Book Reviews - Murders/Suicide at WHF

[grahameb]

Oh no.. and we don't even have a running away smiley!

[Bridget]

That's the one!

[ajross]

I think I have asked on the open forum four times about the pictures drawn by the boys. Every time I have asked I have been ignored. I have now got my answer from Colin's book and it is really rather disturbing. The pictures weren'y by the boys, they were by Daniel, they were produced in sequence and told a story and are reproduced in that order in Colin's book. They were given to Colin's mother to be kept safely and in order but unfortunately Daniel shared the story with Mrs Caffell and she couldn't remember it, the pictures themselves tell a disturbing story.

Another interesting point raised from my reading this evening relates to Sheila's time in Japan and a letter which see sent to Colin which I shall now reproduce for those that don't have/haven't read the book:

I look very tired and they have straightened my hair but todayI am going back to the hairdresser's to have it recurled. Don't get worried when I say this but I really think I should go to a psychiatrist when I get back, so could you please arrange an appointment for me as soon as possible and I will be very grateful. I've never felt so confused and unable to control my brain before and I'd like to get myself sorted out as soon as possible. It's my self-confidence. Some days at jobs I'm happy and self-confident and other days I'm not and you can see the change in people when I'm not. They don't like me on my bad days, it's almost as if I'm schizophrenic or something. (when she got home she qualifeid this by telling me that during her down periods her mood seemed to affect everyone around her- almost to the point where she felt she exuded an 'evil aura' which frightened people away)
I feel so sick of people and stale. It's terrible, I don't know what's happening to me at all. Can't wait to get back and be with you, you're the only person who really cares and understands.

What is important to point out here is that this was shortly after she miscarried and so far into her term that she was forced to give birth to a still born baby which she was convinced she saw moving. The trip to Japan was supposed to be a break but she worked 17 days without a break and they also tried to get her to slep with important clients declares Colin.

This was then followed by another terrible situation where she got pregnant again and lost the baby because of an infection caused by what Colin calls a 'careless internal examination.' She then got preganant again and had the twins and shortly after he left her for Jan. However, he also points out that at least once he struck her which resulted in a black eye. He explains that they would argue, she would break things and he would become angry and violent. He only makes one direct reference to hitting her and in all of it he attributes the blame to himself, he upbringing and his inabaility to control his temper but actually blames it on her and her manipulating ways (my words) he completely detracts from his own apologetic words but surreptitiously reversing it. The more I read this book the more it suggests that JB killed the family but equally, the more I read it the more I think that those involved had already been killed by each other and those around them.

[Jane]

I think I have asked on the open forum four times about the pictures drawn by the boys. Every time I have asked I have been ignored. I have now got my answer from Colin's book and it is really rather disturbing. The pictures weren'y by the boys, they were by Daniel, they were produced in sequence and told a story and are reproduced in that order in Colin's book. They were given to Colin's mother to be kept safely and in order but unfortunately Daniel shared the story with Mrs Caffell and she couldn't remember it, the pictures themselves tell a disturbing story.

Another interesting point raised from my reading this evening relates to Sheila's time in Japan and a letter which see sent to Colin which I shall now reproduce for those that don't have/haven't read the book:

I look very tired and they have straightened my hair but todayI am going back to the hairdresser's to have it recurled. Don't get worried when I say this but I really think I should go to a psychiatrist when I get back, so could you please arrange an appointment for me as soon as possible and I will be very grateful. I've never felt so confused and unable to control my brain before and I'd like to get myself sorted out as soon as possible. It's my self-confidence. Some days at jobs I'm happy and self-confident and other days I'm not and you can see the change in people when I'm not. They don't like me on my bad days, it's almost as if I'm schizophrenic or something. (when she got home she qualifeid this by telling me that during her down periods her mood seemed to affect everyone around her- almost to the point where she felt she exuded an 'evil aura' which frightened people away)
I feel so sick of people and stale. It's terrible, I don't know what's happening to me at all. Can't wait to get back and be with you, you're the only person who really cares and understands.

What is important to point out here is that this was shortly after she miscarried and so far into her term that she was forced to give birth to a still born baby which she was convinced she saw moving. The trip to Japan was supposed to be a break but she worked 17 days without a break and they also tried to get her to slep with important clients declares Colin.

This was then followed by another terrible situation where she got pregnant again and lost the baby because of an infection caused by what Colin calls a 'careless internal examination.' She then got preganant again and had the twins and shortly after he left her for Jan. However, he also points out that at least once he struck her which resulted in a black eye. He explains that they would argue, she would break things and he would become angry and violent. He only makes one direct reference to hitting her and in all of it he attributes the blame to himself, he upbringing and his inabaility to control his temper but actually blames it on her and her manipulating ways (my words) he completely detracts from his own apologetic words but surreptitiously reversing it. The more I read this book the more it suggests that JB killed the family but equally, the more I read it the more I think that those involved had already been killed by each other and those around them.

AJ, it sounds as if Colin's book has had a profound effect on you. I do recall that it was very powerful, but I can't help but wonder if, in his own way, Colin is trying to apologize to Sheila for letting her down, by exonerating her from responsibility for the murders.

[ajross]

AJ, it sounds as if Colin's book has had a profound effect on you. I do recall that it was very powerful, but I can't help but wonder if, in his own way, Colin is trying to apologize to Sheila for letting her down, by exonerating her from responsibility for the murders.

It has had a profound effect on me in that it gives an insight into the charaters that has not been readily discussed on here. I asked many times about those pictures and was ignored. They were very worrying but now put in context they are sadly disturbing. I think a lot of people on here only discuss that which will further their cause. When I joined I believed JB innocent, now I think I believe him guity, what sets me apart from others is that I wish to be proved wrong. If Colin does try to exonerate Sheila I think he fails and I think that ultimately they are all guilty as they all led to this conclusion. More than exonerate her of murder i think he wanted to correct the public opinion partly created by himself. The only ones that are innocent are the boys who continually pleaded for help but were ignored.

[Jane]

It has had a profound effect on me in that it gives an insight into the charaters that has not been readily discussed on here. I asked many times about those pictures and was ignored. They were very worrying but now put in context they are sadly disturbing. I think a lot of people on here only discuss that which will further their cause. When I joined I believed JB innocent, now I think I believe him guity, what sets me apart from others is that I wish to be proved wrong. If Colin does try to exonerate Sheila I think he fails and I think that ultimately they are all guilty as they all led to this conclusion. More than exonerate her of murder i think he wanted to correct the public opinion partly created by himself. The only ones that are innocent are the boys who continually pleaded for help but were ignored.

AJ, I found those pictures shockingly disturbing. I just longed to hug those little boys and make everything safe and better. Like you, I had the feeling they were screaming for somebody to do something but didn't have the words to do it so they said it with drawings. We can be forgiven for not hearing them, but there are those who were there who might have heard them had they taken more notice of what was happening to them.

How odd, that when I first read it, in the 1990s, I was convinced that Jeremy was guilty. I wrote to Colin saying so. However, as time has passed, for numerous reasons, I've changed my mind. What hasn't changed, however, is my reaction to those terrible pictures.

[ajross]

AJ, I found those pictures shockingly disturbing. I just longed to hug those little boys and make everything safe and better. Like you, I had the feeling they were screaming for somebody to do something but didn't have the words to do it so they said it with drawings. We can be forgiven for not hearing them, but there are those who were there who might have heard them had they taken more notice of what was happening to them.

How odd, that when I first read it, in the 1990s, I was convinced that Jeremy was guilty. I wrote to Colin saying so. However, as time has passed, for numerous reasons, I've changed my mind. What hasn't changed, however, is my reaction to those terrible pictures.

Unfortunately, as I make my way through the book, I see more and more examples of where the boys could verbalise their fears and yet nobody took any notice of them, that is another thing that Colin seems to be trying to come to terms with in the book. On another note, i'd love to know who Beryl is, that is the woman who he has signed my copy for!

[Steve_uk]

Hi Steve_uk

Is there any reason why your post 1328 is a doctored version of one of my earlier posts?

Hi egap 1 I'm attempting to reply to your post #1289..if you're accusing me of plagiarism please elucidate,but it's just not my style.

Dr Hugh Ferguson has to shoulder his share of the blame,which is considerable,and as said in this thread before Sheila was let down by many,and in this regard is no different from the thousands who suffer from mental illness today.

In my opinion Sheila was the perfect scapegoat for Jeremy,who resented his parents buying her a flat in a fashionable area of London whilst he owned a rented cottage in Goldhanger which he was expected to furnish himself.

We are expected to believe that a woman who was described by Pamela Boutflour whom she talked to on the phone the evening prior to the deaths as "a zombie" and who was spaced out with her period shot four people with over twenty bullets,reloading a rifle which she whacked Ralph(Nevill) in the head with,fracturing his jaw,damaging his teeth,neck and larynx,without receiving the slightest injury in return,she then showers,shoots herself once,then runs back upstairs and shoots herself again with blood running across her face and none streaming down her nightie.

On the other hand we have a man who had made no secret to his girlfriend of wishing to do away with his family,none of whom were blood relations and all of whom he despised(in his own mind he was doing the twins a favour as they would be away from their mother and grandmother,both of whom had suffered from mental illness).He arouses suspicions in Nevill who presciently forecasts he might die in a shooting accident to secretary Barbara Wilson,also commenting"I must never turn my back on that young man".

[Steve_uk]

No really I don't. Here's the zombie quote:

On the last day of her life Sheila was reported as being a ‘zombie’. On the night of the massacre, June, a deeply religious woman, had not attended her usual Bible class. When Sheila spoke to her aunt, Pamela Boutflour, on the telephone at some time after 10 p.m. that evening, she didn’t say much and didn’t say goodbye. This all independently supported Jeremy’s testimony that Sheila was quiet and distant. ‘What,’ Rivlin asked the jury, ‘is going on in Sheila's mind? All the evidence reveals that Sheila that very night would be heading for - if she was already not in - a state of schizophrenic relapse.’ What Rivlin described as the ‘overkill’ of the twin boys was consistent with that of an altruistic killing (carried out in the belief it was right for the victim): each boy had received numerous bullets to the head after they were already dead.

http://youknowwhokilledyoudontyou.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/innocent-man-part-13.html

[ajross]

Hi ajross

Thanks for the updates.

I'm sorry you feel you were ignored re your requests for the pictures drawn by the twins.  Had I have seen it I wld have pointed you in the direction of the 'case related photographs' page 1 in the archive/library section of the forum.

Is there anything in particular that has caused you to change your mind from innocent to probable guilt?

Hello Egap1,

I looked at the case related photos shortly after I joined and I believe that is where I first saw the pictures. I asked several times what people thought about them and nobody ever answered. Colin's book has now given me that (disturbing) insight and explanation.

Re your other point, I joined the forum already having looked into the story on the web, the evidence was mainly pro-Bamber that I read, it questioned the telephone calls,timings etc. when presented with that evidence it is hard to believe he is guilty. I was sure it was a set up. I read the arguements on here and started to come to the conclusion that he was probably guilty but given an unfair trial do to the use of contaminated and inadmissible evidence. I am now of the opinion that he is guilty due to what I have read about him, I think there were discrepancies in the reporting and investigating of the crime but I don't subscribe to all of the conspiracy theories. There are some wild suggestions on here, like witchcraft, there are some sound theories but every arguement from eitherside has a counter arguement and I now just believe that the police were inept in their dealing with the case. That said, I do actually hope that Mike comes up with solid, concrete proof to make me look a fool as I would rather JB hadn't killed those two boys! To a certain degree, if SC had killed June and Ralph, I can 'accept' the fact she wanted her sons with her and had she not killed them and herself they would obviously have been separated. But...they are just my views.

[Patti]

It has had a profound effect on me in that it gives an insight into the charaters that has not been readily discussed on here. I asked many times about those pictures and was ignored. They were very worrying but now put in context they are sadly disturbing. I think a lot of people on here only discuss that which will further their cause. When I joined I believed JB innocent, now I think I believe him guity, what sets me apart from others is that I wish to be proved wrong. If Colin does try to exonerate Sheila I think he fails and I think that ultimately they are all guilty as they all led to this conclusion. More than exonerate her of murder i think he wanted to correct the public opinion partly created by himself. The only ones that are innocent are the boys who continually pleaded for help but were ignored.

Hi AJ

Not been around for a few days, but just saw your post, so I will make a comment on it if I may. 

At the end of the day it is a book and we must ask ourselves if by reading a book, it can convince us that JB might be guilty or innocent.  When we become involved with the characters in the book, it had an affect on the way we think. It's like the book in guiding us into what might be a false or innocent conception.  What we must adhere to is facts, evidence and forensic science.

I enjoyed Colin's book. My thoughts in the beginning was that if anyone knew Sheila, he did....In all fairness, he does not do her any favours. Her childlike ways, her inability to cope with her thoughts and, her forever pressing him and her friends in helping her make her decisions.

I don't like talking about Colin, but he was unfaithful to her, failed to understand her needs, he also failed to protect her form her parents. To me Colin is trying to put right his failures....by contacting psychics and, joining this group discussions of therapy...in order to lay his own demons to rest.  I know he went through an ordeal, I think everyone would agree on that....but, there are some things better off not said...which are personal and private.  Sorry, but I think Colin has his own agenda and when he wrote that book, I feel his was still the gullible soul he was when he was with Sheila. 

[mertol22]

Hi Patti, Thats what i sensed in Colins book , not so much in search of the rainbows end but in search of answers , answers perhaps were there all the time,  plenty of softbacks of the book on Bookfinder now.

[ajross]

Hi AJ

Not been around for a few days, but just saw your post, so I will make a comment on it if I may. 

At the end of the day it is a book and we must ask ourselves if by reading a book, it can convince us that JB might be guilty or innocent.  When we become involved with the characters in the book, it had an affect on the way we think. It's like the book in guiding us into what might be a false or innocent conception.  What we must adhere to is facts, evidence and forensic science.

I enjoyed Colin's book. My thoughts in the beginning was that if anyone knew Sheila, he did....In all fairness, he does not do her any favours. Her childlike ways, her inability to cope with her thoughts and, her forever pressing him and her friends in helping her make her decisions.

I don't like talking about Colin, but he was unfaithful to her, failed to understand her needs, he also failed to protect her form her parents. To me Colin is trying to put right his failures....by contacting psychics and, joining this group discussions of therapy...in order to lay his own demons to rest.  I know he went through an ordeal, I think everyone would agree on that....but, there are some things better off not said...which are personal and private.  Sorry, but I think Colin has his own agenda and when he wrote that book, I feel his was still the gullible soul he was when he was with Sheila. 

I agree with all of that Patti and in the post you have quoted I should have made it clear that any change in my beliefs are not due to Colins book or anything he has said but everything I have seen and read on here and elsewhere. I do not simply get influenced by everything I read but have abosrbed all of the information I have found and drawn my conclusions. Colin's book has done nothing but make me think that he was not a partciularly nice person himself!

[mertol22]

There is something worth consideration , for what its worth i dont think jeremy was the best to know , but its not that simple and no book is going to act as a end all, no book about the murders show anything good about him, i would be suprised if they did, but one thing needs remembering were are talking about him circa not now,read in colins book the replies jeremy sent to colin shortly after jeremy was in his sentence, just what was colin expecting to hear ?

[Patti]

I agree with all of that Patti and in the post you have quoted I should have made it clear that any change in my beliefs are not due to Colins book or anything he has said but everything I have seen and read on here and elsewhere. I do not simply get influenced by everything I read but have abosrbed all of the information I have found and drawn my conclusions. Colin's book has done nothing but make me think that he was not a partciularly nice person himself!

Aj I particularly like the bit where he said that before JB wrote his last letter, he was inclined to believe hi was innocent....this was towards the end of the book. I also want to draw your attention to the beginning of the book where he automatically thought Sheila had done it, before he heard all the facts....

I got to like Colin, he had a wide range of friends and his love for his children was paramount to him...but, I can't help feeling that he hasn't grieved yet....I also don't thin JB grieved either, there wasn't enough time....

I always look back on JB's statement where the talks about his mum and dad in the present tense...as if they were still living...a murderer always talks in past tense...that is what made the police suspicious of Ian Huntley...he talked about J and H in the past....this always sticks in my mind...

Btw , I hope you are OK I just read where you had an accident...