Copyright © JB Campaign Ltd
About the note and the forensic
report Jeremy needs
In
2016 the campaign discovered a handwritten note, which we believe was found by
police on the 7th or 8th of August 1985 on the
bedside table in Sheila Caffell’s bedroom at White House Farm. A reference for
it was entered in the exhibits list but the officer who seized it later failed
to include any reference to it in his statement. However, the note re-emerged
and was documented as having been given to DCI ‘Taff’ Jones who strongly
believed in Jeremy’s innocence. However, under the supervision of another
senior officer the note appears to have been filed away as ‘illegible’. Copies
of the note were disclosed after the 2002 appeal and came into the hands of
official campaigners in 2011.
What
is the nature and context of this evidence?
The contents of the letter suggest it was written
during the time between Sheila killing her family and waiting for the police to
arrive at the farmhouse. We contend that she was “in conversation” with the
police as is documented, and didn’t take her own life until police broke down
the back door of the farm house.
Several pages long, the letters are addressed to
‘Mummy’ in reference to Sheila’s natural mother Christine, who is referred to
in the letters as her blood relation. Sheila describes her adopted mother June
Bamber as ‘Mother.’ Sheila’s telling state of mind shows with a number of angry
references to her ex-husband the twin’s father, Colin Caffell who wanted full
custody of the children.
In her own words Sheila indicated that she would be
“in the other world,” after the police arrive, and continued with, “my
babys and me we go to our rest.” She also makes reference to ‘us’ [the dead
family] being put into a deep trench after the police arrive. Further reference
is to “dig down deep and a lot of blood will come out.”
What
we expect the forensic report to tell us
The
peer-reviewed report will identify the writing as Sheila Caffell’s. Once this
is complete it is possible that a secondary report by a Forensic Psychologist
could be commissioned on the content of the letter. This would shed light on
Sheila’s state of mind and will confirm that the thoughts she wrote down
strongly indicate that she killed the family and took her own life. We
have received a preliminary overview of the material we provided to a
handwriting expert who believes that the material was written in the hand of
Sheila Caffell.
Supporting evidence and how it helps Jeremy's Appeal
Is this the only material,
which can tell us about Sheila’s state of mind that night?
No, there are Sheila’s
handwritten song lyrics by Marianne Faithful, which have been signed “Bambi”.
These are from the songs Guilt, Brain Drain and Broken English. It
is another area we wish experts to look at in the future to further indicate
Sheila’s state of mind at the time. This issue is particularly relevant as she
changes the lyrics of Broken English from “Could have come
through anytime,” to “Put a gun through anytime.” We also have
access to supporting statements from Foster parents who looked after Sheila’s
children, Nicholas and Daniel confirming that they had already been fostered, a
fact that was kept from the 1986 jury. There are further statements from
friends and relatives of Sheila’s expressing their fear that she was a danger
to other people, her children and herself.
How it will help
Jeremy’s appeal?
When the report is
complete it will be used as part of a corpus of material for submissions to the
Criminal Cases Review Commission. This will warrant disclosure of the original
handwritten manuscripts under Section 17 of the Criminal Appeals Act. The nature
of the evidence will strongly support the contention that Sheila Caffell was
suicidal and killed the family whilst in a psychotic episode. We already know
Sheila had struggled with mental health problems for many years and after a
second stay in a psychiatric hospital she was released under strict and
controlled medication, which was not fully administered. The jury did not know
of her history of violent outbursts, or that the children had been fostered
previously. Neither did they know that social services had reported Sheila’s
neglect of the children who had unexplained injuries including burns and falls.
