GUILTY UK - Bernadette Walker, 17, left parent's car, Peterborough, 21 July 2020 *Arrests* #5

[Alyce]

Hi all - quick update from Cambridge- the judge is still summing up but we have stopped for lunch. She expects to be finished this after but the jury won’t be able to begin deliberations properly until tomorrow afternoon. This is due to one member not being available tomorrow morning and the fact they don’t have a room sorted for them!
So far though I get the impression the judge believes they are both guilty of perverting the course of justice and she seems to be leaning very much towards Bernadette being murdered.

Many thanks MIdge - so much better having our on site reporter rather than trying to work out what's going on from the Law Pages

 

[jackal67]

Hi all - quick update from Cambridge- the judge is still summing up but we have stopped for lunch. She expects to be finished this after but the jury won’t be able to begin deliberations properly until tomorrow afternoon. This is due to one member not being available tomorrow morning and the fact they don’t have a room sorted for them!
So far though I get the impression the judge believes they are both guilty of perverting the course of justice and she seems to be leaning very much towards Bernadette being murdered.

Interesting. Thanks very much for the update and being there. I am unsure of what the judges actual role is here. Are they not meant to be impartial and just point the jury to the points of law? I have only attended one trial myself but felt the Judge on that case was definitely Not impartial and helped convince the Jury of Guilt .Can someone with better knowledge enlighten me please?

 

[Tortoise]

Hi all - quick update from Cambridge- the judge is still summing up but we have stopped for lunch. She expects to be finished this after but the jury won’t be able to begin deliberations properly until tomorrow afternoon. This is due to one member not being available tomorrow morning and the fact they don’t have a room sorted for them!
So far though I get the impression the judge believes they are both guilty of perverting the course of justice and she seems to be leaning very much towards Bernadette being murdered.

I'm sure the judge is summing up the evidence impartially, it's just that the evidence shows the running away story looks exactly like a story concocted to cover up murder.

If Bee really ran away you have to rationalise everything the parents did. Texting each other from her phone from different locations, hiding her bag from police, hiding her clothing in the laundry, destroying her phone, disconnecting their own phones when they drove miles and miles away for two nights in a row to the back of beyond, lying on her missing poster, lying to police, having no answers for the jury, having the motive, not actively searching for her, etc etc etc etc

And if she didn't run away...fill in the blank.

 

[CSIAngus]

in all honesty you could have headlights on full beam and no one will notice. There’s no silence like countryside silence

It was raining though so background noise. Wherever it is it's not near houses. I half wondered about the trip to Kings Lynn along the A47. Was this to eyeball the location?

 

[Alyce]

Stephen Briggs
@PTstephenB
·
6m
The jury in the Bernadette Walker Murder Trial had been expected to retire to start deliberations today. They are now told it will be tomorrow lunch time as a suitable retirement room is set up for them

 

[CSIAngus]

Can anyone recall what we know about the trip to Kings Lynn as it's not on the Timeline (date, times, ANPR camera location, etc)? Were both phones in the car? There is a 24hr McDonalds with drive through on the A47 just outside Kings Lynn which might account for the return time. Did they look in on the grave site on that journey? It would be a long trip for a Big Mac and fries.

 

[Tortoise]

Can anyone recall what we know about the trip to Kings Lynn as it's not on the Timeline (date, times, ANPR camera location, etc)? Were both phones in the car? There is a 24hr McDonalds with drive through on the A47 just outside Kings Lynn which might account for the return time. Did they look in on the grave site on that journey? It would be a long trip for a Big Mac and fries.

Everything that's been reported about it is in the timeline.

Jul 23, Thu -

Eve - SaW and ScW’s phone handsets were located out of their home at Century Square.


10:22pm - ANPR cameras captured ScW’s Mercecdes on the A47 heading eastbound between Wisbech and King’s Lynn


c. 10:52pm - ANPR cameras captured ScW’s Mercecdes returning westbound on the A47. (source)

 

[Sooty]

Now we have shifted south east a bit in our investigation on here, perhaps the river Nene, which lies between Whittlesey and Thorney might be a strong possibility. It flows fast and strong through Wisbech and out to The Wash into the North Sea. It would have been extremely fast flowing when the floods hit.

the B1040 crosses it at North Side and just to the west looks like a pumping station, or something. It looks very very rural and isolated from the satellite map.

perhaps someone local knows this area and can advise their thoughts?

 

[CSIAngus]

Everything that's been reported about it is in the timeline.

Jul 23, Thu -

Eve - SaW and ScW’s phone handsets were located out of their home at Century Square.


10:22pm - ANPR cameras captured ScW’s Mercecdes on the A47 heading eastbound between Wisbech and King’s Lynn


c. 10:52pm - ANPR cameras captured ScW’s Mercecdes returning westbound on the A47. (source)

That's bizarre. I literally couldn't find it. Must be word blindness with all the updates. Thanks.

So we know ScW is in the car on 23rd at 10:22pm on the A17 eastbound but not that SaW is with him although the prosecution were suggesting she was from the way the PT report is written. There is an ANPR camera on Pullover Road and the return time of half an hour would work with a McDonalds stop at West Lynn. It's a bit of a coincidence that they head east out of the town after dark just as ScW headed east on the 18th. I suggest that he also did on the early hours of the 19th and they both did in the early hours of the 20th after Glinton. I think SaW knows exactly where BW is because she's been shown by ScW.

 

[Alyce]

Details: - No Information To Display -

Trial (Part Heard) - Resume - 11:44
Trial (Part Heard) - Summing Up - 11:54
Trial (Part Heard) - Legal Submissions - 12:48
Trial (Part Heard) - Case adjourned until 14:00 - 12:55
Trial (Part Heard) - Resume - 14:00
Trial (Part Heard) - Summing Up - 14:07
Trial (Part Heard) - Legal Submissions - 14:44
Trial (Part Heard) - Case adjourned until 12:00 - 14:48
Cambridge Crown Court 1
T20207197
sarah walker
scott walker

 

[Tortoise]

That's bizarre. I literally couldn't find it. Must be word blindness with all the updates. Thanks.

So we know ScW is in the car on 23rd at 10:22pm on the A17 eastbound but not that SaW is with him although the prosecution were suggesting she was from the way the PT report is written. There is an ANPR camera on Pullover Road and the return time of half an hour would work with a McDonalds stop at West Lynn. It's a bit of a coincidence that they head east out of the town after dark just as ScW headed east on the 18th. I suggest that he also did on the early hours of the 19th and they both did in the early hours of the 20th after Glinton. I think SaW knows exactly where BW is because she's been shown by ScW.

Finally, we're on the same page.

I don't think he went as far as King's Lynn on his previous trips because of the tight return times, and also he would have been caught on the ANPR cameras every time. Unless he was taking the long route and had taken short cuts before but I don't see why he would risk it on the 23rd, the camera warning signs are very obvious.
Somewhere between Thorney and Ring's End perhaps, either side of the A47, seems about the right time and distance. He seemed to have a very specific place in mind before he set off on the 18th, IMO.

PS no such thing as coincidences in these cases in my experience, they're patterns.

 

[Tortoise]

Details: - No Information To Display -

Trial (Part Heard) - Resume - 11:44
Trial (Part Heard) - Summing Up - 11:54
Trial (Part Heard) - Legal Submissions - 12:48
Trial (Part Heard) - Case adjourned until 14:00 - 12:55
Trial (Part Heard) - Resume - 14:00
Trial (Part Heard) - Summing Up - 14:07
Trial (Part Heard) - Legal Submissions - 14:44
Trial (Part Heard) - Case adjourned until 12:00 - 14:48
Cambridge Crown Court 1
T20207197
sarah walker
scott walker

What a waste of an afternoon! The court getting their room ready at this stage is ridiculous, it was predicted they would be sent out today. Wonder if SaW showed her face today.

 

[Alyce]

What a waste of an afternoon! The court getting their room ready at this stage is ridiculous, it was predicted they would be sent out today. Wonder if SaW showed her face today.

Agree, they could have had a good 1 to 1.5 hours to get the preliminaries over today and be ready to get right into it at lunchtime tomorrow.

 

[Sooty]

Adding to my earlier post about the river Nene it appears that it is not a pumping station but The Dog in a Doublet lock and weir and is the lowest level lock on the river - looks like clear passage from here to the sea and it is the highest point at which the river is tidal.

Interesting place to dispose of a body I would have thought.

By late September, if this was the disposal site, he would feel pretty sure that the body wouldn’t be turning up locally anytime soon.
Moo

 

[hellobear]

Fantastic summing up by the Judge IMO

Bernadette Walker murder trial: Judge tells jury hour and a half Scott Walker had mobile phone turned off when Bernadette went missing is ‘all important time’

 

[MIdge28]

There is now a report from the PT online from today - sorry I don’t know how to add links! I won’t repeat what’s in the PT report but there were a few interesting points that they have missed out.
The judge went chronologically through the events leading up to, including and immediately after Bea’s disappearance. At various points she stopped and questioned SaW’s and ScW’s actions. She highlighted more than once evidence of ScW and SaW working together to deceive. The first example being after the youngest was born (DNA proves ScW is the father) she was discharged from hospital within 24 hours. She told Chris she had to stay in hospital for a week. After a week ScW took SaW and the baby back to the hospital to meet Chris. This she said was a clear illustration of the two of them working together, of ScW joining in SaW’s deception.
In the weeks before 18/07 SaW messaged friends telling them she had a solicitor involved in trying to remove ScW from the home and that was why it was delayed. This was a lie - there was no solicitor.
SaW and the baby went out to dinner with ScW in a restaurant. ScW pays a stranger £10 to take a photo of him with SaW and the baby and send it to Chris O’C’s phone.
On 17/07 the day after Bea has confided in her mum about the SA, SaW threatens Bea with SS taking the baby away and the younger children going into care if she carries on with the allegations. SaW tells Bea she is at the police station with ScW and that ScW is going into the police station to tell them about Bea’s allegation. This was a lie - they were both parked over the road to the police station when the message was sent to Bea. Another example of them working together and ScW joining in with SaW’s deception.
The judge went through the events of Saturday morning proved by phone data. She then focussed on the 9 minute phone call. There had never been a phone call of that length before or after between SaW and ScW. She then moves onto ScW’s account of what happened while his phone was switched off. She said there were 4 accounts of what happened during that time. 1st account is SaW’s to police, 2nd is the witness accounts to the police, 3rd is the defence statement and 4th was the evidence given by a cell site expert. After being questioned he then reinvestigates and a new map is produced showing ScW’s phone travelled east during that hour and a half. ScW then changes his story to fit the findings of the investigation.
Judge stressed how important this was. Just before the break the judge went through the evidence of what SaW was doing on line after the 9 minute call. She finished with the question - Why would SaW start creating a false trail which would delay external involvement?
Great place to pause I thought!
After break she carried on with phone evidence from 18th including the buying of the top up and SIM card. ScW has admitted to seeing a camera at the Spar. Judge asks - Why is Scott worrying about a camera if Bernadette has run away? ScW said he needed to shoe the phone was not in SaW’s possession. They then plan to involve Amanda. On 19th ScW drops SaW at Amanda’s. ScW leaves his phone at the lock up, drives to Westwood then messages SaW who he knows is with Amanda. The judge said Amanda is used by SaW and ScW - another case of the two of them working together to achieve deception. She told the jury to ask themselves why was it important to show SaW was not holding the phone if Bernadette has just disappeared.
When SaW messages Luke asking if Bea is still with him, he replies -No, she never was. The messages then shift to Chloe - the friend who lives in a farm out in the Fens. scW and SaW then make the trip to Crowland where they turn Bea’s phone on and send messages.
The judge then moved onto the 3am phone call to the police in which ScW can be heard joining in with SaW’s account to deceive the police.
The judge points out that a girl whose life is lived through social media has not accessed it since she disappeared. She has no phone, no money, no cards. She said that circumstantial evidence can be used by a jury to convict.
ScW and SaW were in court but could not clearly be seen from the public gallery. The judge referred to them as the defendants when asking them to stand down. Also in court we’re ScW’s dad and his wife. When the judge finished summing up ScW’s dad said “Well, he ‘ent coming ‘one then!”
Sorry this so long but I thought some of this info was important and needed sharing.

 

[Mercsw]

Everything that's been reported about it is in the timeline.

Jul 23, Thu -

Eve - SaW and ScW’s phone handsets were located out of their home at Century Square.


10:22pm - ANPR cameras captured ScW’s Mercecdes on the A47 heading eastbound between Wisbech and King’s Lynn


c. 10:52pm - ANPR cameras captured ScW’s Mercecdes returning westbound on the A47. (source)

30 mins there and back. It could be something not that interesting but still weird

 

[Mercsw]

Adding to my earlier post about the river Nene it appears that it is not a pumping station but The Dog in a Doublet lock and weir and is the lowest level lock on the river - looks like clear passage from here to the sea and it is the highest point at which the river is tidal.

Interesting place to dispose of a body I would have thought.

By late September, if this was the disposal site, he would feel pretty sure that the body wouldn’t be turning up locally anytime soon.
Moo

you beat me to it! Best roast dinner around here.

I don’t fancy the nene as it’s infamous for bodies I’m afraid and they always turn up in the flood barriers. There’s an old chap who has looked after the defences around here for years, and the poor guy is always visited to advise on likely “surfacing points” when folk go missing. Unless they were weighted, I’m sure it would have been discovered.

of course during rain the flood gates are closed, so you don’t just float into the wash

 

[aeaea]

When the judge finished summing up ScW’s dad said “Well, he ‘ent coming ‘one then!”

I quite like ScW’s dad, just based off this!

 

[KarenUK]

There is now a report from the PT online from today - sorry I don’t know how to add links! I won’t repeat what’s in the PT.........Also in court we’re ScW’s dad and his wife. When the judge finished summing up ScW’s dad said “Well, he ‘ent coming ‘one then!”

RSBM

Curious reaction!