White House Farm

I'm finding it a very intriguing and well acted drama. But it is just that - a drama - albeit based on extensive research but with some fictional bits added and no doubt some factual bits taken away.

I read in the Essex County Standard that Bamber's case is again up for appeal, and his solicitors have protested about the dramatisation being shown at this time. I tend to agree with them .

Apparently Peter Tatchell is involved in the Bamber campaign. He says he does not know whether Bamber is innocent or guilty, but he feels he did not receive a fair trial.

It seems that there is some basis for doubt as to the fairness of the whole proceedings, including the trial. I've read the police have ignored several Orders to disclose evidence that was not disclosed at the trial, but they have not done so.

Sheila's cousin taught her to use a rifle when they went on shoots, although he first denied it in court, then suddenly remembered. ( a lot of " oh yes I forgot " going on )
Sheila would have seen/watched rifles being loaded many a time on the farm as they were used often for shooting vermin----rabbits/rats eating the crops.

Incidentally, rabbits blood contains the same AK1 enzyme which was found in Sheila's blood, so the possibility of contamination was pretty high when the tests were carried out on the silencer.
No DNA was found belonging to Sheila when the silencer was later tested, it was June's, her mother's and a male but it's not known where the DNA came from ( blood/tissue etc )

For a mass murder to have happened it was only a majority vote as opposed to a unanimous one 10-2.

It's surprising how many retired police officers/solicitors /lawyers/ actors and actresses have all given their support to Jeremy.

Chestnut, Essex police made a right mess over the phone-calls but would never admit to making any mistakes. They had obviously mistaken two Mr Bamber's ringing within 11 minutes of each other, thinking it was just the one so as a consequence the two calls were literally rolled into one.

Grannyknot, Sheila's health had deteriorated since being discharged from hospital that year. She was hoping for a reconciliation with Colin. The twins weren't looking forward to staying at the farm because granny made them pray all the time. Colin was dropping all 3 off at the farm then flying off to Norway next day with his girlfriend.

Over supper that night it was being discussed about the futures of the twins and fostering them out became the subject which Sheila wouldn't have taken too kindly too. It was obvious that she wasn't capable enough to look after them herself and Colin had them most of the time as things stood.

Sheila's mother was never keen on Colin and preferred to look for someone in the village to have them. June herself suffered from religious psychosis and wasn't well enough to look after them. The idea was to let Colin have them 100%.

The psychiatrist did say that if the children were to be removed from Sheila it would tip her over the edge-----so why didn't he see what was coming ?
With very little Haldol in her system and a build-up of everything including losing her boys most likely her thoughts would have been that if she can't have them nobody else is.

Sheila would have been showing withdrawal symptoms from cannabis and a drastically reduced dose of Haloperidol, agitation anxiety and frustration along with a psychotic attack and you have a recipe for disaster with weapons to hand.

Hi Ellen I know all of the bit addressed to me above. I still don't believe that she killed her twins. Reading Colin's book, she'd have been happy - or at least accepted - for them to be with him, they were living with him at the time of the murders. Her and Colin had a good relationship at that time, after all, he drove the family to that fateful holiday.

He also believes that if she did take her own life, she would not have shot herself next to June. If she wanted to be with her children that is where she would have ended her life, not in the main bedroom. Conjecture of course. But still a valid thought.

Watching someone use a rifle, and actually using it, to shoot a person, are two completely different matters.

It is a very interesting and sad story. I remember it well at the time.

I don't think Sheila killed her family.

To do so, she would firstly have had to overpower her fit 6'4"' farmer and shoot him several times. She would then have to go upstairs, shoot her mother then shoot her again several times then proceed to kill both her boys with another several shots.

She would then have to have shot herself twice, on the second occasion removing the silencer from the gun and storing it carefully back in the gun cupboard before heading back to where she was found, arranging the gun on her chest before dying.

She would have done all this whilst keeping her feet clean and wearing a nightie. She would have to have reloaded the gun at least twice. Her nails were immaculate and not broken.

She would have done all this having been reported to be physically incapacitated due to medication and she would have had to have been capable of shooting accurately and efficiently 27 times.

What motive would she have had? The reports suggest an ineffective, passive, indifferent mother rather than a violent, vindictive one.

At the time without reading up on the case in any depth
I felt Bamber was probably innocent however after watching this drama I no longer think that
I never however thought Sheila did it and I think even more now that she didn’t she was too small and vulnerable herself to have taken on and overcome her very tall and big father one blow from him would have sent her flying it took a lot of bullets and fighting to down him much more the work of a man (or even two he could have had an accomplice) I don’t for a second this Sheila would have harmed her boys
I thought the actor played the part very well and his hair didn’t bother me at all he came across as a very arrogant over indulged user with probably mental health problems himself
Was he a drug user ?
What a terrible botched job by the police and why was Bamber so keen on getting the bodies cremated so quickly unless to lose all evidence because if he was really innocent surely he would have wanted all evidence looked at to overturn his perceived guilt He certainly didn’t act like an innocent man

I thought it was a good drama, even though we knew the outcome I found the final episode quite gripping.
Yes, why was Jeremy Bamber so keen to get the bodies cremated so quickly if he had nothing to hide, especially as the cousin felt that her aunt June Bamber would have preferred burial locally, being a devout church goer.
The girlfriend Julie seems to have turned her life around in the intervening years, she married, had a family, a new career and now lives in Canada.

To say I enjoyed this series seems wrong, but it was very good. Freddie Fox was excellent as Bamber and I also thought the actor playing his brother-in-law was good.

The investigation really was a terrible botch-up, though. Today’s forensics would presumably wipe the floor with Bamber. I can’t see how it could have been anyone else but him, though he still protests his innocence.

I remember reading about the case at the time from various sources and it did seem quite conclusive that Jeremy Bamber was the culprit.
Forensic science may have provided more conclusive evidence, but the police officer in charge had decided that it was a cut and dried case of murders/suicide and the subsequent investigation was botched and the crime scene not investigated properly as a result.

Did the police officer who botched it all keep his job ?

I can't remember, will have to check.

I think he died in an accident shortly after the event, Bluebell.

Apparently, some who worked with D Supt Taff Jones says he has not been portrayed well in this tv adaptation and that he did look again at the case when Julie Mugford changed her story and found more evidence and did change his mind too.

He died in an accident at his home before the trial so is not here to defend himself.

I read that the defence psychiatrists report on Bamber was so damming they didn’t use it in court as he was seen as a cunning psychopath who believed his own lies. So many gave evidence of how he stated he hated his parents and said many times he would be better off without them. They got the right person imo.

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Callistemon, from my reading, he's better placed in Franklin/Cat A than in Broadmoor. Prisoners in. Broadmoor can make real progress but admitting there's a problem would be important.
Bamber maintains his innocence, that influences some people to believe him on the basis that if he only confessed, he'd be released. One of our Home Secretaries increased his life and service 25 year sentence, to a full life sentence. I read that the reason behind his current attempt to appeal is based on allegations that the police accidentally shot Shiela, hence she had two bullet wounds in her neck.
The investigation was definitely very badly managed. I'm not convinced that Taff (the Steven Graham character ) could have been as dreadful as the drama portrayed him. Even so, what a mess. As SIO he reached the conclusion it was murder/suicide and that dominated his approach until the evidence mounted.

I notice that one of the forensic psychologists who assessed JB concluded he is psychopathic. She was subsequently subjected to threats by his supports.

Yes, I have heard that Iam64.

Bluebelle At the time without reading up on the case in any depth I felt Bamber was probably innocent however after watching this drama I no longer think that
I think it is very unwise to form any kind of conclusion on the real case from this series. It is drama not reality. Some scenes and characters are made up. I believe it was made with every intention of being truthful but Colin Cafell the boys' father collaborated in the making of the series. What occurred to me was how angry and upset he must have been to discover that Bamber murdered his wife and children. After all, he didn't really want to believe Sheila had done it and the discovery that Bamber was the real murderer would have surely influenced him. This would have in turn heavily influenced the way Bamber was portrayed, which was guilty beyond doubt.
Therefore I am uncomfortable with the way Colin Cafell's personal feelings about Bamber may have influenced the series.

I have to say that I had nightmares last night after watching the drama.
I could not believe the coroner allowed speedy cremation to take place, I always thought murder victims bodies were held until all possible evidence was gathered.
I remember the case and never thought that Sheila Bamber was physically capable of murdering her father, he was such a large man.
I understand that the family kept the house and the cousin lives there, I am not sure that I could.

There are plenty of armchair detectives who have been sucked in by Bamber’s appearance and write to him and raise funds for his defence etc. Very weird. The only one who know with truth for sure is Bamber and he is a manipulative psychopath who has convinced himself that he deserves to be innocent, even if he isn’t.