Forensics Fund: Switched Bullet

We are campaigning to raise £2,000 for forensic work to be carried out on the ‘Chain of Evidence’ of a prosecution exhibit from the 1986 trial of Jeremy Bamber for which he is serving a Life Tariff in prison.

One of the bullets recovered from Sheila Caffell was presented as ‘whole’ at trial, which was impossible if it was the same bullet recovered from her body by the pathologist and supported by x-rays because it was fragmented into at least 15 pieces. If this ‘Chain of Evidence’ was tampered with it suggests that the bullets were swapped, possibly in the hope that bullets fired through a sound moderator end up in a different state to those not fired through a moderator.

A Chain of Evidence protects the integrity of material evidence obtained by police. It is a criminal offence to alter evidence chains because it can seriously affect the outcome of a trial in which the items are exhibits. In this case there are serious and specific concerns about tampering with the ‘Chain of Evidence’ material pertaining to the bullets. The report will then be used with material already obtained in a new application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Sheila's X-ray, showing the fragmented bullet in her neck.