White House Farm murders: Jeremy Bamber loses latest court challenge to convictions for killing whole family in notorious shootings

The 59-year-old is serving a whole life sentence for the notorious White House Farm murders
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Convicted killer Jeremy Bamber’s bid to overturn his convictions for murdering his family suffered a blow today as a High Court fight for evidence was rejected.

The 59-year-old is serving a whole life sentence for the notorious White House Farm murders after being convicted of killing his adoptive parents Nevill and June, both 61, his sister Sheila Caffell, 26, and her six-year-old twins Daniel and Nicholas.

Bamber has always maintained his innocence over the killings at the family farm in Essex in August 1985, insisting his sister was the shooter before turning the gun on herself.

In the latest of a string of challenges to his convictions, Bamber insisted the Crown Prosecution Service must hand over evidence he says exists of a second firearm silencer in the farmhouse that night.

This afternoon Mr Justice Julian Knowles rejected Bamber’s judicial review of the CPS decision on disclosure
PA

He claims the case against him at his 1985 murder trial hinged on the claim there was only one silencer, and it was therefore impossible for Ms Caffell to have been the killer.

This afternoon Mr Justice Julian Knowles rejected Bamber’s judicial review of the CPS decision on disclosure, ruling the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) should be the body looking at the case rather than the courts.

“If ever there was a case where the CCRC should be approached to make a decision on what is said to be new evidence, it is this one”, he said.

“This is a massively complex case which has been investigated and re-investigated by more than one police force over some 35 years. The body of material is vast.

“After so many years, and so much litigation, the CCRC is the body undoubtedly best placed to consider (Bamber’s) arguments.

“This case is so complicated, and has so many overlapping layers, that judicial review is a hopelessly blunt tool with which to address and determine the arguments.”

Bamber, who is facing the rest of his life in prison, has “relentlessly explored every avenue of challenge” to his convictions, said the judge, up to the European Court of Human Rights and through the CCRC.

His convictions were upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2002, but he is now pursuing a fresh appeal with claims there is fresh evidence that casts doubt on the prosecution case.

Bringing the latest challenge, Bamber’s representative Joe Stone QC said evidence pointing to a possible second silencer was “crucial” and an appeal bid would be “significantly handicapped” without it.

Bamber has always alleged that his sister Sheila Caffell carried out the shootings before turning the gun on herself

However, the CPS refused disclosure and said Bamber had “failed to make out an arguable case on the facts”, adding that the original prosecution had other evidence that pointed to Bamber being the killer.

Mr Justice Julian Knowles concluded: “I am unable to say that the CPS erred in law in refusing to make the disclosure sought.”

He added: “I am not on the material I have seen readily able to accept the premise that the existence of a second sound moderator is capable of affecting the safety of the claimant’s convictions in any meaningful way.

“The facts are that the moderator which was found had Ms Caffell’s blood in it, and she could not have shot herself when the sound moderator was attached to the rifle.”

The judge said Bamber has the “necessary basis for arguing that his convictions are unsafe” and could still take a challenge to the CCRC, even without further CPS disclosure.

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