White House Farm - The Bamber Murders. Jan 8th ITV 9pm

[Dogleg]

Is anyone else planning to watch this six part series? I vaguely remembered the killings and on seeing this advertised have now lost hours to reading up about it online and have also downloaded a book about the case. I’m really looking forward to this one!

www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2019-12-25/itv-drama-white-house-farm/

Thanks for the heads up for the They Walk Among Us podcast. Have enjoyed listening to the episodes on wet and muddy dog walks.
No idea if he did it or not but bloody hell what a balls up that police investigation was.

I think JB is guilty, but I also think his family were all dreadful.

If you were allowed to murder your relations when they annoyed you, we'd all be inside, so that's not a way forward. But I do think the judge could have pointed out that he was a young man with absolutely no family support, clearly was troubled, and was the less loved of his adoptive parents.

I might be wrong, but these days the Bambers wouldn't be passed as adoptive parents. Religious extremism, hospital-level depression, etc. are tough at the best of times, and he had all that and more to cope with as well as a very sick sister who was the favourite.

And @AlexaAmbidextra I don’t agree you should start your own thread. You have posted your beliefs about the case very civilly and you are entitled to your own view about the case. The good thing is that we don’t all have to agree.

DuckWillow. Thank you for that. As you say, I haven’t been abusive, just posted my own opinions. Neither am I part of any ‘campaign’ as suggested by another poster. I won’t be shut down by somebody who disagrees with me.

the second fatal shot would have catapulted the rifle away from her.

Not necessarily. The Anschutz 22 has very low recoil.

Yes I found the They Walk Among Us podcast very interesting (thanks to the pp who recommended it) and it's also made me very unsure as to whether JB is actually guilty or not. I'm finding the ITV programme very good as well, but realise it may not necessarily be very accurate as to what actually happened.

It's actually quite awful to imagine him having to spend all his life in prison if he is innocent...but if he is innocent, why act so strangely after their murders? He certainly seemed to show some strong dislike for his family (and the dog), but then maybe his parents were hard work.

Bohemia what makes you so certain?

So the window latch was faulty which explained how he got out and made it look like the house was secured from the inside. But how did he get in? I think he was seen leaving wasn't he? Presumably the Bamber's would have locked up before bed. So did he have a key to get in? Though I think I read somewhere that the key was on the inside of the door. Or did someone let him in. Surely if he'd have knocked then he would have woke them all up?

I do think he did it. But there is a part of me that does think there is a small possibility he didn't.

Oops iirc apparently there was a bathroom window that could be opened from the outside. There was a debate about whether a hacksaw was used or not.

Why is there an assumption that one person was guilty of all the murders? I too had a friend who grew up near to and in a similar demographic as Sheila and Jeremy. She described the whole family at the time as "very peculiar and Sheila as very peculiar".

It is possible that thay theor was a perfect storm and an escalation of events with one person killing another due to one killing being witnessed iyswim. Jeremy may have killed that night. The victims may not all have been his. It is entirely possible Sheila killed too; and a parent.

There's an interview with the farm secretary employed by JB's father at the time on You Tube. She says 3weeks prior Mr Bamber wasn't himself & looked ill. When asked if he was alright he made a strange comment about "I've a bad feeling there might be an accident soon".

Not necessarily. The Anschutz 22 has very low recoil

If it had any recoil at all it wouldn't end up lying neatly on top of a dead person.

Really put off now after what happened to the dog

@purpleme12 it's a true case where five family members were brutally murdered in their beds and you're put off by the dog?!

Yes it's hard watching the people as well I found a lot of scenes quite disturbing n
But the dog also got to me

The whole thing is desperately sad. It seems like JB had a miserable upbringing which continued into adulthood but beyond that, as he was adopted, we probably have to assume that he had a traumatic early start in life too, which we're now beginning to understand causes issues even for people adopted very young.

Elder he didn’t have a traumatic early childhood, at least not in the way you’d imagine an adopted child now would. It’s very sad, but his parents were quite well to do people but he was born from an affair, so adoption was the only option. The really sad thing is his birth parents did end up married to each other eventually and I’m sure I read they both worked at Buckingham palace in good stable jobs. There’s no doubt June and Neville were weird and the whole religious mania/Shelia thinking she and her boys were possessed by the devil is all a bit weird too, and must be linked to the strict way in which they were brought up.

I meant trauma as in separation, which we know does have a traumatic and lasting effect now.

purpleme read further back and see how lovely the dog is and how he was trained. His real name is Crispy and he's gorgeous.

I think they needed to show this scene as it gives an indication of Jeremy's character.

I think June had real issues herself and Colin Caffel (the twins father) goes into a bit more detail in the book he wrote.

Neville though was described as warm and friendly.

Jeremy has issues with the fact he was sent to boarding school aged 7. He resented his parents for this although in their eyes they probably felt like they were providing a wonderful education for him.

Sheila was very frail emotionally and I'm not sure when June's mental health deteriorated so badly but certainly by the time the murders happened she was asking the twins to kneel and pray at bedtime which they didn't like. Colin Caffel definitely spike to her about this. He also says that visits to her parents always damaged her emotionally but that at the time she'd just come out of hospital and was n a good place. He doesn't believe there is a chance in hell she would murder her children.

I believe Jeremy is guilty but would also never be surprised if he was eventually released.

The one thing that does surprise me is the change to a whole life tariff. We've seen other people guilty of several murders released after long sentences. It makes me wonder why Jeremy had his sentence increased. It does suggest that the authorities have real concerns about him back in society perhaps.

I think he can't be released because he hasn't shown remorse DuckWillow, which of course he wouldn't if he didn't do it and can't if he's pretending he didn't do it.

So the window latch was faulty which explained how he got out and made it look like the house was secured from the inside. But how did he get in? I think he was seen leaving wasn't he? Presumably the Bamber's would have locked up before bed.

I grew up out in the sticks in the same time period. We never locked our doors. No one did.

As for the dog. Yes in those days a vet would put down a healthy animal.

@DuckWillow that video below with the cat in is adorable! The cat loves him and the dog's just standing still taking it!

I think that what JB did to the dog illustrates his lack of empathy, it was a very cold thing to do.

Alternatively it could show his empathy for the dog, if it was a case of the poor thing being inconsolable that his owner was dead. Not necessarily the case, but it's plausible.

It's not black/white.

It wasn't portrayed that way