GUILTY UK - Louise Smith, 16, Havant, Hampshire, 8 May 2020 *Arrest*

[Harchmare]

11:34JAMIE PHILLIPS
Next witness called
DC Peter Bambury, from Hampshire Constabulary's Criminal Investigation Department, has now been called to the witness box.

He also visited Chazlynn and Shane's address, where Louise had been residing for around four weeks, to take a statement as part of a police investigation into the teenager's disappearance.

11:36JAMIE PHILLIPS
Shane Mays 'hardly spoke' during DC Bambury's visit
DC Bambury tells the court that Louise's aunt Chazlynn, known as CJ, "seemed dominant" when talking to him and would "manage the conversation".

He adds that defendant Shane Mays "hardly spoke at all" during his visit.

11:45JAMIE PHILLIPS
Louise 'seemed in good spirits' on day she went missing
DC Bambury tells the court that he had been told Louise "seemed in good spirits" on the day she went missing, May 8.

Louise had told her aunt that she was going out for an hour to meet a friend and get some clothes. She had also made arrangements to meet her boyfriend Bradley Kercher back at the property later that afternoon.

11:49JAMIE PHILLIPS
Shane Mays told police he would 'lock' Louise away if found
DC Bambury tells the court that, in his first interaction with Mr May's at their property, he said he would "lock her into the address until police arrived" if he found Louise.

DC Bambury says he found the comment "really strange" as Mr Mays had not spoken to him previous to that statement.

Live updates as Louise Smith murder trial enters fifth day

 

[Legally Bland]

48 seconds ago
Court breaks for lunch
Following evidence given by PC Karen Day, DC Peter Bambury and PC Emma Joyner - all of whom spoke to Shane and CJ Mays after Louise went missing - the court has paused for lunch.

 

[Skigh]

I wonder if it was usual for CJ to be dominant in all conversations or whether she was afraid of what Shane might let slip.

 

[Harchmare]

11:55JAMIE PHILLIPS
Next witness called
PC Emma Joyner, another officer that attended Shane and CJ's address to take a report as part of the police investigation into Louise'd disappearance.

12:04JAMIE PHILLIPS
Shane Mays 'never knew how to speak to Louise'
During a third visit from police to the Ringwood House address at around midday on May 13, five days after Louise was first reported missing, PC Joyner was told defendant Shane Mays "never knew how to speak to" Louise.

She adds that it appears Shane was "under the thumb" in his relationship with CJ. Questions that were directed to him would be answered by CJ, despite her often being in a different room.

Live updates as Louise Smith murder trial enters fifth day

 

[Legally Bland]

48 seconds ago
Court breaks for lunch
Following evidence given by PC Karen Day, DC Peter Bambury and PC Emma Joyner - all of whom spoke to Shane and CJ Mays after Louise went missing - the court has paused for lunch.

This post has changed, not sure they have broken for lunch:

Court takes a break
Following evidence given by PC Karen Day, DC Peter Bambury and PC Emma Joyner - all of whom spoke to Shane and CJ Mays after Louise went missing - the court has briefly paused.

 

[Alyce]

Louise's aunt Chazlynn, the wife of defendant Shane Mays, told police during the call that the teenager was not with any adults that would carry a risk of harm to her when asked by police

She had traced where Louise was meant to be,

Mrs Mays tells police:

I have been told she was at Emsworth recreation,


I have snipped the above from the court reports.
Unless this is just the reporter condensing the information, I wonder why -

Cj does not mention the fact that Louise had departed the house with SM

Cj does not mention the fact it was SM who told her that he had taken Louise to Emsworth

I have been told - very detached wording - deliberately omitting her husband from the details.

 

[Bogyo13]

Questions that were directed to him would be answered by CJ, despite her often being in a different room.

Live updates as Louise Smith murder trial enters fifth day

Snipped and bolded by me

So suspicious! Also very telling to police I would think.

Agree @Alyce why wouldn't she mention that if she is not suspecting/aware of something
Moo

 

[Bogyo13]

I wonder if it was usual for CJ to be dominant in all conversations or whether she was afraid of what Shane might let slip.

Great question, I hope it will be asked from character witnesses

 

[Legally Bland]

1 minute ago
Mays left Ringwood House at the same time as Louise
DI Nicola Burton has told the court that on an unnanounced visit to the property, CJ Mays informed police that Shane Mays left at the same time as Louise on May 8 - but said her partner was heading to Tesco, whereas Louise was heading to Emsworth.

[Hmm]

 

[Legally Bland]

1 minute ago
Shane Mays asked CJ if she would tell police ‘about the argument’ but CJ denied knowledge of this, said DI Burton.

The argument was with a friend at their home, with Shane saying they ‘argued a lot over petty things’.

 

[Legally Bland]

4 minutes ago
Mays ‘lost sight’ of Louise
Mays told police that on his way to Tesco, Mays ‘lost sight’ of Louise near Billy Lawn Avenue, and briefly returned the the flat before going to his mother’s house, according to DI Burton.

She said: ‘They weren’t particularly worried about Louise being missing.'

 

[Bogyo13]

She clearly was covering for him,she needs to be charged in my opinion. MOO
I wonder how much she knew. This might have been just a case of wife not believing that her husband is evil but why is her dna on the stick?!?

 

[Skigh]

She clearly was covering for him,she needs to be charged in my opinion. MOO
I wonder how much she knew. This might have been just a case of wife not believing that her husband is evil but why is her dna on the stick?!?

I do think the DNA is from transference from Shane. I do not think she was at the scene. Apparently she was agrophobic and rarely left the flat. I do ,however , think she knows what happened and covered for Shane.

 

[dalsglen]

I do think the DNA is from transference from Shane. I do not think she was at the scene. Apparently she was agrophobic and rarely left the flat. I do ,however , think she knows what happened and covered for Shane.

Exactly this. Though I wonder exactly what had happened the evening before.

 

[Harchmare]

12:27JAMIE PHILLIPS
Next witness called
DI Nicola Burton is the next officer from Hampshire Constabulary to be called to the witness box.

She visited the property with a colleague to gain further information as the police investigation intensified. It was an unannounced visit and only CJ, Louise's aunt, was present.

12:40JAMIE PHILLIPS
Shane Mays had left the flat at the same time as Louise on day she went missing
DI Burton tells the court that Shane Mays had left the flat in Ringwood House at around midday, the same time as Louise, and walked with her to a local Tesco store before she carried on and he went inside to buy some drinks.

He returned to the flat at around 12.30pm, before then going to his mother's house to pick up a DVD player.

12:45JAMIE PHILLIPS
DI Burton detailing search route Shane Mays said he took
DI Burton, along with prosecutor James Newton-Price QC, is detailing the route she was told Shane Mays took when going out to search for Louise.

13:10JAMIE PHILLIPS
Both CJ and Shane Mays did not show typical anxiety or worry
DI Burton tells the court that, in her encounter with Louise's aunt CJ and defendant Shane Mays, neither showed the normal level of "anxiety or catastrophizing" normally associated with families when someone goes missing.

She adds:

From someone who does not go missing, very often you can see the panic. There was a lack of anxiety or catastrophizing from both of them.

13:11JAMIE PHILLIPS
Court rises for lunch
Court has risen for a lunch break.

We will resume our live updates of today's proceedings shortly.

Live updates as Louise Smith murder trial enters fifth day

 

[Bogyo13]

I do think the DNA is from transference from Shane. I do not think she was at the scene. Apparently she was agrophobic and rarely left the flat. I do ,however , think she knows what happened and covered for Shane.

Oh I didn't know about the agoraphobia thank you!

 

[Legally Bland]

Will be away for a couple of hours now.

 

[Harchmare]

Will be away for a couple of hours now.

Thanks for the updates this morning!

 

[HollyHunter9]

Thankyou Legally bland and Harchmare for the updates! Very interesting statements regarding what CJ did say and more interestingly didn't say! She wasn't volunteering up that Louise Left with shane and if she is agoraphobic and rarely leaves the house she would have definitely known this info! Even the police say BOTH of them were not acting concerned or displaying any anxiety at louise being missing. I do think she knows something...i just wonder why the police have not pursued her further? She may not have committed the murder but surely holding back info is perverting the course of justice? I wonder if later on she will be called as a witness and has made some kind of deal to save herself?

 

[polerina]

I am incredibly suspicious of CJ, I think she was covering for Shane. She may not have known what had happened, but it does sound like she is shielding him in anticipation of his becoming a person of interest.
I also think it is odd saying that Louise would remove her sim card to stop her being traced. Traced by whom? Surely CJ and Shane didn't track her movements via her mobile phone? Most teenagers who don't want to be contacted or found simply turn their phones off, they don't remove the sim card, which is often quite a fiddley procedure on modern phones, you need a little pin or earing back and it's a right faff to do.