Another communication with David Shaw:-An Innocent Man (XIX)
To: michael teskowski <
[email protected]>
Cc: michael teskowski <
[email protected]>
Dear Mike,
Thanks very much for the offer to run questions past Jeremy. I’m not sure that system will work though Mike, as I was hoping for reasonably detailed answers, but I will send through the questions to you anyhow (you may look at them and think the task is too awkward under the circumstances/visiting rules. Just let me know either way.) I think that it would take several lengthy meetings to cover the ground required! You may have covered many of the questions yourself over the years and can pencil in answers and then get Jeremy to simply confirm or add detail?
As Lee told me she was quite constantly seeing/talking with Jeremy, and as she had read the pilot draft at least twice, I thought she would be well-positioned to go through each question in depth, but it hasn’t happened. As I explained to Lee, what I was hoping for was to let Jeremy’s ‘voice’ reach out to the reader at certain key parts; I wanted to then place that material into an updated draft before coming to the U.K and laying some cards on the table. The Lee/Shelley alliance, I must admit, has struck me as a little odd in many ways. Anyhow, I have edited the below list of questions and left them under their relevant chapter headings for reasons of simplicity.
At the moment Mike I’m quite flat out, but I’m working to a schedule that over the next twelve months or so should see the work-load diminish significantly to the point where I can take a lot more interest in writing/investigating material free of time/financial commitments; while I can’t actively help you on the U.S case you mentioned in your email, I am certainly interested in any details/information you have or are willing to send down the line, and am happy to give any thoughts, opinions I have on it. Sounds very intriguing.
(Questions for JB)
CHAPTER ONE: Genesis
(i) Does Jeremy have any personal recollection of the night/morning in question (August 6/7 1985) that could help readers to see the incident from his viewpoint?
a/ For example, how he felt driving to the scene, his thoughts?
b/ The attitude of the officers upon his arrival and the hours before the raid team entered the house?
(ii) What did Jeremy – at the time – believe had happened inside the farmhouse?
(iii) Looking back after all these years, what is Jeremy’s most potent memory of that tragic morning?
CHAPTER TWO: You Can Never Tell
(i) Prior to the murders, Jeremy appeared to have settled down somewhat to life at WHF; is there any personal memory to show a growing bond between Jeremy and Nevill, which counters the public perception he had no interest in his family/farm?
(ii) Did Jeremy notice any change (fear/worry) come over Nevill in the days/weeks preceding the murders, or the source of such troubles? Were there any signs of trouble/tension between Bambers and other members of the family clan (Boutflours, Eatons) leading up to the murders?
(iii) I know efforts were made to keep the facts surrounding June & Sheila’s mental illnesses private, but were they ever discussed? Did Sheila ever share anything with Jeremy regarding her situation? In the lead up to the killings, did Sheila, June or Nevill ever share with Jeremy any concerns about themselves or other family members?
(iv) Can Jeremy recall the final words he said to any of his family members?
CHAPTER THREE: Scene of the Crime
(i) Jeremy has been portrayed as extremely cold in his reactions to the massacre. Can he give one or two inner thoughts/reactions to the whole experience; the waiting for news, the revelation that his family was dead, the words and actions of police officers around him, to dispel this notion?
(ii) Can Jeremy give any (brief) recollection/description of the key characters involved in that morning’s dramatic events (when he first encountered them), eg: how they approached Jeremy, spoke with him, first impressions:
Stan Jones:
Mick Clark:
Tom Jones:
Dr Craig:
DI Miller:
(Mick Ainsley – even though he didn’t become involved until much later)
CHAPTER FOUR: Adherence to a Paradigm
(i) Stan Jones was pivotal to the falsified case against Jeremy.
When did it filter into Jeremy’s mind that Stan believed he was involved in the WHF murders?
How did Jeremy react to this? Were there any testy/memorable early clashes between Jeremy and Stan behind the scenes? At the time, and looking back, does Jeremy have any view on why Stan went to such extremes: was it because Stan genuinely thought he was guilty? That Stan felt extreme dislike for Jeremy? That Stan also had an ulterior motive for crossing so many lines?
(ii) Again, any personal recollection of the first few days following the massacre which argues against the public perception that Jeremy was ultra-cold and detached from the tragedy?
(iii) Jeremy later made the comment that Essex police at this time were like ‘open books’ when it came to discussing what had occurred inside WHF, supporting the view that the crime was nothing more than a murder-suicide pact. Can he give any specific examples of this?
CHAPTER FIVE: Happy Families
(i)The MS is clear regarding the dissent between Jeremy and the extended family. Was Jeremy aware at the time (at what stage?) that the family believed he was responsible for the killings? How, in this awkward situation, were relations between the key parties? Did anyone openly accuse him of the murders?
(ii) Was Jeremy aware of the family attempts to stitch him for the crime? Was he aware, for instance, of the family communications with Essex police, and their trips to the station?
(iii) Did Jeremy, after the tragedy, share with his family members, or Julie, what he intended to do with his inheritance, the farm, land, assets?
CHAPTER SIX: Hell Hath No Fury
(i) Can Jeremy highlight any personal occasions, conversations, in the four-five week period between the murders and Julie’s denouement to the police where Julie’s actions indicated a woman who wasn’t hiding guilty secrets, who felt no guilt, and had no fear of Evil Jeremy, etc?
(These can be acts of buying gifts, any witnessed words/acts that contradict her later allegations of being scared and confused in his company; anything to discredit Julie’s testimony and to support the manuscript’s claim she is nothing more than a bare-faced liar.) Any examples of Julie’s unbalanced state of mind/emotions prior to her accusations to Essex police?
(ii) Does Jeremy have any explanation for what Julie did, other than scorned love? Does he perceive active ‘encouragement’ from the police, other family members?
(iii) I presume no contact has been made between Jeremy and Julie in the last two decades?
CHAPTER SEVEN: Face-to-Face
(i) Can Jeremy recall his reaction to the moment police knocked on the door to arrest him on suspicion of murdering his entire family? What was he feeling and thinking at the time?
(ii) Was there any interaction between Jeremy and officers present, either at the flat or on the journey to the nick? For instance, did Jeremy protest his innocence or ask the police any pertinent questions?
(iii) What are the key memories of the days Jeremy spent under interrogation?
(iv) Does Jeremy have any comments to make on the way Stan Jones, Mick Clark, and other officers conducted themselves?
CHAPTER EIGHT: Between Two Evils
(i) Can Jeremy give any examples of being harassed by the Press, any offers or extremes the Press went to in order to sensationalise the situation/profit from Jeremy’s predicament?
(ii) The ms suggests that in the 12-18 months or so preceding the murders, Jeremy settled down at the farm and was playing a more responsible role in the family business/operations. Can I ask what Jeremy was thinking/planning at that point in time regarding his own life; did he envisage a future at WHF or in some other direction, was he living ‘day-by-day’?
(iii) It was observed that while Jeremy settled down, Sheila was anything but settled. Did Jeremy notice any change come over his sister in the months leading up to the killings; did he overhear June or Nevill, or anyone else, discussing Sheila’s state of mind/health?
CHAPTER NINE: Preparing the Defence
(i) The Press did a good job of painting a detached, cold Jeremy pre-post trial. Does Jeremy have any anecdotes re: remand, preparing to go on trial for his life for a crime he didn’t commit? (Any recollections of fear, anxiety, day-to-day turmoil, etc, that can put the reader in the shoes of a guy hauled out of the river of ordinary life and put in such a terrible situation?)
(ii) My opinion is that, despite the non-disclosure & police tactics, Jeremy’s original defence team was weak and too trusting of surface truths. I believe Jeremy wanted a full-frontal assault on the Crown case. Can Jeremy recall any specific conversation with Terzeon/Rivlin prior to trial, during trial, when he urged for a more concerted push against the police evidence?
(iii) Can Jeremy recall Tom Jones death, if it meant anything to him at the time, and any subsequent inquiry the defence wanted to pursue regarding the old DCI’s ‘accident’?
CHAPTER TEN, ELEVEN, TWELVE: Trial, Trial Continued, Verdict
(i) Any personal recollections of entire trial that could help Jeremy’s cause would be appreciated. It’s important that people be given the chance to see/feel the reality of what Jeremy was put through, rather than always hearing the other/official side of the story. Eg: had he coached his mind to display no emotion during the trial? To not contest Julie’s lies? To match stares with the relatives who had betrayed him?
(ii) I believe the trial started well for the defence. Was that Jeremy’s impression? Did Jeremy’s defence team convey that feeling to him?
(iii) Can Jeremy explain how he was feeling while listening to Julie’s outrageous testimony?
(iv) What was the key moment/turning point in the trial in Jeremy’s opinion? The blood-silencer evidence? How confident was Jeremy prior to the summing up by Justice Drake that he would be found not-guilty? And after the summing up? Did Jeremy comprehend the full implications of the judge’s biased and misleading summing up at the time?
(v) Any personal recollections of being on the stand, confronted by Anthony Arlidge QC?
(vi) Can Jeremy recollect the moment the jury returned to court and gave its verdict, and how he felt on hearing that verdict?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: A Tale of Two Guns
(i) Can Jeremy confirm or refute that Anthony Pargeter regularly removed his bolt and took it home with him, as claimed? Was Jeremy ever asked this question by police?
(ii) When was Jeremy first aware that a silencer had been removed from the gun cupboard? Or that a silencer was suspected of being used in the murders?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Among the Damned
(i) Can Jeremy pass any comment on:
a) being taken to prison
b) that first night in prison
c) the battle inside his own mind to come to terms with the wrongs perpetrated against him
(ii) Can I ask for a brief recounting of two or three of the scariest/lowest/most haunting moments Jeremy has faced behind bars?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Secrets of the Files
(i) Has Jeremy ever reconstructed – in his own mind - how the murders themselves took place? How Sheila committed the murders, controlled Nevill, order of killings etc.
(ii) Also, the distress phone call by Nevill. Does Jeremy believe this took place before the killings began, during the killings, or under gun-point duress?
(iii) (Mike, I’m sure this one is a wild goose). I’ve been told that no telephone records existed at all for the phones at WHF during August 1985. However, I’ve heard that records did exist covering the period May, June and July 1985 and that individual telephone numbers dialled from WHF at that time were recorded. If records existed of course, they would have established whether someone had indeed called Jeremy’s phone number from WHF at 3 a.m. August 7 1985. Do you have any knowledge of this matter?
(iv) Do you know how thorough the toxicology tests conducted on Sheila Caffell in fact were? My understanding is that blood and urine tests were performed; obviously no type of sleeping draught or sedative was present, but was the Essex scanning procedure so lackadaisical to render the screening tests for all intents and purposes meaningless?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Thou Shalt Follow Me
(i) Does Jeremy have any recollection of the last time he saw the bible that was adjacent to Sheila’s body? Any memory of Sheila studying Bible, making notes, in the last days she spent at WHF? When did he first learn of the Bible’s relevance to the crime?
(ii) Mike, does photographic evidence exist that Sheila’s feet were bloodied – and not perfectly clean as the prosecution claimed?
(iii)When did it become apparent to yourself/Jeremy that Essex police may have toyed (stage-managed) aspects of the various crime scenes?
(iv) Mike, SOCO leader Ron Cook made a WS dated 21 March 1986: ‘On 25th September 1985, the bible (DRH/44) was received at the fingerprint department, police headquarters, Chelmsford. It was subsequently subjected to chemical fingerprint treatment resulting in the development of a large number of impressions…’ Yet I’m led to believe that document 64/349 which accounted for all of DI Cook's fingerprint tests on items found at WHF shows that the bible was never submitted for fingerprint analysis or forensic examination? Do you have any clarification on this matter?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: In the Blood
No questions
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: 7436 Days
(i) At this point, how does Jeremy perceive the CCRC/Appeal travelling.
(ii) If the current CCRC review/appeal is successful, what life does Jeremy want to lead? Does he allow himself to look that far ahead? (I presume WHF and working the land would not be on the agenda?) I have to ask, if this attempt at freedom fails, how will Jeremy handle it?
(iii) Mike, could you provide me with a brief/basic rundown of the daily routine of Jeremy’s current life?
(iv) Has Jeremy or yourself kept a track of any of the key characters in the case, or attempted to make contact with them? (Eg, Drake, Robert & Pamela Boutflour, Stan Jones, DI Miller, or any other point of interest regarding the key protagonists.)
(v) Mike, just checking I am right in thinking the ‘whole life tariff’ no longer applies in Jeremy’s case, that this was changed some years ago? If so, what do you/Jeremy think is the likely parole situation presuming the worst case scenario comes about & all attempts to help free Jeremy fail?
(iv) Mike, do you know what the legal/financial repercussions would be if Jeremy’s appeal was successful, re: the inheritance that was taken by the relatives, the massive loss of income, etc. How would this be reconciled? (Clearly it’s not Jeremy’s prime concern, but it may be the family’s.)
(v) I understand the polygraph tests is off the cards? How would Jeremy feel about a brain-fingerprinting test?
CHAPTER NINETEEN: Truth Will Out
(i) Mike, has it been established when the key pics showing ‘fresh blood’ seen on Sheila were taken? The recent Press reports indicate a time well in advance of the time SOCO arrived at the scene and started to take pictures – I presume that is a research error. I believe the pics were taken by PC Bird within half-hour either side of 10.30 a.m.?
(There’s also a rumour, I assume patently false, that a journalist/independent photographer was used in the early stages of the police scouring of the scene, and that the police first arrived without the necessary photographic equipment?)
* Any message or last word Jeremy has to make, any point he would like inserted in the final product?
*******
I know this is a large amount of work Mike, so like I said, if it’s too awkward, just let me know. There’s no time pressure involved. There were one or two pics I was desperately hoping to see – but I don’t know if you have access to them; they regard the discrepancy between victims re: rigor, lividity, hypostasis. Any crime scene/autopsy pics supporting the case of the victims dying at different times would be very useful.
Much Appreciated,
Best Regards,
David
