Jeremy Bamber

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jeremy Bamber (born in England in 1961) is one of the UK's most notorious mass murderers, almost as much for remaining in the news since his conviction, as for the shocking crimes he was convicted of carrying out. However, his conviction remains a matter of some controversy.

Bamber was 25 when he was given five life sentences in 1986 for shooting dead his adoptive parents, sister and twin six-year-old nephews at the family farmhouse in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex the previous year.

The court was told that Bamber shot his family and then placed the rifle in his sister's hands in order to make her appear the person who carried out the killings and then turned the gun on herself. The police initially believed that his sister, Sheila Caffell, was the killer because she had paranoid schizophrenia and had not been taking her medication, and because Bamber reportedly called the police to state that his father, Nevill, had called him and told him that Sheila had gone mad and was trying to kill the family.

Initially, the police recorded the matter as a suicide and four murders, but persistence by members of the Bambers' extended family, who did not believe Sheila capable of the killings, eventually led to a more thorough investigation. Jeremy Bamber was placed under suspicion after his fingerprints were found on the gun and his girlfriend Julie Mugford, who was seen comforting Bamber at the funeral of all five relatives, told the court that he had talked in the past about killing his parents.

It was argued by the prosecution and accepted by most of the jury, that Bamber killed his family in order to claim an inheritance of almost £500,000.

Bamber was told by his trial judge, Mr. Justice Drake, that he was "warped and evil" and recommended that he should serve at least 25 years before being considered for release, which would keep him behind bars until at least 2011 and the age of 50. Successive Home Secretaries have since ruled that Bamber's life sentence should mean exactly that, although Bamber has always pleaded his innocence and has seen two appeals against his convictions rejected. Politicians in England and Wales no longer have the right to decide minimum terms for convicted murderers.

Bamber continues to pursue and offer rewards for fresh evidence which will ensure that his convictions are overturned, which remains a source of anger to his remaining family.

In light of new evidence and inconsistencies in the original trial evidence, Bamber's cause has been taken up by among others; Andrew Hunter, who was the MP for Basingstoke until the 2005 general election and the crime writer Scott Lomax - see link below for article published on the website of the Libertarian Alliance.

In 2004, Bamber was rushed to a hospital after he was attacked by another inmate while making a telephone call from Full Sutton Prison, near York, where he was serving his sentence. He suffered deep cuts to his neck but made a full recovery.

Bamber has launched a third appeal against his convictions. This new appeal centres on previously unseen photographs, which allegedly reveal him to have been in police custody when his sister was killed. Bamber is also making use of controversial lawyer Giovanni di Stefano. [1]