White House Farm

I enjoyed it. Is it a weekly series?

This is a very complex story (details on Wikipedia) so I think there could be a lot of flashbacks of events leading up to the murders. The first episode captured a very creepy atmosphere in the house. I felt the finding of the bodies was done very respectfully, with no visual shots except Sheila holding the gun which was important. We saw the reactions on the faces of the Police rather than the dead bodies.

I was going to record this to watch later. Then I realised it is based on a real life tragic event and I cancelled my recordings.

Bad taste in the extreme IMO.

Bad timing too Lucywinter because the one who was blamed for the murders and who has protested his innocence for the last 34 years has a legal team at the back of him who are working to prepare , hopefully, another appeal.

The producers/directors of this drama had been told of new evidence which had been prepared that they could use in their drama but they totally ignored the request, instead preferring to use " old footage " to form a bias between viewers.

Because I've followed the case for a number of years I was able to spot mistakes/discrepancies within the script which makes a mockery of the true facts I wasn't particularly impressed with this the first episode and can only assume that more faux-pars will be ahead.

There have been thousands of movies and dramas based on real life events lucywinter. I'm sure you must have seen some. Ever watched the 'Titanic' movie?
The father of the two murdered boys was very much involved in the making of the series as he wanted it portrayed accurately, and (so far) I feel the murder scenes have all been done very respectfully.

I agree EllanVannin there does seem to be a bias towards JB being guilty in the first episode. The smile as he was caught with his girlfriend for instance. However, drama is always open to errors and always has to be taken with a pinch of salt, remembering these are actors and mostly scenes which have been made up.

Why was it confirmed as Murder - suicide if Sheila Caffell had two gunshot wounds?

The detective trying to speak with a welsh accent was appalling!!

I couldn't work out the accent poppyred until I found out his name was "Taff" Jones. The actor, Stephen Graham, has a strong Scouse accent IRL.

Chestnut no actually. ?

I remember this case and believe the right person was convicted.

Sheila's ex husband, father of the boys, was on TV yesterday. He collaborated on this series as he wanted it to be accurate. He said he believes it was accurate, sensitivly done and stayed true to the facts.

Apologies Chestnut I have repeated your post. Didn't read it properly.

That's okay KatyK. The boys' father must believe JB to be guilty as he collaborated in the series and that it how it comes across. However, JB has always maintained his innocence (for 35 years!) and may have been released by now if he had admitted guilt. You just wonder where the truth really lies.

Yes I was thinking the same.

As I've said on another thread, I lived just up the road from the farm and saw Jeramy often in the local pub.
Thinking back the feeling in the 2 local villages ( the one where Jeramy lived and the one where his parents lived) was that Jeramy was innocent.
Chelmsford police handled the case badly.
Unfortunately for Jeramy, he had a certain look. Not something you can explain in print.

I remember the case very well

Over the years I've seen documentaries and read articles about the case and how it was handled

I have no idea if he was guilty or not

Neither did the jury as it wasn't a unanimous verdict

But to profess your innocence for so long when an admission may well have seen a prison release throws up more questions than answers

MerylStreep: Unfortunately for Jeramy, he had a certain look. Not something you can explain in print.
There are lots of pictures of him on Google including recent. He certainly had an arrogant sort of expression and I doubt that helped him. I always felt he was innocent somehow but maybe we will never really know.

Jeremy's sister was a very sick person and had been a patient at St.Andrews mental health clinic in Northampton. Her second admission was in March 1985 when her condition had deteriorated ( hearing voices/delusions ) and she'd told her psychiatrist that she was fearful of harming her children.

Sheila also spoke of suicide to a cousin. She took cannabis and snorted cocaine at parties which would have adverse affects on the injections she was having ( Haloperidol ) an anti- psychotic drug which was given intravenously in case she forgot or didn't take it in tablet form.

June, the mother also had mental health problems and had been treated for depression prior to the murders because of the worry of Sheila. June had had 2 sessions of ECT in the past and her final diagnosis was religious psychosis. You'd have seen Colin, the twin's father asking for " no more prayers " as the boys were made to kneel at every opportunity to pray and they didn't want to. There were 5 Bibles in the place, divided between upstairs and downstairs.

Sheila had known how to use a rifle being brought up on the farm and also shown by a cousin of hers which he tried to deny at the trial.

Sheila had also suffered a couple of miscarriages but so far as I'm aware didn't have any counselling for her losses and could possibly have gone through post-natal depression which left untreated can manifest itself into a more serious condition now known as Post-partum Psychosis, then going on to have twins, it's quite possible that this had developed.

Many details were left out of last nights episode as well as about a dozen mistakes. This is the beauty of having studied the case as you notice all these things.

For years Jeremy has been trying to get files/documents released which had been withheld at trial but Essex Police have refused, even after 3 court orders were sent to them-----so what are they hiding ? Jeremy certainly isn't bothered/worried at what might be released as there's obviously nothing which goes against him, though much could be in his favour.

Sheila had known how to use a rifle being brought up on the farm and also shown by a cousin of hers which he tried to deny at the trial.

And by the same token, her brother was brought up on the farm and also knew how to use a rifle.

Riverwalk It goes without saying that JB could use a gun, but I think it was said that Sheila had no idea how to use one. JB said they used to go shooting, so her ability to use a gun is very significant.

Interesting reading .....I have not watched all the documentaries on the murders, which was so horrific. I look forward to the rest of the episodes and the knowledgable comments .

Now they go into every detail around blood splatters to establish exactly how the gun was fired, and what angle, but I suppose forensics were not so good back then, and DNA wasn't in use. DNA evidence not much help even now as JB would have touched things in the house including the gun. Because of the doubt about whether the killer was him or his sister these things would be crucial evidence.

Riverwalk, naturally Jeremy would know how to use a gun, he worked the farm with his father and used the .22 rifles for shooting the vermin that ate the crops.

The actual shooting inside the farmhouse was frenzied and not the " marksman " shots which were mentioned. A child could handle the rifle which had been used.

I read that a silencer had been used in the killings but it was found in a cupboard. No way could Sheila have placed it there after shooting herself - or shooting herself twice.