14 bullet cases (MDF/100) still in existence at Lab' - evidence of a cover up...

[mike tesko]

It was not until the beginning of 2004, that information about the existence of these 14  crime scene bullet cases first came to light...

[mike tesko]

Ballistic expert, Grahame Renshaw, told us that 14 bullet cases were still being held at Huntingdon forensic lab' under an exhibit reference of MDF/100...

[mike tesko]

Ballistic expert, Grahame Renshaw, told us that 14 bullet cases were still being held at Huntingdon forensic lab' under an exhibit reference of MDF/100...

All the ammunition linked to the case was supposed to have been destroyed by order of DI Soames from special branch in 1986...

But for some reason, these 14 bullet cases were not...

[mike tesko]

How did Malcolm Fletcher come to be in possession of these 14 bullet cases?

[Roch]

Mike, what is the significance? Does JB or did previous defence have an opinion on this? Also, what is your opinion?

[mike tesko]

Hi Roch,

When Renshaw dropped the bombshell about these additional 14 bullet cases (MDF/100) still in existence at the lab', which had survived the special branch plot to destroy all the crime scene ammunition in 1996, I thought we were onto something of real importance - linked to the substitution of ammunition designed to disguise the fact that two or more weapons had been used in the shootings, rather than one. We had already done a massive amount of analyzis covering various ballistic anomalies up to that point, which Ewen Smith was extremely interested in. He felt confident that we were on the verge of stumbling upon something major. For example...

[mike tesko]

I believed at that time, as I still do, that these 14 bullet cases (MDF/100) which had been and still are, held at the lab', belonged to the original batch of crime scene ammunition, and that these were substituted because they were not Eley .22 LR subsonic type ammunition...

My other reason for believing this, is because...

[mike tesko]

I believed at that time, as I still do, that these 14 bullet cases (MDF/100) which had been and still are, held at the lab', belonged to the original batch of crime scene ammunition, and that these were substituted because they were not Eley .22 LR subsonic type ammunition...

My other reason for believing this, is because...

DI "Ron" Cook had been so keen to mention to Glynis Howard on 13th August, that he needed to finger print all the bullet cases recovered from the scene, so concerned does Cook appear to have been about fingerprinting the 25 spent cartridges, that he sought clarification from Fletcher to the effect that the fingerprinting of them wotld not effect any ballistic examination of the same at a later time...

This drew my suspicious mind to look more closely at this feature of the evidence...

[mike tesko]

it did not take me long to realize that not all the bullet cases in the batch of crime scene ammunition had been fingerprinted, some had white residue from superglue treatment of them, whilst others did not, at a ratio of 11/14...

This suggested to me...

[Caroline R]

it did not take me long to realize that not all the bullet cases in the batch of crime scene ammunition had been fingerprinted, some had white residue from superglue treatment of them, whilst others did not, at a ratio of 11/14...

This suggested to me...

It's quite difficult today to get fingerprints from a spent cartridge, it would have surely been nye on impossible in 1985?

[mike tesko]

It's quite difficult today to get fingerprints from a spent cartridge, it would have surely been nye on impossible in 1985?

Yes, difficult to fingerprint bullet cases, but Cook maintained that he had fingerprinted all 25 of them, yet some had superglue on them, others didn't - thats the point...

[mike tesko]

We discovered that the original exhibit reference of the 14 bullet cases at the lab' was MDF/1...

[mike tesko]

We discovered that the original exhibit reference of the 14 bullet cases at the lab' was MDF/1...

Later altered to MDF/100, to accommodate the cloth pull-through test, which then became exhibit MDF/1...

[mike tesko]

According to lab' records, several of the packages inside which the crime scene bullets and cartridge cases arrived at the lab', were already cut open and resealed with celophane...

[mike tesko]

According to lab' records, several of the packages inside which the crime scene bullets and cartridge cases arrived at the lab', were already cut open and resealed with cellophane...

This must have occurred whilst the batch of crime scene ammunition had been in possession of the police, before they were sent to the lab'...

Why did police feel the need to tamper with some of these exhibit bags, and not others?