Thanks for the reply John. There is no possible way Nevill would be moving anywhere with a 5th bullet wound upstairs. Anyone of his 4 headshots would have killed him instantly. The only explanation i have for the shell case on the stairs, is that it was carried up, from the kitchen on a policeman's shoe. Even that sounds a little far fetched to me. Either the shell casing map is inaccurate or one was moved from the kitchen. The shots to Nevill's head are in pairs in my opinion, not a singular and then three others. The last four shots were in the kitchen, have to be, otherwise someone is dragging him down the stairs, propping him up in a chair and shooting him again 3 times.
You make a good point about Nevill. His fight for life is remarkable and is another extremely sad factor in this massacre. The injuries he suffered from the beating with the rifle are tremendous and you have to read the pathology report several times to ascertain just how bad it was. The linear bruising to his forearms, indicate that Nevill was always on the defensive and phrasing this episode as a struggle is grossly inaccurate, in my opinion. Nevill struggled to survive and was absolutely battered.
A few questions for you John, Did Nevill end up in the chair by coincidence or was he put in the chair? If he was put in the chair, Why?
I think it far more leikely that the shell was simply kicked there either by Nevil or his assailant Bamber. Bamber fired a series of bullets from the bedroom door into the bedroom (this is located immediately at the top of the stairs) It is highly likely that it was simply kicked while underfoot during the assault or when Nevil or Jeremy went downstairs.
Your point about the fight in the kitchen is an interesting one. However, I think we must rely on common sense to understand that such a struggle did, in fact take place. I say this because according to the evidence Nevil was frogmarched downstairs at riflepoint (evidenced by the burn marks found on his back) We have to remember that it is highly likely that Nevil had witnessed the shooting of his wife June and would have been certain that he was next. I believe that Bamber at this time had run out of ammunition. At this point Nevil made a grab for the gun and probably managed to get a firm grip of the rifle's barrel. It is likely that the two men strugled violently for control of the gun - knocking over the kitchen chairs, and careening into the kitchen table upsetting the sugar bowl and other sundry items. Nevil must have fought with everything a wounded man could possibly muster, but alas the uninjured and younger Bamber managed to wrest the rifle from nevil and proceeded to turn it around and use it as a club. It was at this pointt hat I believe that Nevil sustained the appalling injuries you highlighted in your text. Jeremy then swung the rifle so viciously that the wooden stock splintered with the force (this broken stock was later found on the floor) I believe that this knocked Nevil unconscious, whereupon Bamber reloaded the rifle (the bullets were conveniently located on the sideboard next to the telephone) and shot Nevil through the head 4 times. It was at this point I believe that he slumped into the jaunty and precarious angle at which he was later found - sitting on an upturned chair that was deposited thus during the struggle.
Ironically this was Bmaber's biggest mistake. In order for the police to believe that Sheila had run amok with a rifle it was imperative that they be shot in their beds. Bamber did not count on Nevil's resistance nor the fact that the human body can sometimes withstand such appalling wounds (June was shot multiple times, Sheila twice and Nevil 8 times)
Make no mistake despite his appalling wounds, Nevil fought like a tiger in order to try to protect his beloved wife, his daughter and her two sons. It must have been heartbreaking for Nevil to realise that the very boy he had given a name to, a home, a family and most things that people can only dream about was indeed a psychopathic, greedy, arrogant, wastrel he suspected.
