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Original poster

Do we know who is the arrested man is yet?

18 replies

Durab · 03/10/2012 16:51

The man who's been arrested in connection with the abduction of that poor child in Wales?

Is he someone known to the the police and/or family, or an apparently random stranger?

And, if they've got him, why haven't they got the child?

I'm a million miles away from them, but have recently started letting my (slightly older) DC have more freedom than some people think I should. I feel for her family so much.

OP posts:

iliketea · 03/10/2012 16:57

He has been named on the bbc news website. HOWEVER - last time I checked, he had been arrested, not charged with anything, therefore he is currently innocent (until charged and proven guilty).

Tiago · 03/10/2012 17:04

The fact that they have arrested someone does not mean he did it. It just means that he might have (in this case it seems he has access to a white van and knew the child) and the police are investigating.

Hopefully the newspapers will be more careful about what they say this time around .

aurynne · 03/10/2012 20:36

The car they have showed in the photos looks nothing like a "white van" to me though...

I can't even start to imagine the nightmare April's parents are going through. It gives me the shivers just to think about it :(

CogitoErgoSometimes · 04/10/2012 07:48

The police have been quite public about the arrested man because they need people in the community to talk to them about his movements. I'm sure the newspapers won't hold back.

bookbird · 04/10/2012 07:58

You express My thoughts exactly Tiago. i was watching BBC news last night and was quite taken back at the reporting. They even had neighbours on pointing out that he didn't really fit in. Not very responsible journalism.

the time for that kind of reporting comes after charges have been brought.

AllPastYears · 04/10/2012 08:09

"the time for that kind of reporting comes after charges have been brought. "

I'm not even sure about that - surely the time for it is after/if he's been tried and found guilty.

bookbird · 04/10/2012 08:22

True Allpast, I guess I'm just assuming
journalism has changed so much (for the worst) the goal posts have been well and truly moved.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 04/10/2012 14:41

If this is all over the papers and TV it'll be because the police are making direct and very specific appeals to the public. As they seem to believe the little girl is still alive and that time is short, they've deliberately lifted any reporting restrictions & gone into great detail about this man, his car and so on. So it would be unfair to blame journalists for anything.

AllPastYears · 04/10/2012 19:43

But the journalists surely shouldn't be asking the man's neighbours to comment on his personality .

phantomnamechanger · 04/10/2012 20:02

I think there is a lot we don't know (and quite rightly) - on one news site I read that the parents had given the suspects name to the police - we dont know why/in what context. It's also very interesting that they were looking for him very quickly despite the colour of the vehicle not being as the children said - small children can be vague and make mistakes - but I do wonder what else may have been said that put them onto this suspect straight away. Maybe one of the kids even said "the man looked a bit like X"

crosscupcake · 05/10/2012 11:00

Charged with murder.
Just on the news.

PedanticPanda · 05/10/2012 11:02

Poor April, my thoughts are with her family. They must be devastated.

DuelingFanjo · 05/10/2012 11:08

I think the charge is 'suspicion of murder' still innocent until proven guilty.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 05/10/2012 13:43

"But the journalists surely shouldn't be asking the man's neighbours to comment on his personality "

The police have deliberately gone public on this, precisely to harness as many of the community as possible and get them sharing information with neighbours - via media if necessary - about the suspect. They've therefore weighed up the comparative risks of a prejudiced trial, a law-suit for defamation of character or unlawful arrest against the very slim possibility that she would be found alive or, as they're now implying, the recovery of a body. They would not have take such a unique decision lightly.

Tiago · 05/10/2012 15:30

He's under suspicion, but already people are ready to hang him. I just overheard the statement "we'll they're calling it a murder inquiry so he must have confessed"...

I think I'll just wit for the actual trial.

AllPastYears · 05/10/2012 15:31

Yes, but it's one thing to ask people to come forward to the police with actual information, and quite another for journalists to ask them to speculate.

CogitoErgoSometimes · 05/10/2012 15:40

One person's speculation, in this context, could be the memory trigger for another. I think this has been a unique case in many respects. The closest similar example I can think of was the Shannon Matthews kidnap. That was also very out there in the media, the family were interviewed, the neighbours ditto.

meditrina · 05/10/2012 15:55

If he had confessed, I think he would have been charged more or less straight away. It seems he is being taken to the magistrates more or less now, so I expect the police are asking for a period of further detention (it can be authorised for another day).

The police were still appealing for information about his movements and sightings of the vehicle, which suggests they are still building a case and are using a number of lines of enquiry.

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