A shooting incident at White House farm

[Caroline]

Which officer would have checked the line? - its just that when I saw the court transcript they said they were checking the line to see if the phone was engaged or off the hook - so I would imagine the tones would have been different . I am only asking because it annoyed me at the time that it was not clarified what they found when they tested the line. And if perhaps they heard shots later then presumably the line was not engaged?

I know its annoying because we have been over the phone thing so often.

An officer wouldn't have checked the line, the operator would. The operator breaks into the line and if there is a convo going on, it was engaged, if all they hear is nothing or background noise, it's off the hook.

[Caroline]

Surely a phone has to be removed from the cradle in order for a call to be made from it. Whether it's simply off cradle, being used to make an out going call, OR somewhere in between the two, it would amount to the same thing.

Exactly!

[Caroline]

Is that tumble weed rolling by?

[Jane]

Is that tumble weed rolling by?

D'ya know, for a moment there, I THOUGHT I heard someone say something. Must have been my imagination.

[Jan]

An officer wouldn't have checked the line, the operator would. The operator breaks into the line and if there is a convo going on, it was engaged, if all they hear is nothing or background noise, it's off the hook.

Ok so as they said they heard a dog barking at one stage it was off the hook then - I was only confused because the statement or court transcript said they were making sure it was engaged.

So if it was confirmed at just off the hook at the stage they first tried it and there were shots in the house then there is a POSSIBILTY that the operator could have heard shots whilst the police cars were on their way.

Also because it is ALLEGED that we have never seen the ORIGINAL ( if it exists) record of Nevilles POSSIBLE call to the police we don't know how his call ended do we?

[lookout]

 I wonder if either officers who answered the calls for assistance that night,described the voice of a young man and one of an older man. There must have been a difference,one being 24 and the other 61 ?
Or were the calls referred to a " Mr Bamber ",when in fact there were two Mr Bambers' and this was where the confusion was ? They'd have thought the call only came from Jeremy.

There was even a mix-up in the timings,where one officer quoted the time of a call at 3.36,even though it was said that a car was sent at 3.35,before the call ?

What a jumble !

[Caroline]

Ok so as they said they heard a dog barking at one stage it was off the hook then - I was only confused because the statement or court transcript said they were making sure it was engaged.

So if it was confirmed at just off the hook at the stage they first tried it and there were shots in the house then there is a POSSIBILTY that the operator could have heard shots whilst the police cars were on their way.

Also because it is ALLEGED that we have never seen the ORIGINAL ( if it exists) record of Nevilles POSSIBLE call to the police we don't know how his call ended do we?

Why didn't they come forward as an independent witness? As for the call, as you say, it may not exist.

[Jan]

I knew I had seen the phone was engaged and they were trying to clarify that it was engaged and not off the hook

evidence from West

[Caroline]

I knew I had seen the phone was engaged and they were trying to clarify that it was engaged and not off the hook

evidence from West

Yes I know, then the operator told them it was off the hook.

[Caroline]

It's in the logs ....

[lookout]

In actual fact when Jeremy was asked who was in the house,he answered by first saying " his father,obviously " ( being cocky because of his father having phoned ) then proceeded to name the rest of the family.

[Jane]

In actual fact when Jeremy was asked who was in the house,he answered by first saying " his father,obviously " ( being cocky because of his father having phoned ) then proceeded to name the rest of the family.

Lookout, I CAN understand that he may have said "My sister, obviously.........." because the call was about a weapon his sister had, but at that point, how would he have been aware that his father had called the police? He didn't say that Nevill had SAID he'd called them.

[Caroline]

I see from the transcript that Jeremy spoke to West twice.

He means twice because he asked him to hold on.

[lookout]

Lookout, I CAN understand that he may have said "My sister, obviously.........." because the call was about a weapon his sister had, but at that point, how would he have been aware that his father had called the police? He didn't say that Nevill had SAID he'd called them.

I rather think that it was an officer who was outside the farmhouse with Jeremy. I do remember seeing Jeremys' sarcastic comment though when he was asked who was in the house.

[lookout]

 These little things stick in my mind, as even in a situation such as it was,Jeremy maintained his cavalier attitude which didn't help at all.