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Blood Relations
This is a detailed account and investigation into one of the most famous murder cases of the 1980s. On 8th August 1985 the press reported the killing of June and Nevill Bamber, a middle-aged farming couple, and their twin grandsons by their adopted daughter, Sheila, who had apparently killed them all and then committed suicide. One year later the Bamber's adopted son Jeremy was convicted of all their murders and sentenced to life. This book investigates.
464 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 8, 2016
The so-called 'true crime' genre is not one I would normally indulge in and I'm sure that I would never have read Blood Relations if it were not loaned to me by a relation of the family who were killed by Jeremy Bamber way back in 1985. I don't consider it a 'spoiler' to say that he 'did it' since it's well established in the historical record.
I had vague recollections of the media coverage at the time but I didn't know enough about the case and, knowing these events were life-changing for my friend meant I owed it to our friendship to 'do my homework' on the case.
The book was written in 1995 and is surprisingly readable even from a distance of more than 20 years post publication and more than 30 years post crime. I did feel that the author - despite a lot of time spent with Bamber post-conviction - clearly leads the reader to believe that Bamber 'did it'. To be honest, it would be hard NOT to come to such a conclusion on the basis of the choice of murder versus murder-suicide but at times I felt a bit 'led' to the conclusions. Only after the conviction does the author begin to questions whether the trial was actually 'fair' or whether certain inconsistencies in the trail of evidence of some key prosecution exhibits and the rather 'leading' judge's summing up speech might have put the conviction at risk of later challenge.
Sometimes I did find the book a bit repetitive, as if I were being beaten over the head again and again with certain key points of the case that were already more than clear. I found it fascinating to play 'compare and contrast' between the forensics of today and of the 1980s. So many key points would have been conclusively proven one way or the other with today's technology. Did Bamber's father ring him in the small hours of the night to say Sheila was running around with a gun? Today telephone records would have proven the truth or lie in moments. Did Bamber ring his girlfriend before he called the local police? Again, phone records would have shown that. Was the blood in the silencer definitely Sheila's? I'm sure that wouldn't have even been ambiguous with 21st century technology.
Today Jeremy Bamber is the only whole-life tariff prisoner in British prisons who still insists on his innocence. I have absolutely no doubt he did it and I hope he will indeed serve that 'whole life' sentence and will occasionally feel at least a little bit of remorse for killing 5 members of his own family just for greed.
I had vague recollections of the media coverage at the time but I didn't know enough about the case and, knowing these events were life-changing for my friend meant I owed it to our friendship to 'do my homework' on the case.
The book was written in 1995 and is surprisingly readable even from a distance of more than 20 years post publication and more than 30 years post crime. I did feel that the author - despite a lot of time spent with Bamber post-conviction - clearly leads the reader to believe that Bamber 'did it'. To be honest, it would be hard NOT to come to such a conclusion on the basis of the choice of murder versus murder-suicide but at times I felt a bit 'led' to the conclusions. Only after the conviction does the author begin to questions whether the trial was actually 'fair' or whether certain inconsistencies in the trail of evidence of some key prosecution exhibits and the rather 'leading' judge's summing up speech might have put the conviction at risk of later challenge.
Sometimes I did find the book a bit repetitive, as if I were being beaten over the head again and again with certain key points of the case that were already more than clear. I found it fascinating to play 'compare and contrast' between the forensics of today and of the 1980s. So many key points would have been conclusively proven one way or the other with today's technology. Did Bamber's father ring him in the small hours of the night to say Sheila was running around with a gun? Today telephone records would have proven the truth or lie in moments. Did Bamber ring his girlfriend before he called the local police? Again, phone records would have shown that. Was the blood in the silencer definitely Sheila's? I'm sure that wouldn't have even been ambiguous with 21st century technology.
Today Jeremy Bamber is the only whole-life tariff prisoner in British prisons who still insists on his innocence. I have absolutely no doubt he did it and I hope he will indeed serve that 'whole life' sentence and will occasionally feel at least a little bit of remorse for killing 5 members of his own family just for greed.
April 19, 2010
Jeremy Bamber, the guy this book is about has to be one of the most vile murderers we currently have imprisoned in the UK. Well worth a read, especially for any bleeding hearts that might consider him for the release he's always campaigning for.
An image that stays with me is him crying and wailing at the funerals of his family that he'd calously slaughtered.....never to be forgotten-it was Oscar-worthy !!
An image that stays with me is him crying and wailing at the funerals of his family that he'd calously slaughtered.....never to be forgotten-it was Oscar-worthy !!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews