Jeremy Bamber’s 39-year campaign to prove his innocence of the White Farm murders has been given a boost by an investigation that raises serious questions about his conviction.
He is serving a life sentence for the murders of his adoptive parents Nevill and June Bamber, both 61, his adoptive sister Sheila Caffell, 28, and her six-year-old twins Daniel and Nicholas. All were shot dead at the farm in Essex on August 7, 1985.
Bamber has always maintained his innocence and that Sheila, a paranoid schizophrenic, carried out the murders before shooting herself. He is the only lifer in the British prison system to maintain his innocence.
Now, a 17,000-word investigation by The New Yorker, to be published tomorrow, has reportedly revealed more than a dozen apparent discrepancies in the prosecution’s charges.
The magazine tracked down officers who were present after the murders and who allegedly corroborated Bamber’s claim that police had manipulated the crime scene to portray him in a bad light.
Jeremy Bamber’s campaign to prove his innocence has been boosted by an investigation that casts doubt on his conviction
Bamber has always maintained his innocence and that Sheila (pictured centre with her children), a paranoid schizophrenic, carried out the murders before shooting herself.
Jeremy Bamber’s parents, Nevill and June, who were both shot dead
The inquiry also raises questions about the beleaguered Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which Bamber’s legal team say failed to act on documents that would exonerate him.
Justice Minister Shabana Mahmood has called for the resignation of CCRC chair Helen Pitcher over the case of Andrew Malkinson, who served 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit.
An investigation into the CCRC’s role by Chris Henley KC found it missed several opportunities to refer the case to a higher court. Malkinson, who was only released as a result of forensic testing by campaigners, said of proving his innocence: ‘I’m not the only one.’
The New Yorker, which also raised questions about the safety of nurse Lucy Letby’s conviction for the murder of seven babies, has been investigating the Bamber case since October last year.
The focus is on allegations that Essex Police lied about evidence, falsified witness statements, passed evidence to a third party, suppressed and concealed evidence and manipulated a crime scene following the murders at the family farm near Maldon, Essex.
Bamber says his sister Sheila, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, feared her children would be placed in foster care. She suffered a psychotic episode and committed the murders before turning the gun on herself.
Bamber Farm, White House Farm in Tolleshunt D’Arcy near Maldon, Essex
It has been argued that Bamber must have carried out the murders as the gun had a silencer, making it too long for his sister to physically shoot herself, but doubts have been raised about this conclusion
Police suggested that Bamber must have committed the murders because the rifle was fitted with a silencer, making it too long for him to shoot himself. However, ballistics experts later cast doubt on whether the rifle was fitted with a silencer.
Police also said that if she had run away, her feet would have been covered in blood, which was not the case. However, a photograph of her feet obtained by Bamber’s lawyers shows bloodstains.
Police initially suspected that Sheila, a model known as Bambi, was responsible.
They placed Bamber at the centre of the investigation after his girlfriend Julie Mugford – whom he had caught twice – claimed he had confessed to her that he was planning to hire a hitman to murder the family. The hitman she named had a rock-solid alibi and was released.
Bamber’s lawyers also found a police phone log of a call made on the night of Nevill’s murders. The log, headed ‘daughter has gone berserk’, noted that Mr Bamber had said his daughter had stolen one of his guns and had gone ‘berserk’.
A bloodstained Bible found on Sheila’s body and opened to pages containing Psalms 51-55 – about the battle between good and evil – was never forensically examined or produced at trial, despite requests from Bamber’s lawyer.
Last night, Bamber said: ‘If the re-enactment of the crime scene is a significant new point in the New Yorker story, then we can go straight back to the Court of Appeal. I hope that will happen within a few days, after we have the new evidence.
Bamber has said that if re-enacting the crime scene is a key point in the story, it would allow him to go to the Court of Appeal
Bamber became the focus of the investigation after his girlfriend Julie Mugford – whom he cheated on twice – claimed he had confessed to her that he planned to hire a hitman to murder the family.
‘The Court of Appeal has already said that re-enacting the crime scene would be a moral sin. We will therefore return to the Court of Appeal as soon as possible to apply for bail pending a full appeal.’
A spokesman for Bamber’s campaign said The New Yorker’s investigation highlighted a key point raised in the report into the CCRC’s failures in the Malkinson case: “a refusal to investigate the submissions put to them”.
They added: ‘The CCRC has had Jeremy Bamber’s latest submissions since March 2021 and… they have failed to investigate any of the key exonerating issues raised within them, which demonstrate Jeremy Bamber’s innocence.’
The CCRC said it makes “impartial, evidence-based decisions”. Essex Police have long cited Bamber’s failed appeals when questioned about the safety of the conviction.
Additional reporting: Scott Jones