COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?
The following is a scenario which attempts to answer some of the inconsistencies and unresolved issues surrounding the case.
Synchronisation.It should be borne in mind that as well as people’s inability to accurately recall things they have seen 100% every time, the same can be said for their recollection of the time. Differences can also occur due to synchronisation differences. If person A says a time of 10.00am and the time is really 10.05. They have given an honest answer but are wrong even though they have checked their watch. If Peron B checks their watch and it is 09.55. that too is wrong. For these reasons it is unwise to try and be very precise as to when events actually happened and this should be remembered when analysing a case.
EventsAt the Newbattle Tool Hire the ‘boys’ are chased off the premises and proceed to RDP. At or near the ‘v’ they spot JJ’s body. She may be unconscious or dead. She may even have passed while they were there. What do they do. They may have been in possession of a large amount of ’dope’ and not wearing helmets. They park the bike and discuss what to do.
It appears that the only visible wound is to the back of the head were it has been crushed against the wall. If they call the police at the very least, they may be charged with dealing and not wearing helmets. They would be in a fair amount of trouble dependant on the volume they were carrying and more serious issues would surely emerge. Given the likely TOD they may not be believed that they merely found the body. They could be charged with attacking her or causing her to fall backwards into the wall by recklessly driving on the footpath. Manslaughter charges might follow.
They surmise that the best course of action is to leave the path as quickly as possible and work on creating an alibi for where they were. They would let someone else stumble on the body and call the police. There was no sign of an assailant and no obvious weapon lying around.
At the Easthouses end around 17.00 JJ enters the RDP followed by a ‘stocky’ man. At a point near the ‘V’ he attacks her driving her back into the wall and bangs her head against it causing her to collapse.
He is alerted by a noisy motorbike getting closer to him. He goes through the ‘v’ and hides out of sight.
He hears the ‘boys’ conversation. They leave and he moves the body over the wall where he ‘does his rituals’. He changes out of his bloody clothes and continues his journey.
It has worked out quite well for him. He could say if investigated, that he had seen the boys disappearing on the bike and that was all he knew or saw. There was no body.
The ‘boys’ would be watching the news and deciding what to do. Once they knew that JJ’s body had been moved they would be in the clear. They only had to account for what they were doing and where.
If something like this happened, it would explain the rather bizarre behaviour of Ferris and Dickie. They would certainly not want to be identified if they had been seen, hence the haircut. Eventually they come forward.
It should be remembered that if they touched the body they might leave DNA so it is unlikely that they would do so.
Further when Luke is charged 10 months later they assume it was him that had done the deed in the manner I have described.