So why was Sheila on the floor in her parents bedroom?

[Myster]

Thanks for the photo Myster:  the pillow doesn't look particularly used.

Is it possible Neville was not in bed when all this kicked off?  My father-in-law who is a farmer has always got up at about 3.30am because he reckons he needs to be up for something (I suspect more because of habit):  however he has about 500 dairy cattle to tend to.  Did the Bambers' farm have any cattle in the shed next door?  Perhaps Nevill was down in the kitchen when it kicked off and Sheila shot June, Nevill heard it and called for help then ran upstairs where he was shot, then ran back downstairs and was overcome in the kitchen.  If SC then she might have gone back to put a head shot into her mother before stepping over her to get to her bible?

There's an indent in the pillow where Sheila's head could have been.

According to Robert Boutflour, Nevill was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow, so was probably only woken up by the first shots at June. I'm not sure if any cattle were kept as it was mainly arable, although someone might correct me on this.

I think if Nevill was in the kitchen and heard any shot upstairs he would have been upstairs like a shot to disarm Sheila before attempting to phone anyone, his son or the police.

There was no debris, dirt or cuts on Sheila's bare feet, so unlikely that she was ever in the kitchen struggling with her father... unless you believe in ritual washing.

[Passer-by]

I don't believe in ritual washing but I believe she might have changed if her clothing had been marked by (or she thought marked by) her menstrual cycle.

I've found a thing on his blog (at least it says it's his?):

http://jeremybamber.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/A%20life%20of%20Less%20Liberty

It says they had a beef herd in the shed next to the house:  my brother-in-law has the same set-up except with dairy cattle, he's often up in the night if a calf is being born etc and certainly either he or farm hands seem to be out tending to them long before breakfast.  So he might have been able to go to sleep easily, but if he knew a calf was due might have been out to it and come back in, or perhaps heard it in distress and got up to see if it needed assistance.

If he was in the kitchen, he might have heard the shots, telephonec for help, run up the stairs, met SC in the bedroom doorway and, without even seeing June, been shot at sufficiently (arm/throat etc) to need to retreat and then been chased back to the kitchen and stopped not from using the phone but from trying to get to the gun cupboard himself.

Have done some homework on family annihilators and discovered that one of their characteristics is the murder is always planned.. So with that in mind, instead of the emphasis being on why JB asked when they would next be at the farm, perhaps it should be flipped and asked 'why did Sheila bring the children to the farm, a place she hated?' - perhaps because it had the family annihilators' weapon of choice:  a gun.

Perhaps she was in the bedroom reading the bible to June, who was the prime character she thought needed saving from the devil?

I still can't think why, logically, she wasn't shot first in her sleep on her bed, as the one who had to be killed with one clean shot.   But if she was complying it would have made more sense for that one shot to be in her mouth, not her neck as it's more deadly and more usual in suicides.

[Holly Goodhead]

That's correct Holly.

Thanks.  The reason I asked is that I learned from the book P324 that the blood on the carpet and socks found next to Sheila belonged to June's blood group.  So on this basis June must have moved from her side of the bed, nearest the main door, in the direction of the door to the box room and then back again?  Why did she do this?  Move away from her killer and take refuge in the box room?  Attempt to use the bedside phone usually positioned on NB's side?  Get to the twins via the box room?  Why move back again?  Perhaps she was just in shock/disorientated or attempting to get to the office phone?  I think June and NB both demonstrated they were brave souls from their roles in WW2 so they would not have given in easily.

The book does however make reference to June's blood group so if test results were based on blood group alone and not the proteins and enzymes, as with the silencer, then June and SC shared the same blood group.  Although the distribution of dripping/spotting on the carpet and socks doesn't seem consistent with the two gunshot wounds SC sustained so it's probably a safe bet the blood did originate from June.

[Passer-by]

I think there's furniture blocking the doorway between the box room and the Twins' room? If the killer was blocking the main exit, I guess she would head that way, but perhaps June was left incapacitated by the killer whose attentions turned to Nevill arriving from downstairs and then June crawled to the door to the landing only for the killer, having dealt with Nevill, coming back and finishing her off with a headshot?

[Holly Goodhead]

I think there's furniture blocking the doorway between the box room and the Twins' room? If the killer was blocking the main exit, I guess she would head that way, but perhaps June was left incapacitated by the killer whose attentions turned to Nevill arriving from downstairs and then June crawled to the door to the landing only for the killer, having dealt with Nevill, coming back and finishing her off with a headshot?

Yes overall that's the way I see it.

[Passer-by]

Yes overall that's the way I see it.

Phew:  so even if I'm losing my marbles on this I'm in good company ;-)