Silverlink
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More reporting from @JEMilneSky
- Yesterday the court heard the 999 call made by Maurice Robinson in the moments after he discovered the bodies in the back and were shown footage of the moment he opened the back doors of the truck, vapour escaping as he opened the doors.
- Prosecution calls Julian Skeith as an expert witness - Detective Constable for Kent Police working with Essex Police. Predominantly focusing on cell site data.
- Julian Skeith confirms mobile phone companies keep records of the duration of phone calls for 12 months. Phone companies keep a record of the duration of the call and the numbers that make those calls. Police are able to apply for that data and the cell sites used.
- JS now explains how a mobile makes contact with a cell tower and how this create cell site data. JS confirms it is thereby possible to locate an approximate area where a phone is being used but only within the coverage area of a cell but a location cannot be pinpointed.
- JS confirms if you want to be more precise it is possible to carry out a survey which would enable a more specific reading of the data.
- JS is now explaining how the phones of the deceased were able to connect to the networks in Belgium whilst they were inside the trailer, specifically around Zeebrugge.
- JS now discusses the possibility of the defendants phones being located at Orsett golf Club at the relevant times.
- The Defence begin questioning JS (after a short break). JS confirms that it is always the case that a mobile phone cane be located anywhere the cell provides coverage. In terms of JS survey, this does not represent the full coverage of each cell - JS agrees.
- The coverage for each cell site could be as big as 7km, JS agrees. Text is accurate for locating. A phone call you have the start cell and the end cell.
- The phone could be anywhere, where the cell site gives coverage - says JS.
- Returning to the timeline of events and the evidence of Catherine Taylor, police analyst. The temperature is now falling in the back of the trailer, after Robinson has opened the back doors of the trailer. At 0147 Robinson ran Hughes, lasting a very short time.
- At 0149 Robinson is at the rear of the lorry opening the doors and a police car, with its lights flashing, pulls in and stops. Followed closely by a second unit - jury being shown the CCTV of this.
- From the body worn camera of another officer arriving at the scene - officer gets out of car and walks into shot of the CCTV camera, approaching the back of the lorry. The bodies in the trailer have been pixelated.
- One of the officers was already standing in the back of the trailer. The officer whose footage we are watching walks towards the front of the lorry and speaks to a colleague. Whilst this is going on Hughes makes a call to Harrison that was directed to voicemail.
- 10 minutes later Hughes makes a call to Robinson again but by this time Robinson is in the company of the police and that call went to voicemail. Meanwhile at the golf club a white Mercedes can be seen to set off an ANPR camera on the Brentwood road coming away from the golf club
- At 0221, the sprinter leaves the golf club, caught on the CCTV of the golf club at 0130.
- Statement of Jack Emerson the police constable is read out to court: Responding to a phone call from ambulance stating they had 25 people not breathing. At 0150 hours we arrived at the location and i could see a heavy good vehicle with its lights on and trailer attached.
- ((pardon any mistakes, the connection from court means I am hearing EVERY OTHER WORD))
- PC Cohen and PC Wyn arrived on the scene after us. At the back of the trailer i could see a 6ft white male standing at the rear of the trailer that I took as the driver. He was just standing there, his demeanour appeared calm.
- I could visibly see half naked bodies laying on the trailer floor laying motionless. It became apparent as I got closer that the entire trailer were full of bodies. Most of the bodies were half naked.
- Most of the bodies were wearing clothes on their lower half but not on their lower half. All of the bodies appeared in tact and it was my opinion they had not been there for a long time...
- There was a strange smell that came from the trailer that smelt like chemical and there was smoke coming from the rear of the trailer that made me think it was a refrigerated container... I pulled out fold out stairs that were at the back of the trailer and PC Wake boarded the trailer to check for any signs of life. I boarded the trailer and saw the bodies extended all the way to the other end of the trailer... the majority of them were lying on their back. I immediately began scanning for any signs of movement or life.
- I scanned all the bodies in my vicinity looking for any chest wounds... it was my opinion that all the people in the trailer were deceased. As I moved through the trailer i checked the bodies for pulse but couldn't find one.
- Because of how packed together the bodies were it was not possible to check every body. I recall when checking some bodies some of them appeared to have been frothing from the mouth...
- Four paramedics then boarded the trailer and confirmed what we had found... triaging the bodies and attaching dead tags to the bodies.
- Hughes again tries to ring Robinson and it went to voicemail. Three minutes later he tries to call Harrison and it goes to voicemail.
- At 0349 Kennedy was crossing the Channel back from France to England, he is cell citing at Calais at 0541 he is at Folkestone.
- At 0638 the white panel van is in Folkestone and at 0700 he had got to Dover Eastern docks. He arrived at Coquelle in 0910 (French time).
- At 0822 on the 23rd Oct Hughes tries to call Harrison who was roaming in the Netherlands and there was a call that connected for 1 min and 23 seconds. At 0845 that morning Hughes was due to fly from Dublin to Southend but he didn't show up for the flight.
- Court breaks for lunch