How did he do it?

[puglove]

And just in case anyone new to the case has come to this forum to help them in their research, can I point out that Matthew MacDonald did NOT have a "cast iron" alibi, just a statement from a girlfriend that was never followed up or fully investigated, and Sheila had no expirated blood on her face, proving that she was unconscious after the first shot, she did not move, run from the kitchen, get off the bed, regain consciousness AT ALL after the first shot to her throat. If the second shot had been caused by a "hair trigger" (which is the latest theory) it would have shot away from her chin as the gun slipped, not defied gravity and risen higher. Hope this helps.

[abs]

Something just hasn't fallen into place yet. Sheila didn't have any bruising on her so she wasn't restrained as such, the only thing I can think of was that she had something like chloroform used on her to keep her out of the picture while June and Nevill were dealt with.  I am also suspicious that Sheila was moved while unconscious from her bedroom to the master bedroom where she was shot.

She did have gouge marks on her arm, though, which had bled. It looks like she was grabbed and pulled. She had obviously been in bed before the killings started. As had Ralph, you can see the indentation from his head on the pillow, although I know at one stage Mike said Ralph had never been to bed. And I want to reiterate the point about the tampon case found in the lounge. It still had half the tampon in it, it had not been used by Sheila. It was NOT the one in place when she died. It had been used for something else.

Hi shona. I haven´t seen gouge marks on Sheila´s arm. Where do you see them?

[puglove]

Hallo, Abs!! If you look at Sheila's arm, just above her wrist, there are clearly small wounds to her arm that have bled. The blood runs down. IMO, Ralph had the same wounds on his arm, though I know you disagree. I think they were both grabbed and pulled. What do you think? xx

[puglove]

Hallo, Abs!! If you look at Sheila's arm, just above her wrist, there are clearly small wounds to her arm that have bled. The blood runs down. IMO, Ralph had the same wounds on his arm, though I know you disagree. I think they were both grabbed and pulled. What do you think? xx

Bearing in mind Ralph's skin was older, and thinner, and he obviously bruised more easily.

[Angelo222]

The sequence of events is still a bit uncertain.  Are we all agreed that the killer entered the main bedroom and shot Nevill and June there?  We know Nevill managed to get downstairs probably desperate to reach the phone. We know he was hit with the rifle and a further assault on him ensued.  My question for you all is what was Sheila doing whilst this was going on?  I also think Jeremy had an accomplice because I cannot see him being able to get into the house and being able to overcome 5 people including two children on his own and without the children waking.

[Andrea]

I think sheila was in bed, the twins were shot while they slept so they made no noise.

She has probably woken when her parents were being killed, but was frozen with fear for a while, then has crept from her bed slowly, not wanting to make a noise incase she was heard, hence the bed clothes hadnt been thrown back.

As for when she was murdered, im not sure. None of us are!

[Angelo222]

In my opinion it needed two intruders to control the situation properly or the entire attempt could have ended in farce.  I have a feeling that one intruder kept Sheila at bay while Nevill was being assaulted downstairs.  I don't believe that Sheila ever knew the twins had been killed or she would have been impossible to control.  Shona is right about the gouge marks on her as well. 

[Andrea]

I agree, sheila would have been hysterical.

There was no blood on her feet, so was she killed before her parents? Had she been killed after there would have been blood on her feet where she forced into her parents room, as we know there was a lot of blood on the floor. Its hard trying to guess the order in which they were killed. But i think its safe to say the twins were shot first.

[puglove]

I think sheila was in bed, the twins were shot while they slept so they made no noise.

She has probably woken when her parents were being killed, but was frozen with fear for a while, then has crept from her bed slowly, not wanting to make a noise incase she was heard, hence the bed clothes hadnt been thrown back.

As for when she was murdered, im not sure. None of us are!

This totally works for me, Sheila being literally petrfied. Don't forget that JB specifically asked Sheila when she and the boys were next visiting the farm, a question that he'd never bothered to ask before. He had NEVER asked that question before, normally he couldn't give a shit. So why did he suddenly need to know? Why did it matter so much? Because it worked for him. He had been planning it for months, JM's diaries prove that.

[Andrea]

Its hard to imagine what it must have been like in WHF that night/ morning, the fear, the screams and sound of gunshot. Unimaginable for that poor family.

[Angelo222]

An accomplice could have helped to get Jeremy to and fro from the farm, he could have made the call to Jeremy's house and to the local police station at Maldon knowing it was unmanned at that time and got rid of bloodied clothing and gloves. It is also worth considering that maybe it wasn't Jeremy who fought with Nevill since Jeremy had only a couple of small marks on him.

[Andrea]

We will never know who died when, though jb did ask police the order in which they died he said because it affected the wills. Thats why he killed the children, he wanted EVERY single penny to himself.

[puglove]

Its hard to imagine what it must have been like in WHF that night/ morning, the fear, the screams and sound of gunshot. Unimaginable for that poor family.

Sadly, the wallpaper behind the boys had to be removed, because of back spatter. And Sheila would have been covered with it. Close contact shots. But the only blood on Sheila's nightie was her own, proving that she never moved after the first shot. It was just a normal family, and Sheila adored and took pride in those boys.

[Andrea]

Shona my post above number 22, what do you think, About sheila having no blood on her feet?

[Angelo222]

 8-)(--).    Does anyone else think that it would have taken two attackers to control the situation properly?