A new forensic analysis of crime scene photographs has cast doubt on a key piece of evidence used to convict Jeremy Bamber for the 1985 murders of five family members at White House Farm in Essex. Bamber, now 63, has been in prison for 41 years for the killings, despite no DNA linking him to the crime. The Guardian commissioned Professor Jason Payne-James, a specialist in forensic and legal medicine, to examine the police photographs. He concluded that the bullet wounds on Sheila Caffell, Bamber's sister, are not consistent with a silencer being attached to the rifle used in the killings.
The silencer was central to the prosecution's case at Bamber's 1986 trial. It was found three days after the murders in a downstairs cupboard by relatives, raising questions about why it was not discovered during an earlier police search. The trial judge, Justice Maurice Drake, told the jury that if they believed the silencer had been attached to the rifle, then Bamber must have committed the murders. The jury convicted Bamber on a 10-2 majority after asking whether blood found inside the silencer was a perfect match for Caffell.
Professor Payne-James said: 'The pattern imprint on the skin is not large enough to suggest that a silencer was used, either at very close range or in contact with her body. These are close-range bullet holes, and the nature of the moderator or silencer is such that you'd expect some form of pattern imprint equivalent to the diameter of the silencer if it was used in contact or at very close range.' His analysis suggests the injuries are not consistent with a contact or close-range shot from a rifle with a silencer attached.
Bamber and his legal team believe this finding could be a gamechanger. The silencer was the closest thing to forensic evidence in the case, containing what was said to be Caffell's blood from backspatter. If the silencer was not used, the prosecution's argument that Caffell could not have killed herself is undermined. The case is currently being considered by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which has taken four years to review less than half of the evidence submitted by Bamber.
