Reconstruction of events (3)

[mike tesko]

Reconstruction of Events - Between 8:10am and 8:41am

It was with some intrepidation, that DCI "George" Harris, DCI "Terry" Gibbons, and PI "Ivor" Montgomery, set foot into the kitchen at whf, at just after 8:10am. Prior to this, all three had been entranced by the running commentary provided by members of the raid team, which had forced their way into whf, shortly after 7:30am, that morning. For over forty minutes, the aforementioned had listened intently, as stark details about what was found once armed police got into the farmhouse, were transmitted to the Commander of the firearms operation, ( Police Inspector, Ivor Montgomery) who was alongside them, in a forward control point, which was situated in a nearby outbuilding - as these messages were passed from police officers inside the farmhouse, to the forward control point, these were relayed to other police officers at the scene, namely, the occupants of CA07 (first police vehicle on the scene after the alarm by Ralph Bamber, had been raised) who in turn transmitted this information, back to the control room...

DCI Harris, DCI Gibbons, and PI Montgomery, were not prepared for what was about to greet them as they set foot into the kitchen at whf, at just after 8:10am...

[mike tesko]

Mindset of Senior officers, as they went into farmhouse

As a result of information received - senior officers, who went into whf at just after 8:10am, expected to find two bodies in the region of the kitchen, and a further three bodies, upstairs in the bedroom...

By this stage, police knew that one of these bodies, (downstairs), was described as being male, whilst the other, a female, had committed suicide...

Whilst, upstairs, the bodies of a dead female, and two small children, had been found in separate bedrooms...

Relevant to these events, was that neither, DCI Harris, DCI Gibbons, or PI Montgomery, who ventured into whf, at  just after 8:10am, went there carrying firearms - all were unarmed...

[mike tesko]

Route taken by Senior officers, to enter kitchen at whf

Upon leaving the forward control point inside a nearby outbuilding, DCI Harris, DCI Gibbons, and PI Montgomery, went directly to the rear external door, (forced earlier by the raid team using a sledgehammer), that led in to the back hallway - they would turn immediately right through a connecting doorway, that led into the kitchen, through which the team of armed officers, had originally gained access to the kitchen, at about 7:37am...

At this point, they were not expecting to find only one body there - the body of Ralph Bamber, which at that stage, was sprawled out on the kitchen floor, beneath the corner of the aga, with his head in a coal bucket...

Of Grave concern to these senior officers, when they got into the region of the kitchen, was what had happened to the dead female body, which had originally been found downstairs, - that was no longer there, at just after 8:10am?

[mike tesko]

Senior Officers, barricade themselves into kitchen

It would be something of an underestimation, to say that the senior officers panicked, once they entered the Kitchen at whf, and found the body of the dead dead female, which had been reportedly found in the region of the kitchen,  to be missing...

As a result, a great deal of panic and concern arose, which resulted in the three senior officers, having to barricade themselves into the kitchen, to prevent Sheila unexpectedly returning there, in possession of a loaded firearm, to shoot at them...

What these senior police officers did, was to place a wooden chair up against the internal door through which they had entered the kitchen, and they also uprighted the kitchen table, and pushed this against the entrance to a small set of spiral stairs, which led from the kitchen, to the upstairs landing - these measures were taken, to prevent Sheila suddenly re-appearing in the kitchen, with a loaded firearm....

[mike tesko]

DCI Harris, contacts ACC Peter Simpson, to update him about how the armed police operation inside whf, had just gone pear-shaped

At 8:15am - DCI "George" Harris, used the telephone in the kitchen, to contact ACC Peter Simpson, at Essex police, DHQ, to update him about how the operation had just gone pear-shaped - for example, the body of a dead female, was no longer present in the kitchen, but was at large somewhere inside the farmhouse, possibly armed with a loaded firearm...

[mike tesko]

Commander ship of armed operation, alters from 8:10am, onward

Police sergeant, Adams, was the Commander of the armed police operation, at the scene from 5am, onwards - right up to the point, when a call had gone out from inside the farmhouse, that two bodies had been found downstairs in the region of the kitchen at 7:37am, until a further three bodies had been found, upstairs, at 8:10am...

But from 8:10am, onwards, the role of Commander ship, changed, from PS Adams, to Pi Montgomery...

At 8:10am, PI "Ivor" Montgomery, was present iside whf, whilst PS Adams, remaind outside the premises, in the forward control point, in a nearby outbuilding...

It was against protocol, for Commander ship of such an armed police operation, to become transferred from one senior officer, to another, during the course of an armed operation, which requires some explanation...

From 8:10am, onward, armed police officers inside whf, were directing their radio messages, to Pi Montgomery, who was now present inside the farmhouse, not to PS Adams, who was outside the premises, in the forward control point, situated in an outbuilding...

[mike tesko]

Senior police, use towels and clothing to prevent spread of blood around on kitchen floor

Evidence of this, is present in some of the crime scene photographs, taken by PC Bird (SOC) from 10 O'clock, onwards, that same morning...

[mike tesko]

Sheila located upstairs, in main bedroom, at around 8:30am - 8:41am

When senior officers entered whf at just after 8:10am, members of the raid team, had started to make their way downstairs, and Sheila avoided them all by using the small staircase in the corner of the kitchen, where she temporarily concealed herself, before exiting through the door on the upstairs landing, and slipping into the main bedroom, unseen and unnoticed...

By the time Sheila got into the main bedroom, she took possession of the Bamber rifle, which was leaning up against the bedroom window, where WPC Julia Jeapes had seen it earlier at around, and from 7:15am...

As members of the raid team came back upstairs to look for her, she took possession of the Bamber rifle (minus the silencer) and shot herself under the chin, and she fell back onto the bed, which coincided with at least one police officer, witnessing Sheila take her own life in the bedroom. This police officer raced into the bedroom after Sheila shot herself under the chin, and hurriedly removed her body from the bed, and placed it on the bedroom floor, in the recovery position, resting her so that she was laid their on her right hand side,  in order to give Sheila the best possible chance of survival, whilst at the same  time, this police officer frantically yelled for others inside the farmhouse to come to his assistance.  At this time, expiated blood contaminated Sheila's nightdress, and blood from the wound under her chin, pooled into the fold of her right arm, which was resting partially beneath her body, creating the distinctive triangular bloodstain on the upper right hand side of her nightdress, and a corresponding bloodstain upon the bedroom carpet (that the police would later try to conceal by placing a bible on top of it)...

Evidence that Sheila had only been shot once in the bedroom, was establish-able by reference to a very large circular bloodstain, on the bedroom carpet, which got there at the time the Bamber rifle was positioned under Sheila's chin, and the trigger had been pulled, sending her blood downwards onto the carpet, and tailing off in the direction of the bed, upon to which she fell in the last dying moments of her life - the police would later destroy this bloodstained bedroom carpet by burning it on a bonfire in the grounds of whf, ensuring that no-one would be able to reconstruct what had taken place by reference to it. Photographs taken at the scene which showed these significant bloodstains which originated from Sheila, were removed and concealed from Jeremy, his legal team, and the court which tried him for these murders, like so many other things which were done to help conceal the truth about what had taken place inside whf after the raid team entered it at just after 7:30am, that morning, and in particular, between 8:10am and 8:41am...

For several minutes, police officers tried unsuccessfully to save Sheila's life, and eventually when all hope of survival was lost, the police rolled her body over into the supine position - which coincided with the plug of clotted blood which had sealed the original wound to the right side of her throat, becoming detached, which caused blood to start running from it, so that blood was at this stage running from both wounds...

By the time the police surgeon, Dr Craig, arrived upon the scene, with Pi Miller, at 8:41am, Sheila's body was still resting in the recovery position upon its right hand side, exposing only one wound under the chin, to their respective views...