GUILTY UK - Bernadette Walker, 17, murdered then hidden, Peterborough, 18 Jul 2020 *Parents Sentenced* #6

[CSIAngus]

Anyone heard whether SW and SaW are appealing their convictions?

 

[cocomod]

They need to say where she is!!!

 

[Action Hank]

I was just thinking the same, though I'm local and haven't seen anything in the news. There's a big trial on at the Old Bailey about a boy who was murdered in Peterborough thirty years ago, so there's a lot of focus on that at the moment. Hopefully the prospect of staring at prison walls for the next thirty years will stir ScW into revealing something. Any idea how long it might take for him to exhaust his appeals?

 

[Mercsw]

I don’t see how they have grounds. The sentences weren’t unduly harsh…they were lower end. There’s no new evidence reported and I’m not aware either of them speaking out.

there’s some very warm weather due, so there’s always the chance that may reveal something

 

[Action Hank]

I cannot believe it has been almost a year since the trial started. I'm just going through the timeline again to see if anything stands out afresh. I highly doubt it but you never know.

 

[Action Hank]

From Tortoise's timeline (thanks again), ScW's goings-on in the early hours the day after BW disappeared:

2:36am – ScW left the home at Century Sq. His car was seen on CCTV near the lock-up.
2:47am – GPS data puts ScW at the lock-up garage. In the 10 minutes he was there he made 172 steps.
3:00am – ScW’s phone left the lock-up.
3:00:47secs – ScW’s phone was used at the junction of Fane Road and Fulbridge Road to take a photo of a male face.
3:06am to 5:23am – ScW’s phone in Gunthorpe area.
3:08am – ScW’s phone recorded 8 steps (he's out of car).
3:10am – ScW’s phone at Ulldale Way.
5:37am – ScW’s phone back at the lock-up garage until 6am. 86 steps recorded. Then he went to McDonalds Drive Thru.

Uldale Way (highlighted blue): Says he only took 8 steps there. Not a significant amount, but I had a look on Google maps and noticed a dyke on that side of the A15 (see orange squiggle). Car Dyke (highlighted green) was searched, but I don't think we learned precisely which stretch of that water they'd searched. Anyone local know if this area by the road is accessible?

 

[Action Hank]

*advertiser censored* = dike, only spelled with a 'y'. It's a proper word for goodness sake.

 

[Marg from Oz]

Hi @Action Hank, good to see you back again. It has gone very quiet. I haven't seen any posts from Anthony lately either.

 

[Mercsw]

*advertiser censored* = dike, only spelled with a 'y'. It's a proper word for goodness sake.

I was trying to work out what you had written! Car dyke I believe had a wooden fence around it, but no idea what condition it was like or is like now.

 

[Action Hank]

I was trying to work out what you had written! Car *advertiser censored* I believe had a wooden fence around it, but no idea what condition it was like or is like now.

There is a fence although it does have a small opening. Note the 'grass verge'.

Thinking about it though, it would be an unlikely deposition site when literally across the road you've got miles of fenland.

 

[CSIAngus]

It would be good for a link to the last version of the timeline to be reposted. After recording ScW's steps on his phone post picking up BW (what I see as the kill window), ScW's phone was then travelling east within the Gunthorpe mast catchment with BW (alive or dead) in his car when his phone was switched off. For me it's a correlation of sites known to ScW where he would be comfortable during the midday on a Saturday in July and in the dead of night of a Sunday morning in the rain to do his business unobserved, within the time frame and to the east of Peterborough. Those close to him must have some idea of locations where he was familiar or where he had done jobs. IMO. What was SaW's explanation for her phone taking part in the Kings Lynn trip? So many questions still unanswered.

 

[Bethan]

It would be good for a link to the last version of the timeline to be reposted. After recording ScW's steps on his phone post picking up BW (what I see as the kill window), ScW's phone was then travelling east within the Gunthorpe mast catchment with BW (alive or dead) in his car when his phone was switched off. For me it's a correlation of sites known to ScW where he would be comfortable during the midday on a Saturday in July and in the dead of night of a Sunday morning in the rain to do his business unobserved, within the time frame and to the east of Peterborough. Those close to him must have some idea of locations where he was familiar or where he had done jobs. IMO. What was SaW's explanation for her phone taking part in the Kings Lynn trip? So many questions still unanswered.

By chance I drove through the area east of Peterborough at the weekend. I always take interest in my surroundings when visiting an unfamiliar part of the country.

Bernadette’s case suddenly came to mind when I saw the familiar place name ‘Cowbit’ signposted. It gave me quite a jolt when I realised that poor young lady’s remains could be hidden anywhere in this vast area.

The terrain is very different from where I live, in N Yorkshire, 150 miles to the north. I was already finding the drive fascinating, marvelling at the flatness of the land, the degree of cultivation, lack of hedgerows, and network of deep drainage ditches……vast open spaces…very different to the type of farming I am familiar with.

In my head I was considering the declining population of the British hedgehog, when suddenly became aware I was in the precise area we suspect BW’s body may have been hidden.

Seeing it for myself, made me realise SW’s options were limited.

There is a lot of sparsely populated cultivated land & the roads, though quiet, are narrow, exposed & bordered by deep ditches. A car stopping on a road like this would certainly be noticed, if someone else happened to be in the area at the time.

The ditches (I presume) must be periodically dredged, so a body, in time, may be exposed. ( I suppose if sufficient time has elapsed between murder & recovery, there may be insufficient evidence to prove a crime has been committed. I don’t feel SW would have chosen this option unless acting on the spur of the moment without much thought)

In my mind, ‘disposal’ ( apologies for the word) is much more likely to have been in a heavily wooded area, not far off the road, where there is space to pull a car off the road.

Alternatively a derelict or infrequently used building, which afforded privacy for a period of time. I noticed that many of the farmhouses in this area were completely surrounded by a tall hedge/trees, presumably to provide a windbreak.

With both these options, one would presume SW knew exactly where he was heading & full disposal likely took place under the cover of darkness.

I am jumping off your post @CSIAngus & know I’m not saying anything new to you all.

Just agreeing & sharing my thoughts on seeing the area for the first time myself.

I too am going to take another look at the timeline, a link to which is included on the first post of the thread.

( Sorry for lengthy post)

 

[Bethan]

DBM

 

[Action Hank]

Still Missing - UK - Bernadette Walker, 17, left parent's car, Peterborough, 21 July 2020 *Arrests* #3

It appears to be 51 reg, maybe 52 from the picture (can't easily distinguish) so being around a 2001/2003 build, seems a bit early to have GPS (as opposed to simple sat nav) built in. Seems probable to me that the Police used their phone locations. It's 52

www.websleuths.com

The timeline

 

[Action Hank]

Just to recap:

SAT 18 - Most probably the murder period
11:06am – [After collecting BW] ScW set off from Dukesmead, Werrington
11:16am to 11:23am – ScW’s phone travelled through Werrington, and into Gunthorpe and Dogsthorpe areas. In Gunthorpe area he got out of the car and walked 410 steps.
11:23am – ScW’s phone switched off for 1.5 hrs.

Did we ascertain any more details about his precise whereabouts during this period in Gunthorpe? I don't think we did.

SAT 19 - Most probably the deposition period
2:36am – ScW left the home at Century Sq. His car was seen on CCTV near the lock-up.
2:47am – GPS data puts ScW at the lock-up garage. In the 10 minutes he was there he made 172 steps.
3:00am – ScW’s phone left the lock-up.
3:00:47secs – ScW’s phone was used at the junction of Fane Road and Fulbridge Road to take a photo of a male face.
3:06am to 5:23am – ScW’s phone in Gunthorpe area.
3:08am – ScW’s phone recorded 8 steps (he's out of car).
3:10am – ScW’s phone at Ulldale Way.
5:37am – ScW’s phone back at the lock-up garage until 6am. 86 steps recorded. Then he went to McDonalds Drive Thru.
6:00am – ScW’s phone left the lock-up garage.
6:20am – ScW at McDonald’s Drive Thru.
6:35am – ScW at home.

So, between 3:10am and 5:37am we have 2hrs 27 minutes of blank. No mention of where he was during this time. I wonder if he'd stopped by Uldale Way to trace back his steps to look for signs of dropped evidence, like an item of clothing or something, or he was scoping surveillance cameras. That maybe explains his multiple visits to McDonalds Drive Thru that weekend. The grass verge he mentioned pulling up on to roll a cigarette, there are grass verges all around that Uldale Way area. Gunthorpe is very green.

Perhaps he did the deed at the McDonalds Drive Thru, which is why he kept going back there as he wanted to know where the cameras were pointed. It's is a well-known pitstop for the local police, moreso than at other McDonalds Drive Thrus. She didn't have her phone with her, so was making to grab the attention of a police officer when a struggle ensued and he smothered her. Seems unlikely at such a place on a Saturday morning, but sometimes car windows can be obscured by reflecting light and what not, and he may not have been in the actual car park itself. There's a slightly more secluded truckstop next to Esso. Perhaps he couldn't believe no one had seen the struggle and presumed with the deposition.

Too much caffeine this morning, folks.

 

[Action Hank]

By chance I drove through the area east of Peterborough at the weekend. I always take interest in my surroundings when visiting an unfamiliar part of the country.

Bernadette’s case suddenly came to mind when I saw the familiar place name ‘Cowbit’ signposted. It gave me quite a jolt when I realised that poor young lady’s remains could be hidden anywhere in this vast area.

The terrain is very different from where I live, in N Yorkshire, 150 miles to the north. I was already finding the drive fascinating, marvelling at the flatness of the land, the degree of cultivation, lack of hedgerows, and network of deep drainage ditches……vast open spaces…very different to the type of farming I am familiar with.

In my head I was considering the declining population of the British hedgehog, when suddenly became aware I was in the precise area we suspect BW’s body may have been hidden.

Seeing it for myself, made me realise SW’s options were limited.

There is a lot of sparsely populated cultivated land & the roads, though quiet, are narrow, exposed & bordered by deep ditches. A car stopping on a road like this would certainly be noticed, if someone else happened to be in the area at the time.

The ditches (I presume) must be periodically dredged, so a body, in time, may be exposed. ( I suppose if sufficient time has elapsed between murder & recovery, there may be insufficient evidence to prove a crime has been committed. I don’t feel SW would have chosen this option unless acting on the spur of the moment without much thought)

In my mind, ‘disposal’ ( apologies for the word) is much more likely to have been in a heavily wooded area, not far off the road, where there is space to pull a car off the road.

Alternatively a derelict or infrequently used building, which afforded privacy for a period of time. I noticed that many of the farmhouses in this area were completely surrounded by a tall hedge/trees, presumably to provide a windbreak.

With both these options, one would presume SW knew exactly where he was heading & full disposal likely took place under the cover of darkness.

I am jumping off your post @CSIAngus & know I’m not saying anything new to you all.

Just agreeing & sharing my thoughts on seeing the area for the first time myself.

I too am going to take another look at the timeline, a link to which is included on the first post of the thread.

( Sorry for lengthy post)

Don't apologise, it's interesting to hear what people make of the Fens. While the land itself is flat, untamed areas can appear very chundery in summer with all the grasses and shrubs. But yes, one would imagine he'd have taken her somewhere secluded. Somewhere like Star Pit perhaps, which is just outside of Gunthorpe, and actually was searched by police.

 

[Bethan]

Thanks @Action Hank

 

[CSIAngus]

I've always thought that BW is buried in a secluded location that ScW knows like the back of his hand within half an hours drive to the east of Peterborough, either side of the B1443/A47. Furthermore, that eyeballing the location to ensure that it was undisturbed was the purpose of the Kings Lynn road trip. JMO

Somewhere like this: Peterborough · United Kingdom

 

[Bethan]

Agree @CSIAngus.

Does anyone remember/know if ScW was into fishing or urban exploring?
( Currently ‘down a rabbit hole’ in the area you mention)

 

[Action Hank]

Agree @CSIAngus.

Does anyone remember/know if ScW was into fishing or urban exploring?
( Currently ‘down a rabbit hole’ in the area you mention)

He was into urban exploring (Urbex), although I don't remember fishing being one of his interests. He was also into photography and horse racing.