THE MALLINSON TEST (2003) involves a technique not available at the time of Bambers trial in October 1986. Neither was it a recognised technique by the time of the failed appeal of 2002. This technique was developed in 2003, and but for the destruction of the crime scene ammunition by Essex police in 1996, it would have been possible to establish whether or not any of the 25 rounds had been fired through a sound moderator, or not. At the 2002 appeal the judges indicated that they would look favourably upon any argument relating to ballistics, if the defence chose to advance such an argument. Mallinsons technique was capable of leading to a situation whereby the prosecutions own ballistic expert was significantly undermined regarding his claim on the one hand that the sound moderator was used, but on the other hand, that it was not possible to tell if any of the 25 rounds had been fired through a sound moderator. Mallinsons technique is capable of establishing that it is possible to differentiate between bullets fired via use of a sound moderator, or not. On that basis there would be grounds for referring the case back to the court of appeal, since if as Mallinson contends that it is possible to tell if a round had been fired through a sound moderator, as opposed to not, then Fletchers findings in 1985 / 86 that not any of the key 25 rounds had been fired through a sound moderator, serves to negate the use of the sound moderator in the shooting of the victims, in partiular the shooting of Sheila Caffell. It would also have bearing upon the reliability of paint found ingrained into parts of the silencer, since if it was possible using the Mallinson technique to establish when a round is fired through a sound moderator, and by virtue of Fletcher saying it was not possible to tell, then obviously the scratches to the aga surround and the paint on the silencer must have occurred on some unrelated occasion...