THE MURDERS AT WHITE HOUSE FARM by CAROL ANN LEE

THE MURDERS AT WHITE HOUSE FARM

BY CAROL ANN LEE

THE BLURB:-

On 7 August 1985, Nevill and June Bamber, their daughter Sheila and her two young sons Nicholas and Daniel were discovered at their home, White House Farm in Essex. They had been shot dead.

It seemed a straightforward case of murder-suicide. A semi-automatic rifle was found on Sheila's body, a bible lay at her side. All the windows and doors of the farmhouse were secure, and the Bambers' son, 24-year-old Jeremy, had alerted police after apparently receiving a phone call from his father, who told him Sheila had 'gone berserk'. But a dramatic turn of events was to disprove the police's theory and, in October 1986, Jeremy Bamber was convicted of killing his entire family in order to inherit his parents' substantial estates. He has always maintained his innocence.

Drawing on interviews and correspondence with many of those closely connected to the killings, including Jeremy Bamber himself, Carol Ann Lee brings astonishing clarity to a complex and emotive case. The Murders at White House farm is a gripping account of one of Britain's most notorious crimes.

THE REALITY:-

Boy, was I glad to finish reading this one- it was starting to give me nightmares! Although thorough, it was quite long-winded (well, I suppose it would be- a lot of evidence was put forward for the case and a lot has been rehashed since, via Jeremy Bamber's subsequent appeals.) But, coming on the back of me watching the TV series, then reading Colin Caffell's book (father of the murdered twins) I just feel that I'm all Bambered out.

Did he do it? Hell, yeah. If he's as innocent as he likes to make out (and I suppose he would say that, wouldn't he? It's his only light at the end of the tunnel of his full life sentence) then I suggest he does something about his personal delivery, as the crime is written all over his eyes in every picture I've ever seen of him. I do think, however, that the evidence that convicted him was flawed. You have a jilted ex-girlfriend- which makes it a his word against hers situation; a silencer that was not discovered by the police, but by a family member (who stood to inherit if Jeremy Bamber was convicted) and a crime scene that was not properly protected by the police, as they initially thought it was a murder/suicide situation. As mentioned in the book, it's interesting that we don't have the Scottish “not proven” option, as that is what I think the verdict would have been. But arrogant Bamber would have killed again, thinking that that was exactly what he was entitled to do, having got away with one heinous crime already. The guy is a psychopath (despite tests saying the contrary) and he is mad. Shame, as he's very good looking. What a waste!

If you're interested in the case then you'll enjoy this. My favourite parts were the background to Jeremy and his family. If I'm ever in the area, then I'll go for a ghoulish nosey at White House Farm.