UK UK - Corrie McKeague, 23, Bury St Edmunds, 24 Sep 2016 #24

[Cherwell]

I can't tell whether this is fact or not at this point, when it first happened I remember reading that he had slept in bin(s) and we'd all just sort of accepted it as established fact, has this been completely debunked now?

I don't recall anyone definitely stating that Corrie had ever slept in a bin. The witness the other day did not state that he had.
But as you say, if he'd done it before, it doesn't mean that he did it again that night. And conversely there's a first time for anything.

 

[altojack]

I'm sure I read somewhere that Corrie had slept in a bin before. I may have even posted it here, so long ago now. I used to follow Martin, Carries dad on his fb and I wonder if that's where I saw it. JMO for now as recollections are faint.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Hadn’t he just been asleep in the doorway for a couple of hours? Not sure why he’d need to get in a bin, in his nice white jeans and favourite shirt when he’d just had a nap.

So, dunno whether he would’ve got in
Bin man says he didn’t
Bin weight suggests he did
Landfill, seems not.

Where does that leave us? The bin weight is key here, it was either the weight of a man or the weight of some packaging, and iirc there was a question mark over what was actually recorded at the time.

 

[Pricklykitty]

Police desperate to justify that expensive, dreadful search of the landfill.

Lawyer Matthew Holdcroft, for Suffolk Police, told Mr Thompson: "The part of your account we reject is that you looked inside the bin."
Mr Holdcroft said that the time taken for the bin lorry to enter and leave the service area was 51 seconds.
Mr Thompson disagreed with Mr Holdcroft's suggestion that he "simply didn't have the time to look in the bin".
Mr Holdcroft suggested to Mr Thompson: "You didn't take any care whatsoever."
The bin lorry driver replied: "No, I did."

No dispute that the bin was emptied, obviously, but it only takes a second to lift the lid and look inside , surely.

If you ever see bin men collecting rubbish, it is actually quite amazing just how quickly they work! They seem to have the whole thing finely tuned, so I disagree with the Lawyer that 51 seconds is too little time for him to have glanced in the bin.

 

[Cherwell]

If you ever see bin men collecting rubbish, it is actually quite amazing just how quickly they work! They seem to have the whole thing finely tuned, so I disagree with the Lawyer that 51 seconds is too little time for him to have glanced in the bin.

Yes, they do - we are asked to leave our bins out with the handles facing towards the street. That must shave a couple of seconds off each bin as they don't then have to manoeuvre them around.

While moving the bin to hook it up, lifting the lid and looking inside wouldn't really have taken any extra time. He probably did it all in one continuous movement. And that extra detail about the bin only ever containing two or three bags rings true to me.

There seemed to be some confusion over the alleged weight, so I wouldn't get hung up on that.

 

[Woodburnbay]

Waste collection driver says he 'checked' and Corrie McKeague was not in bin | ITV News

This is Martyn Thompson the biffa bin lorry driver:

"He continued: "I checked it. I lifted the lid, I can recall what was in there."

Mr Thompson said he looked "far enough to see three clear plastic bags".

Asked if there was anyone inside the bin, he replied: "No, there wasn't."

Mr Taheri asked if Mr Thompson gave the bin a "good enough kick to rouse anyone inside", and Mr Thompson replied: "Absolutely, yes."

Asked if he would be surprised to hear that there was "more than 100kg" (15st 10lb) in the bin, Mr Thompson replied: "Yes."

Mr Taheri asked Mr Thompson if he stood by his description that there was not much in the bin, to which he replied: "I do." "

I'm not sure where I stand now. I always thought on balance poor Corrie did get in the bin, but now I think there is a shadow of doubt. Just because he had slept in a bin before, doesn't mean he slept in a bin that time. I think something happened on the way back, or walking elsewhere.

Surely its not human nature, even when drunk to think "Im just going to go to sleep in that nice clean bin over there" Our minds are programmed to avoid bins as they are for a disposal purpose.

Secondly, we have all been under the influence of alcohol before and even when severely inebriated its amazing how you can find your way home, navigate out of situations and sometimes wake up finding that you have even hung your clothes up or folded them.

I would be interested in who said that he had slept in a bin before, that statement from someone would worry me,

 

[Owlpellet]

Sleeping in bins is more common than we’d think. Biffa say that they come across 10 people a month, mainly homeless people, but also revellers. There’s an interesting video on this link that shows people climbing into bins and the process the bin collectors are instructed to go through with each bin before emptying. They look for signs of entry, kick the bin then open it and take a good look inside.

People in Bins - Biffa

 

[Pricklykitty]

I would be interested in who said that he had slept in a bin before, that statement from someone would worry me,

Inquest told missing Corrie McKeague once 'slept under bin bags on night out' | ITV News

Mr McKeague’s best friend Paul Robb, who served with him in the RAF, told an inquest in Ipswich that Mr McKeague said he slept under bin bags following a night out in Lichfield, Staffordshire, in 2014.
He said Mr McKeague had been out drinking when they were there on a medic course.
“He told me he slept under some bin bags,” he said.
“I can’t remember if he described them being full of rubbish, outside a coffee shop or something like that.
“Round the back where the bin area was.
“He described using them almost like a blanket to stay warm.”

It looks like this is where the sleeping in bin comments have come from. Seems no one saw him do it, but Corrie told a friend he had slept under rubbish bags in the past.

 

[Woodburnbay]

Inquest told missing Corrie McKeague once 'slept under bin bags on night out' | ITV News

Mr McKeague’s best friend Paul Robb, who served with him in the RAF, told an inquest in Ipswich that Mr McKeague said he slept under bin bags following a night out in Lichfield, Staffordshire, in 2014.
He said Mr McKeague had been out drinking when they were there on a medic course.
“He told me he slept under some bin bags,” he said.
“I can’t remember if he described them being full of rubbish, outside a coffee shop or something like that.
“Round the back where the bin area was.
“He described using them almost like a blanket to stay warm.”

It looks like this is where the sleeping in bin comments have come from. Seems no one saw him do it, but Corrie told a friend he had slept under rubbish bags in the past.

mmmm.... Very different to getting into a Bin, it's not the easiest thing to manoeuvre even when sober.
Perhaps this theory was convenient or popular to those who wanted to cover up his real demise.

 

[Cherwell]

Inquest told missing Corrie McKeague once 'slept under bin bags on night out' | ITV News

Mr McKeague’s best friend Paul Robb, who served with him in the RAF, told an inquest in Ipswich that Mr McKeague said he slept under bin bags following a night out in Lichfield, Staffordshire, in 2014.
He said Mr McKeague had been out drinking when they were there on a medic course.
“He told me he slept under some bin bags,” he said.
“I can’t remember if he described them being full of rubbish, outside a coffee shop or something like that.
“Round the back where the bin area was.
“He described using them almost like a blanket to stay warm.”

It looks like this is where the sleeping in bin comments have come from. Seems no one saw him do it, but Corrie told a friend he had slept under rubbish bags in the past.

Someone earlier in the thread, after having read the above report, stated that Mr Robb had said Corrie slept in a bin.
Clearly he did not say that.
This is how quickly misinformation is spread.

 

[Woodburnbay]

Someone earlier in the thread, after having read the above report, stated that Mr Robb had said Corrie slept in a bin.
Clearly he did not say that.
This is how quickly misinformation is spread.

I agree Cherwell. They said he slept under bin bags to keep him warm-Very different than climbing into a Bin.

I suggest that anyone who believes the bin story should go out tonight and have 10 pints, then climb into a Biffa bin and see how they get on???

 

[Cherwell]

The bin man's testimony should clear up any doubts. He says he saw Corrie, then he looked in the bin and there were only a couple of bags in it as usual. Presumably the actual process of emptying the bin was not caught on the camera or his account couldn't have been challenged. It's perfectly feasible that Corrie walked out of the area at the same time, unseen by the camera.

 

[Woodburnbay]

The bin man's testimony should clear up any doubts. He says he saw Corrie, then he looked in the bin and there were only a couple of bags in it as usual. Presumably the actual process of emptying the bin was not caught on the camera or his account couldn't have been challenged. It's perfectly feasible that Corrie walked out of the area at the same time, unseen by the camera.

Could he have also access the rear of any of the buildings backing onto the Horseshoe, that was one of my thoughts, but perhaps this has already been discounted because impossible.

Are some of the buildings that back onto hotshot, whilst not accessible at ground floor level, accessible by climbing up say a drainpipe?

 

[deadfoot13]

Someone earlier in the thread, after having read the above report, stated that Mr Robb had said Corrie slept in a bin.
Clearly he did not say that.
This is how quickly misinformation is spread.

To be fair, that idea was promoted right from the get-go and not just from someone's opinion on the referenced article. There were articles in MSM back at the beginning of the case that indicated Corrie's father stated that Corrie was known to hide out in a bin on occasion. It's not a recent idea, and there was so much discussion and reference to it in other articles that it's been my theory right along.

 

[deadfoot13]

I agree Cherwell. They said he slept under bin bags to keep him warm-Very different than climbing into a Bin.

I suggest that anyone who believes the bin story should go out tonight and have 10 pints, then climb into a Biffa bin and see how they get on???

It's apparently a common enough occurrence, at least here in the States, that we actually have warning labels on our dumpsters telling people to stay out of them and not climb on them. "Dumpster diving" is a thing (yeah, we're a crass bunch over here across the Pond...) It would be very easy, especially after a few too many drinks, to lean in to maybe retrieve something and topple in, and then maybe decide you'll just rest there for a minute before trying to clamber back out, nodding off in the meantime. Or hoist yourself up to sit on the edge and accidentally tip over into the bin. Or climb in thinking you'll be funny and jump out to scare one of your friends as they pass by. There are actually a number of ways and reasons a person could wind up in a bin once you sit and think about it...

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Could he have also access the rear of any of the buildings backing onto the Horseshoe, that was one of my thoughts, but perhaps this has already been discounted because impossible.

Are some of the buildings that back onto hotshot, whilst not accessible at ground floor level, accessible by climbing up say a drainpipe?

The flats and/or rehab accommodation still make me think… it was ruled out but there was confusion over who was staying there or should have been there.

 

[Cherwell]

To be fair, that idea was promoted right from the get-go and not just from someone's opinion on the referenced article. There were articles in MSM back at the beginning of the case that indicated Corrie's father stated that Corrie was known to hide out in a bin on occasion. It's not a recent idea, and there was so much discussion and reference to it in other articles that it's been my theory right along.

Yes, I'm aware of all this.
My point was to show how quickly information - in this case directly reported speech - becomes misrepresented and skewed.

 

[Officer Dibble]

He said that on a stag do in Liverpool in August 2016 Mr McKeague climbed up a drainpipe and through a window of the accommodation where he was staying, getting into a room that was not his and falling asleep there."
'There was no worry about him', says doorman who spoke to Corrie McKeague

Well there you go!! From early on I commented on here many times that I felt ALL the properties in the 'Horseshoe' needed searching and iirc it was mentioned there were quite a few that no-one knew how to get in contact with (distant owners?). I had a very strong feeling early on he was inside one of those buildings or tried to climb one and fell down out of sight, as yet, unseen. I also remember we discussed the roof of the shopping centre at the time. JMO MOO

 

[Officer Dibble]

I don’t think I’m making much of an interpretive leap here to say his friend was saying he slept in a bin:

"He told me he slept under some bin bags," Mr Robb told the coroner's court.

"I can't remember if he described them being full of rubbish, outside a coffee shop or something like that.

"Round the back where the bin area was.

"He described using them almost like a blanket to stay warm."

I think it’s reasonable to deduce he was in a bin. Unless the bins were full to overflowing and there were also bags of rubbish stacked on the pavement next to the bins and so he was sleeping on the pavement under these bin bags instead….which would actually seem stranger to me than getting into the bin.

BUT you only have this one person's word for it. For all you and I know he 'might not' be telling the truth (for whatever reason). JMO MOO

 

[Cherwell]

BUT you only have this one person's word for it. For all you and I know he 'might not' be telling the truth (for whatever reason). JMO MOO

That's not the point!
The point is that he was immediately misquoted.
A lot of misinformation is circulated by people not listening properly, not reading properly, or hearing only what they want to hear and passing on a distorted version. This was a prime example right here.