Still Missing UK - Bernadette Walker, 17, left parent's car, Peterborough, 21 July 2020 *Arrests* #4

[Crazysaz]

Yea you’re right. If you have a disabled child you may have a disability social worker. But not necessarily. I know as I have a child with a life limiting disability. But it’s not a definite to have one. The fact Sarah managed to work would lead me to believe that from that perspective she shouldn’t have one. Why she was nervous about social services involvement otherwise would make me think there maybe had be previous social services involvement

 

[Crazysaz]

I cannot see why Sarah was involved but looks like she was. She very much seemed to be a ring leader in it all.

 

[mrazda71]

I just wanted to clarify for anyone without experience, that not everyone who has a child with a disability or even more than one child with a disability - has social services involvement.

You don't get automatically allocated a social worker if you have a child with a disability - some parents who need help with respite, suitable home/adaptions, equipment etc might request or be referred for help but, SS are overstretched as it is so that help is not always available and although it's 'a social worker', it's not the same dept as, for example an 'at risk' / child protection social worker

If at any point, Sarah's children were 'at risk' and under social services investigation, then that may be a reason to be worried but ... worried enough to kill or cover up the killing of your child? Nothing would surprise me with these two!

 

[mspuurfect]

They seem to be covering for one another even now after Bea was in all probability murdered by ScW. If SaW was adamant she wanted rid of ScW this was the perfect opportunity as others here have said. She had nothing to do with the abuse so why would it affect her and surely be the perfect reason after B's confession to finally be rid - something more is at play here IMO, they have a hold over one another - at first I thought maybe falsely claiming disability benefits but I think its something much worse... what could be worse though that she would cover up for him even when she has a new man, a new baby to perhaps this new man and plot to kill your own daughter?? That is the big question and what reasons could that be - my other thought is has one or both killed before and the other knew or witnessed or even helped?? All MOO!!

 

[CSIAngus]

I've mooted this before but it seems apt to again. What if SaW was involved in deliberately covering over (the two charges she has admitted) the possibility of the sexual abuse allegations getting to authorities with all that that would entail, and let's say she didn't believe her daughter's story, but that ScW is covering over the murder of BW? Two overlapping cover ups. Perhaps SaW thought BW had run off and would return after a few days as she had before (confirmed by AW on his campaign page), but that she'd only get her social media accounts and phone back if she stopped making the allegations. In the meantime, SaW pretended to be BW to retract what she had already told her friends. Even in that scenario, she couldn't still believe that BW is deliberately choosing to be missing after the passage of time and everything else we know.

I don't doubt that ScW killed BW on the 18th July and disposed of her at some point and that he was motivated by the necessity to hide the fact that he had been an habitual paedophile rapist of BW since she was 10.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

I am waiting for how he is going to account for those late night trips.

 

[SaintMoore]

What makes you sure Sarah is still covering for Scott?
Perhaps even if she knew deep down that Bernadette had been killed, perhaps she still chose to not know anything about the body or the burial.
Perhaps she consciously chose not to be aware of these details.
In a 'dare not ask' kind of way.

 

[Tortoise]

I've mooted this before but it seems apt to again. What if SaW was involved in deliberately covering over (the two charges she has admitted) the possibility of the sexual abuse allegations getting to authorities with all that that would entail, and let's say she didn't believe her daughter's story, but that ScW is covering over the murder of BW? Two overlapping cover ups. Perhaps SaW thought BW had run off and would return after a few days as she had before (confirmed by AW on his campaign page), but that she'd only get her social media accounts and phone back if she stopped making the allegations. In the meantime, SaW pretended to be BW to retract what she had already told her friends. Even in that scenario, she couldn't still believe that BW is deliberately choosing to be missing after the passage of time and everything else we know.

I don't doubt that ScW killed BW on the 18th July and disposed of her at some point and that he was motivated by the necessity to hide the fact that he had been an habitual paedophile rapist of BW since she was 10.

BBM.

How does that work, from SaW's perspective, if she doesn't know what Bee's going to do after running off?

It's not a fix to pretend she's Bee for a day or two, and she hadn't buckled under the pressure of being sent to her grandparents.

 

[SaintMoore]

"Ask no questions, hear no lies."
Perhaps she chose to accept "bernadette won't be a problem to us any longer" and never asked him anything else on the matter, because she feared the answers too much.

 

[ElleElleKoolJ]

Their facebooks baffles me. He was acting like they were still one big happy family right until she went missing. You’d never know Sarah had another boyfriend, it’s really odd. I first felt mum was probably being abused and threatened by him but when I saw that he wasn’t there when she sent the messages from Bee’s phone even before she went missing, it screams premeditated to me. In Bee’s note she said her mum threatened to kill her if she went to the police with the allegations. That crossed the line for me from abused to the abuser. Where’s the best place to get the most up to date detailed info from the trial?

 

[Kitkat28]

but why would *she* have the children taken from her?

Because if it was felt that she was unable or unwilling to protect her other children from harm, then there is a realistic possibility of removal.

Letting the man who ‘allegedly’ sexually abused your daughter live in the same house as your other children is failing to protect them, whichever way she spins it.

 

[Mercsw]

I am waiting for how he is going to account for those late night trips.

from what I read, he didn’t. He claimed it was him, the ex and a kid spontaneously getting in the car…and then getting lost! He also got lost on the Sunday driving from his parents house home. That’s why a 9 minute journey took 2 hours.

the phones were switched off because they needed charging.

you can believe him if you want

 

[dunkley]

My first post. Great website and posts. I have been following this case of Bernadette Matthews on Websleuths since the poor girl went ‘missing’.

I felt the need to comment, as yesterday I finished reading the book ‘Something in The Water’ by Catherine Steadman. I thought by some bizarre twist I was suddenly reading about BM case. Briefly, in trying to hide a secret, the wife plotted against her husband. The storyline spoke of forgetting a backpack, sending mobile phone messages to ‘missing husband’ that she knew was already dead, how deep to dig a grave in the woods in Norfolk, wondering when to report a missing person when you know they are dead, ( someone tells her, you don’t), hiding the body in an old fridge until she had the chance to bury the body. Weird.

To reiterate others comments, Peterborough is a small town, surrounded by countryside with dykes, ditches and many untouched hedgerows. I believe many local people are concerned and do care. The local newspaper comes out once a week and has poor readership. It is possible to read daily online, but many people are not aware of this and so the story is no longer out there for many.


I guess the lack of information coming out of court is due to protecting the other children. Frustrating though. Would court be given comments about family life made by the other children through police, social workers or schools?

The Court will get ALL the information. It's just the reporting/discussion outside that is restricted.

 

[Sooty]

Because if it was felt that she was unable or unwilling to protect her other children from harm, then there is a realistic possibility of removal.

Letting the man who ‘allegedly’ sexually abused your daughter live in the same house as your other children is failing to protect them, whichever way she spins it.

i agree with you - but at the point of discovery, which lets say was when BW made the allegations about ScW to her mum, SW had a choice to protect all the children. Right at that moment. So why would she have had the fear then, at that point - so much so that she chose to take the steps she did? According to the info we have had, there was nothing before that point that showed that SW had been unwilling or unable to protect the children. She had presented herself to the world as a caring mother. She could have acted immediately out of caution, even if she hadn’t believed her daughter.

She could have sent ScW to his parents house, not BW.

 

[Invisibletotheeye]

Scott Walker was tearful as he described being “confused” when Bernadette went missing about “what was going on”.

“I didn’t know whether there was a plan behind all of this and why Bea would be missing and why these allegations were made.

“Was this all to get me out of the house?”


This wording is so odd to me, if he really thought BW had run away.

You wouldn't be confused and think 'what's going on?' - you would think, my stepdaughter has run away, because there was a big family fight after she made allegations against me- it's actually not confusing in the slightest- that is very clear.

I think his words ring true about how he felt at the time, but are more indicative of his guilt at most likely being involved in her disappearance.

Confused at what was going on, 'Why would Bea be missing?' 'why the allegations were made?' Were questions he had to answer to come up with a convincing cover story for himself.

'Whether there was a plan behind all of this' - meaning, his premeditated plan to make BW disappear, and if it could be deduced by anyone.

Also using gambling language "50:50" to describe how he felt about her disappearance is really off.

If he believed the allegations were not true, and he had nothing to worry about, then surely his main concern would be for her safety and wellbeing. To suggest his concern for her was limited by concern for his own reputation is very cold and callous. (Unless of course this is leakage and he was actually wholly concerned about the allegations- because they were true, and of course he also knew that BW was not missing, and wouldn't be coming back.)

I know the press reports he was humble, calm and smiled when the children were mentioned, but his words are very calculated and unemotional.

 

[Mammaalli]

from what I read, he didn’t. He claimed it was him, the ex and a kid spontaneously getting in the car…and then getting lost! He also got lost on the Sunday driving from his parents house home. That’s why a 9 minute journey took 2 hours.

the phones were switched off because they needed charging.

you can believe him if you want

Ohh I've missed this. Do you have a link for this information please?

 

[CSIAngus]

BBM.

How does that work, from SaW's perspective, if she doesn't know what Bee's going to do after running off?

It's not a fix to pretend she's Bee for a day or two, and she hadn't buckled under the pressure of being sent to her grandparents.

Perhaps she thinks it will be the same as every other time BW has gone off: BW comes back, SaW gets her way, it goes back to 'normal' with SaW in charge. BW does as she's told no matter how unreasonable. SaW does what she does because she knows BW will accept it. SaW doesn't care that BW will find out about the password changes and pretending to be her, because she can do that being in charge and knows BW will not challenge her. Except she never comes home because ScW has murdered and buried her.

 

[Kikicatfood]

I’m wondering if there was other abuse going on in the household (ie physical/mental/neglect) perpetrated by both SaW and ScW. SaW certainly seems like the ringleader to me and not the cowering, submissive partner. I wonder if SaW already knew about the SA but turned a blind eye for whatever reason. She may have even told ScW to collect Bea from the grandparents and give her a ‘good hiding’ so she doesn’t speak of it again, and maybe things went too far? Then as she was involved with her death she covers for him? Maybe she just didn’t want SS snooping around asking questions of the other kids etc for fear of what they might find out. Just IMO.

 

[CSIAngus]

Their facebooks baffles me. He was acting like they were still one big happy family right until she went missing. You’d never know Sarah had another boyfriend, it’s really odd. I first felt mum was probably being abused and threatened by him but when I saw that he wasn’t there when she sent the messages from Bee’s phone even before she went missing, it screams premeditated to me. In Bee’s note she said her mum threatened to kill her if she went to the police with the allegations. That crossed the line for me from abused to the abuser. Where’s the best place to get the most up to date detailed info from the trial?

Is it a threat to kill though or a manner of speaking? If I was naughty as a child my Mother and Grandmother would say they would 'murder' me, but they didn't mean literally.

 

[Kitkat28]

i agree with you - but at the point of discovery, which lets say was when BW made the allegations about ScW to her mum, SW had a choice to protect all the children. Right at that moment. So why would she have had the fear then, at that point - so much so that she chose to take the steps she did? According to the info we have had, there was nothing before that point that showed that SW had been unwilling or unable to protect the children. She had presented herself to the world as a caring mother. She could have acted immediately out of caution, even if she hadn’t believed her daughter.

She could have sent ScW to his parents house, not BW.

I can only hypothesise that she had absolutely no intention of sending ScW anywhere. Who else was going to look after her kids like a mug while she was out with the boyfriend? Let’s face it, she had a pretty cushy life in her eyes; freedom to ‘date’ other people and the old man waiting at home. JMO obviously.