Deceased/Not Found UK - April Jones, 5, Machynlleth, Wales, 1 Oct 2012 #7 *M. Bridger guilty*

[Neurotripsy]

@RobDavSky:

Brendan Kelly for defence #apriljones

Def: your job is to decide the case on the evidence #apriljones

Def: on the indictment is abduction, murder and perverting the course of justice, not lying #AprilJones


@peterlane5news:

Defence at #AprilJones: "This is a story full of horror, the nation was and is appalled". @5_News

Defence at #AprilJones: "Ignore your emotion, try the case, test the case, if you are less than sure you must acquit Mark Bridger". @5_News

Defence at #AprilJones: "A paedophile or a drunken liar is just as likely to have a car crash as you or me". @5_News

Defence at #AprilJones: "There was an accident, he was drunk, very drunk...it is the behaviour of a drunken coward, not a murderer". @5_News

Defence at #AprilJones: "Accidents can happen to people whose computers are cluttered with filth". His lifestyle is not on trial. @5_News


@RobDavSky:

Def: your job is to decide the case on the evidence #apriljones

Def: on the indictment is abduction, murder and perverting the course of justice, not lying #AprilJones

Def: MB is not tried on what he might be like, he's tried on those 3 counts

Def: the focus of our submission is the accident, and accidents can happen #AprilJones

Def: they can happen to people with previous convictions.


@peterlane5news:

Defence at #AprilJones: "Is Mark Bridger shooting in the dark hoping he gets lucky or is he telling the truth?" @5_News


@skynewsnorth:

Defence: There were no prints from April Jones in that car. #apriljones


@RobDavSky:

Def: MB was known on estate, had only left hand car, if he had been minded to abduct, why take such a risk


@skynewsnorth:

Defence: If he was minded to abduct why in front of all those people [who recognised him and had known him for years.] #apriljones

Defence: He [defendant] bears no burden of proof. He does not have to prove anything. #apriljones

Defence on child witness: That Land Rover did not have sliding doors, it is not grey, it does not have 4 doors. #apriljones


@RobDavSky:

Def says that 7 year old was an honest witness but not a reliable one #apriljones

Def: can you be sure there was an abduction?

Def: if you are concerned that this could have been an accident you cannot convict

Defence finished, we'll hear from judge in about 20 minutes



Copies of detailed live updates over on Pastebin.

 

[Rutland Girl]

Crikey - don't think the defence calling the defendant a paedophile was a good idea somehow. "A paedophile, if that's what you find him to be, is just as likely to have a car accident as you and me," Mr Kelly said. Neither is the following statement helpful in any way - Mr Kelly has also put to the jury that Bridger would not have driven past one of his former partners on the Bryn y Gog estate if he had abducted April. Defence are clutching at straws.

 

[Alyce]

I think he is just verbalising what he knows many people are thinking, so perhaps feels it better to say it rather than try to pretend MB is squeaky clean and wonderful. Reminds me of Joanna Yeates trial when VTs defence said he didnt like his client.

As for the Defence comments about the child witness getting the car wrong, I cant quite see where that is leading.
There is no dispute from MB re AJ being in his car, the only dispute is the way she got into the car, either independently or by MB putting her there after the alleged accident !
Presumably Defence is trying to say if the child got the description wrong then she is unreliable as to how AJ got into the car, but it's a fine line imo.

 

[Sarahlou]

Crikey - don't think the defence calling the defendant a paedophile was a good idea somehow. "A paedophile, if that's what you find him to be, is just as likely to have a car accident as you and me," Mr Kelly said.

Well, it's what he is.. But I was surprised he said that. The defence have nothing imo.

 

[Elainera]

Crikey - don't think the defence calling the defendant a paedophile was a good idea somehow. "A paedophile, if that's what you find him to be, is just as likely to have a car accident as you and me," Mr Kelly said.

But saying "A paedophile or a drunken liar is just as likely to have a car crash as you or me" (bbm) is also not very clever. Surely a drunken person is more likely to have a car accident.

 

[Elainera]

I think he is just verbalising what he knows many people are thinking, so perhaps feels it better to say it rather than try to pretend MB is squeaky clean and wonderful. Reminds me of Joanna Yeates trial when VTs defence said he didnt like his client.

As for the Defence comments about the child witness getting the car wrong, I cant quite see where that is leading.
There is no dispute from MB re AJ being in his car, the only dispute is the way she got into the car, either independently or by MB putting her there after the alleged accident !
Presumably Defence is trying to say if the child got the description wrong then she is unreliable as to how AJ got into the car, but it's a fine line imo.

bbm - that is my guess too.

Although, actually both scenarios could have have happened: April could have gotten into the car, gotten back out when the girl friend was already gone, and then he ran her over. I wonder why this was never said by defence?

I must say, a lot of things were not said/disputed which I thought they should have been brought up. Weird.

 

[Elainera]

@RobDavSky:

Def says that 7 year old was an honest witness but not a reliable one #apriljones

Defence is trying to make up for MB saying the girl "lied" which surely alienated some jury members.

 

[Cherwell]

Has the defence addressed the matter of April's blood under the carpet? Very hard to explain that away, isn't it?

 

[Alyce]

bbm - that is my guess too.

Although, actually both scenarios could have have happened: April could have gotten into the car, gotten back out when the girl friend was already gone, and then he ran her over. I wonder why this was never said by defence?

I must say, a lot of things were not said/disputed which I thought they should have been brought up. Weird.

Completely agree. I realise it is difficult for us, just reading the tweets and transcripts ( thank you so much again Neurotripsy ) to perhaps see the complete picture and I have to allow that QC know very well what they are doing, but I have not found Prosecution questioning and summary argument to be as strong as I thought it could be, given the evidence she had.
Am particularly surprised about the blood evidence not being used more strongly.
On the other hand, I feel the Defence has done the best he could with the situation he is faced with.

 

[Alyce]

Has the defence addressed the matter of April's blood under the carpet? Very hard to explain that away, isn't it?

Was just posting re this. I think Defence has ignored this part, as clearly not much he can say.
What has surprised me is that Prosecution didnt major on it.

 

[Neurotripsy]

@RobDavSky:

Mr Justice Griffith-Williams now giving jury legal directions #apriljones

Judge tells jury not to speculate on how April died #apriljones

Judge: If you think April got into his car uninjured then you must convict on all three counts

Court finished for the day, Judge will continue his summing up at 10am in the morning #apriljones


Copies of detailed live updates over on Pastebin.

 

[Wolf Dreamer]

@RobDavSky:

Mr Justice Griffith-Williams now giving jury legal directions #apriljones

Judge tells jury not to speculate on how April died #apriljones

Judge: If you think April got into his car uninjured then you must convict on all three counts

Interesting

 

[Space]

They are indeed interesting directions from the judge, when MB's defence hinges on his account of 'how April died'. His description of her injuries is certainly not consistent with the complete absence of blood anywhere in the car, or with how the child witness would have reacted had she seen her friend being run over.

It has been compelling to watch how this trial has played out given that so much of the evidence by necessity is circumstantial, but I feel the prosecution have put together as tight a case as they can. MB (IMO) has lied and lied and lied, blatantly and callously, and I would genuinely be shocked if the jury do not see this for what it is. I am confident that they'll convict on all three counts.

 

[Cappuccino]

It will depend alot on how much credibility they attach to the testimony of the 7 year old.

 

[Alyce]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-22687907


interesting comment from the Judge re the 7 year old witness and her view on life.

 

[Alyce]

It will depend alot on how much credibility they attach to the testimony of the 7 year old.

Indeed.

It seems that both Pros and Defence have majored on this section of the evidence and the whole verdict seems to hinge on whether or not the jury accept her evidence without question.

 

[sleuth-d-]

to support the mb version of events, i think that the defence needed to put forward some explanation as to how/why she didn't bleed in the car, and yet was bleeding quite a lot at his house. to me it is a weakness that they didn't/couldn't deal with this.

the fact that there is blood at the house - in spite of his cleanup/coverup - but none in the car adds to the prosecution's version of events.

 

[Rutland Girl]

Interesting, thought I'd seen something ref children's fingerprints, wonder if defendant did too - In 1995, researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at the instigation of Detective Art Bohanan of the Knoxville Police Department, discovered that children's fingerprints are considerably more short-lived than adult fingerprints.[5] The rapid disappearance of children's fingerprints was attributed to a lack of the more waxy oils that become present at the onset of puberty. The lighter fatty acids of children's fingerprints evaporate within a few hours. As of 2010, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are investigating techniques to capture these lost fingerprints. Then again, this seems to contradict that theory -He - Mr Kelly said fingerprint experts had checked school books and had "a very good idea as to April's prints, and they weren't there". Very confused, and surprised evidence of AJ being in the car wasn't found.

 

[sleuth-d-]

Interesting, thought I'd seen something ref children's fingerprints, wonder if defendant did too - In 1995, researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at the instigation of Detective Art Bohanan of the Knoxville Police Department, discovered that children's fingerprints are considerably more short-lived than adult fingerprints.[5] The rapid disappearance of children's fingerprints was attributed to a lack of the more waxy oils that become present at the onset of puberty. The lighter fatty acids of children's fingerprints evaporate within a few hours. As of 2010, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are investigating techniques to capture these lost fingerprints. Then again, this seems to contradict that theory -He - Mr Kelly said fingerprint experts had checked school books and had "a very good idea as to April's prints, and they weren't there". Very confused, and surprised evidence of AJ being in the car wasn't found.

were there not fingerprints found in the car, but not a good enough set to produce a match?

___
Mr Kelly then referred to some of the points of evidence that Bridger disputes. He questioned why, if Bridger had abducted April, did he have confidence that police would not find April's fingerprints in his car. "How did he know there wouldn't be fingerprints? It just might be that he had the confidence because she was unconscious. There is no other way that you could have that staggering (level of) confidence."
___

or... the defendant could have been so sure there would be a lack of fingerprints if aj had been knockout unconscious by him very soon AFTER entering his car.

or... october, 7pm... was she wearing gloves?

 

[Elainera]

It will depend alot on how much credibility they attach to the testimony of the 7 year old.

Interesting indeed.

But the focus is not only on the girl witness but also on the fact that no evidence of April having been under the car tire has been found.

Defence did a poor job of not providing any explanation for that.