The following is from the Essex Chronicle & says it’s by a person called Hope Woolston who’s referred to as a ‘Multimedia Reporter’
The byline reads -
’We have taken a look in our archives from 1985’This is apparently Hope Woolstons interpretation - although the byline is misleading as it states ‘we’ therefore she could have put the article together with others and they’ve not been mentioned or it could mean something else - or it could have been all put together by Hope Woolston & the ‘we’ could simply mean her & the Essex Chronicle?
“Jeremy Bamber and the White House Farm murders have been launched back into the public eye with ITV's new drama.
But, at the time, the case was all over the news.
The drama focuses on the case of Jeremy Bamber - the adopted son who brutally murdered his father and mother Nevill and June, their adopted daughter Sheila and her twin boys, Daniel and Nicholas.
They were all shot dead at the Bamber farmhouse in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, near Maldon, in August 1985.
We have searched through our archives and collected all of the Essex Chronicle's coverage at the time, revealing how the story unfolded to the eyes of the public.
The bold headline emblazoned the newspaper after the horrific incident was first discovered.
Sheila 'Bambi' Caffell, from around the time of her modelling days, was pictured as a happy 19-year-old.
The front page was published on August 9, 1985, just two days after the bodies were found.
At this point, everyone believed that Sheila had committed a murder-suicide, and there was no suggestion that Jeremy Bamber was actually the killer.
The headline for the story, which shook the small Essex town read "FARMHOUSE OF DEATH", expressing how horrific the murders were.
Sheila's mental health is discussed, and her recent "nervous breakdown" is what the article suggests made her do it.
The only mention of Jeremy Bamber is that he had received a phone call from his father on the night of the killings.
It describes how Nevill "phoned his son for help" but that it "failed to save their lives".
Another article tells of the shock that the local community felt.
There is a lot of tributes to Nevill and June from neighbours, local shop owners and even the vicar of the local church.
Reverent Bernard Robson, from St Nicholas church where June was churchwarden, described seeing them just a few days before their tragic deaths.
He said: "I saw Nevill early on Sunday morning at around 8am and there was no inkling that any trouble was brewing."
He said that the couple were "pillars of the church and community" and that Nevill was a "gentleman who did a lot for the village."
Bill Cooper lived close to the Bambers and described them as "very, very nice people."
He told the Essex Chronicle at the time: "They were both kind and considerate. Everyone had a good word for them.
"Whenever Mrs Bamber heard that anyone in the village was sick, she was always straight round to see them. She encouraged and helped everybody."
The week after the White House Farm murders, The Essex Chronicle reported on the inquest openings of the Bamber family.
At the hearing, it was revealed that all of the victims had died from gunshot wounds,
Detective Inspector Bob Miller told the coroner that the fatal wounds on Nevill, June, Daniel and Nicholas had all been inflicted by someone else.
However, he said that the wounds on Sheila suggested that she "apparently" killed herself.
Miller also described where each victim was found during the police raid.
Nevill was found in the kitchen on a chair near the phone, while June was upstairs on the floor of her bedroom.
Sheila was also found in her parents bedroom, close to June.
Daniel and Nicholas were found in their own beds in a different room.
He told the court that a police surgeon, who was called to the farmhouse, said that all of the victims had been dead for "some time" before police found them
Miller said: "Death had been instantaneous, particularly in the case of the two boys who were still lying in a sleeping position."
The Bamber family's funeral was reported in the Essex Chronicle on August 23, 1985.
It was largely focused on Jeremy, portrayed as the grieving son, brother and uncle who had lost all of his immediate family in the shootings.
A picture of Jeremy being comforted by his girlfriend, Julie Mugford, dominates the story.
He is seen with a "grief-stricken" face and described as having "all but collapsed" at the sight of the coffins being carried ahead of him.
There was no suspicion at the time that Jeremy was the real killer, and the Essex Chronicle described how he had to "begin to pick up the pieces of his own shattered life."
Hundreds of mourners attended the service at St Nicholas parish church in Tolleshunt D'Arcy.
The church with a capacity of 180 was packed full with 230 people, standing wherever they could.
Outside the church there was around another 100 people there to show their respects.
Only the coffins of the adults were taken to the church, as the twins had already been buried in London.
Following the public service, they were cremated in a private service in Colchester.
During the service, Reverend Robson spoke a lot about Nevill and June, but only briefly about Sheila.
Afterwards he admitted he didn't know Sheila well enough, he said: "I'm afraid I just did not know her at all and so it was impossible to have given a personal account.
The article mentions two wreaths that were laid by Colin Caffell, Sheila's ex-husband and the father of her two boys.
He laid them both for Sheila, one from Colin which had a card that read: "Dear Sheila. I'll be thinking of you together with our sons forever. Love, Colin."
The other was on behalf of the boys, it said: "We'll be together again soon, Mummy, D and N."
It wasn't until more than a month after the murders that police started to expect someone else was involved.
Before then, the case had been closed in the eyes of the public, with the deaths put down to a murder-suicide carried out by Sheila.
Then Essex Chronicle reported on September 13, 1985, that police had started new enquiries.
National papers at the time speculated that the family could have been killed by a hit man hired by drug traffickers, but the police would not comment.
Mr Simpson, a senior officer from Essex Police said at an inquest: "Our enquiries have continued since the night of the incident.
"The reason we are unable to confirm or deny press speculation such as this is by and large governed by the rules of sub judice and because the inquiries we are making are yet to be finalised and confirmed."
The paper reported that a special task force from Essex Police had been sent to the village and Goldhanger - Jeremy Bamber's house.
They said that they were there to carry out house to house inquiries.
The morning of the publication, Bamber was due in court accused of breaking into a caravan site office and stealing £980.
On September 20, 1985, The Essex Chronicle published a story about claims that the investigation by Essex Police hadn't been done properly.
It featured an interview with Assistant Chief Constable, Peter Simpson, who said he was "perfectly satisfied with the ongoing investigation".
He was answering claims by 'Fleet Street papers' that procedures hadn't been followed and that mistakes had been made.
They wanted to know why police had burned blood stained furniture, if they ignored a blood stained silencer, as well as why the bodies were allowed to be cremated.
When asked about two torches that were found in a hedge near to the house, he said that they believed they had been left by poachers, and were not anything to do with the deaths.
When questioned about the silencer, Simpson said: "At an early stage of the investigation a silencer was taken away from White House Farm for forensic examination.
"The police do not find it unusual to have found a silencer in this house, but until results of the scientific tests are to hand, it will not be possible to confirm whether or not it was used in connection with the deaths."
Responding to the fact that police burned furniture, Simpson said "if anything was destroyed from the farmhouse it was with the knowledge or consent of the investigating officers and we have retained all items or samples that had forensic value."
He revealed that police had begun house to house inquiries and the big question they were asking was "Who did you see around the farmhouse on August 6 and 7?"
Jeremy Bamber wasn't charged with murder until the end of September 1985.
The Essex Chronicle reported on his first appearance at magistrates court, where he smiled at press cameras.
At the short hearing, Bamber's solicitor said his client was "completely innocent".
Mr Bruce Bowler, issuing a statement outside court, said: "In view of the wild speculation which has surrounded this case, my client wishes it to be known that he is completely innocent on all five charges of murder now made against him."
After the 18 minute hearing, Bamber was told the case would be sent to Chelmsford Crown Court, but a date was not set.
He was remanded in custody and as he left court he smiled at the waiting film crews and photographers.
More than a year after his first court appearance, Bamber was found guilty of the White House Farm Murders.
On October 31, 1986, the Essex Chronicle reported on Bamber's trial, conviction and sentencing.
The judge, Mr Justice Drake described Bamber as being "evil almost beyond belief" as he sentenced him to 25 years.
Bamber continued to deny that he was guilty of killing his parents, sister and nephews.
A jury found him guilty of the murders with a majority of 10 to two after nine and a half hours of deliberations.
The Essex Chronicle reported how over the 19 day trial, people queued to try and get a seat in the public gallery, which held 30.
It describes Bamber as having "swallowed several times" when the guilty verdicts were given, even though he had shown very little emotion throughout the trail.
Bamber's family were to thank for a lot of the evidence that lead to his coviction.
They were convinced that Sheila had not killed the family, and Julie Mugford, Jeremy's ex-girlfriend, told police that he had told her about his murder plan.
Passing his sentence, Mr Justice Drake said: "You killed your mother, you killed your father, you killed your sister - alone each would have been a dreadful crime.
"But you killed all of them and you fired shot after into two little boys.
"You murdered them in cold blood while they were asleep in their beds.
"I believe you did so partly out of greed.
"Although you were a well-off young man for your age, you were impatient for more money and possessions.
"I believe you also killed out of an arrogance on your character which made you resent any form of parental restriction or criticism of your behaviour.
"I believe you wanted at once to be master completely of your own lif and to enjoy the inheritance, much of which would have come to you in any event in the fullness of time."
The judge gave Bamber five life sentences and said he found it difficult to "foresee whether it will ever be safe to release into the community someone who can shoot and kill five members of his own family, including two little boys asleep in their beds."
Just below the back page of the sentencing story, was another article all about the police investigation.
It describes how Bamber set the scene of the murders to look like Sheila had killed her family and then herself.
At the trial, the judge criticised the police's lack of care when searching the farmhouse, and accused them of jumping to conclusions.
https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/real-story-jeremy-bamber-white-3739641
