelled the call before leaving the handset dangling.  Furthermore, had there been shots while Nevill was stood in the kitchen speaking to Jeremy on the phone then Jeremy would have heard them.  He didn't!

I find no support for the claim that Nevill was shot after speaking with Jeremy on the phone and after returning to the bedroom.  The location of the empty casings indicates Nevill had just got out of bed and was approaching his assailant from his side of the bedroom when he was first shot.

It might not be correct it's a reconstruction of what I think might have happened.  But the call definitely wasn't cancelled as the police were able to ask the GPO to listen in on the open line at 4.30 am.  Had the call been cancelled it would not be possible to do this:

27. At 3.35 a.m., Mr Bonnet arranged for a police car to go to White House Farm. A check made by a British Telecom operator of the telephone line to the farm was made at 4.30 a.m. The receiver was off the hook and all the operator could hear was the sound of a dog barking.

I don't think the old style rotary dial phones had any sort of volume control?  I doubt JB would hear a .22 going off in the main bedroom through the mouthpiece of a phone handset in the kitchen?  Surely this would mean if he could hear that the sound of a voice speaking directly into the mouthpiece would be so amplified it would burst an eardrum? 

It doesn't appear to me there's any evidence whatsover NB was shot anywhere in the bedroom:

- No casings other than DRH/3 and DRH/4 which lend support to the perp shooting out of the doorway at NB stood on the stairs
- No evidence of any of NB's blood anywhere in the bedroom
- The trajectories don't fit

[Holly Goodhead]

I must admit the apparent movements of the primary sound moderator (two others were evident) could be construed as suspicious.  The changes to its labelling and referencing might appear odd but when it is explained it becomes very logical. It was sheer coincidence that two of the individuals who came into contact with the sound moderator, namely police photographer David Bird and Jeremy Bamber's cousin David Robert Boutflour both had the same initials. It was very logical therefore that the reference be changed from DB/1 to DRB/1.  In fact it is well documented in witness statements taken in 1991 as part of the COLP investigation.

The handling and custody of the moderator might appear sloppy but this was 1985 when these things just weren't done the way they are these days.  As far as the double testing of the moderator, what can one say?  Obviously the initial testing was seen as inadequate so further testing was called for.  Beyond that I cannot make any more of it.

The absence of identifiable fingerprints on the rifle, the magazine, the sound moderator and the shells indicates to me that the perpetrator wore gloves.  This again being something someone intent upon murder suicide would never consider necessary.

I can't ever recall posting about the exhibit labels.  I don't see the relevance.  The prosecution case against JB is one silencer containing a blood flake which matched SC's blood type/group. 

I just find it strange that Glynis Howard examined the silencer on 13th Aug and observed blood leading into the aperture and didn't take it upon herself to examine it further then and there?  She was only able to confirm the blood on the outside and around the aperture was in fact blood and human in origin.  But she wasn't to know there may not have been more blood on the inside which was capable of producing more results, which is of course what happened about a month later.  Surely a forensic scientist would open it up to look for more blood and the grey hair which supposedly was at some stage attached but got lost in transit of the way from EP to FSS during the first examination on 13th Aug. 

As I have said John I have had email contact with an expert in fingerprints.  Myster has seen a copy of the email from the forensic scientist's work email address ie there's no possibility I've faked it up.   Anyway the expert confirmed that fingerprints are difficult to recover from firearms due to the coating know as 'bluing'.  I believe the silencer is also coated the same which accounts for the lack of fingerprints from the relatives who handled the silencer extensively ungloved.  It was difficult to recover fingerprints from shells due to the shape hence CERA LT was developed in 2008.

What's interesting and alarming is that the CoA doc focuses on fingerprints found on the rifle but makes no comment about the lack of fingerprints from the relatives handling the silencer ungloved.

72. The weapon was also examined for fingerprints. A print from the appellant's right forefinger was found on the breech end of the barrel, above the stock and pointing across the gun and Sheila Caffell's right ring fingerprint was found on the right side of the butt, pointing downwards. There were three further finger marks on the rifle, each of insufficient detail for identification purposes.

Recovery of the sound moderator 73. On 10 August 1985 members of the family, who were far from convinced that Sheila Caffell had been responsible for the killings, went to White House Farm with the executor of the estate, Basil Cock. During the afternoon David Boutflour found the sound moderator together with the telescopic sights for the murder weapon at the back of the gun cupboard in the downstairs office. His father, his sister Ann Eaton, the executor and the farm secretary all witnessed the recovery.

74. The silencer was taken to Ann Eaton's address for safekeeping and that evening members of the family examined it. They noticed that the "gun blue" of the surface had been damaged and there appeared to be red paint and blood upon it. The moderator was packaged up and the police were informed of the discovery. When collected by DS Jones on 12 August he noticed a grey hair, about an inch long attached to it. By the time the moderator had been delivered to the Forensic Science Service at Huntingdon the hair had been lost.

What's really alarming is that when CAL interviewed DI Cook he said the following:

"Had she [SC] extensively and firmly handled the gun with unprotected hands prior to her death, I would have expected to see more evidence of finger marks or ridge detail on the gun when firing, loading etc". 

DI Cook was considered the fingerprint expert and yet his views above are completely at odds with arguably one of the world's top forensic scientists in fingerprints. 

[Holly Goodhead]

This requires the gunman to be standing at the top of the stairs shooting down.  Had this occurred the spent casings associated with Nevill would have all been found on or at the bottom of the stairs and not in the master bedroom.

If the perp was stood on the winder stairs and/or on the main staircase (2 shots) shooting down then as far as I can see it is possible this accounts for the two casings on the landing DRH/13 and DRH/14.  Casings from the rifle eject up, forward and to the right and I understand can travel 2 - 3 metres.  The following photo gives some idea of the dimensions involved.