Sheila's X-Rays

Last updated: 26.01.15

Sheila's X-Rays in the news: As seen in the Sunday Express article 29.08.10 on-line, scan1 & scan2.

In recent years Jeremy’s legal team came into possession of a number of x-ray of Sheila Caffell's body. She has two bullet wounds, one in her neck and another under her chin. The first bullet lodged in the tissue of her neck and Dr Vanezis stated that it would not have killed her outright and that she would have been able to stand and walk. The second bullet went straight into her brain, killing her outright.

You can see clearly on the x-ray that the bullet in her neck which was the non-fatal injury, was in fragments and the pathologist Dr Vanezis noted that the first bullet known as PV/20 "fragmented on striking the bone". And yet at trial it miraculously made its way back to a being a whole bullet again.

Of course the mystery is how did this fragmented bullet get from being in 15 different pieces to a whole bullet again as it appeared at the trial of Jeremy Bamber?

Mr Malcolm Fletcher, the prosecution ballistics expert, detailed the bullet as whole in his reports. It is likely to have been swapped with one that had been fired through a sound moderator. In fact, it is likely that both bullets that appeared at trial allegedly - taken from Sheila Caffell’s body - were deliberately swapped with others that were taken from rounds found at the farm and then used in test firing by the police ballistics expert. Whether Malcolm Fletcher knew that this swap had taken place or not is unclear.

The 1986 trial judge stated that it was 'inconceivable' that Sheila committed the killings. This is because it would have meant her attaching the sound moderator to the gun, fighting in the kitchen, going upstairs, shooting herself with the sound moderator on the gun, going back downstairs, putting the silencer away in the cupboard, going back upstairs to shoot herself this time fatally.

It was crucial to the prosecution’s case that the silencer was on the gun. It would make sense to swap the bullets in case there was a difference in the markings present on them when fired with the moderator on or off. Of course there could be other reasons why this bullet was swapped, but this seems to be the most likely.

Do you still believe that Jeremy Bamber had a fair trial?