GUILTY UK - Sian O'Callaghan, 22, Swindon, Wiltshire, 19 March 2011

[Redgoblin]

Anorak has a provocative piece on public mourning:

Sian O’Callaghan’s Death Is Invaded By The Grief Circus
the rest at link above

Interesting and I'm not knocking the Anorak in anyway (I've provided links to articles in this forum, in the past) but the lantern release event was supposed to have taken place when SO was still missing, and they decided to still host the event after her murder and her memory.

I think perhaps its a little too much having little ones attend, but out of a mark of respect I think its only healthy that a community should stand united, cheesy how that may appear to some.

 

[Cherwell]

I agree about the cult of excessive public grief over strangers, but in this case I can understand it to a degree. Given the speed of the investigation there was, I think, a very real hope that Sian might be found alive. Another factor is the gross abuse of trust, doubly so as the taxi driver was acquainted with her. Even as a stranger I feel particularly sad over this case.

 

[SuziQ]

Another film (The Bone Collector) - the killer poses as a New York taxi driver, and abducts and kills those who get in his taxi. The first two victims are a married couple who get a taxi home but then find themselves kidnapped by the killer. It horrified me when I saw the movie, realizing just how easy this could be achieved because the victims trusted what they thought was a genuine NYC taxi driver.

I have thought of this movie many times while following this case. The book is even more detailed and scary.

 

[wfgodot]

Interesting and I'm not knocking the Anorak in anyway (I've provided links to articles in this forum, in the past) but the lantern release event was supposed to have taken place when SO was still missing, and they decided to still host the event after her murder and her memory.

I think perhaps its a little too much having little ones attend, but out of a mark of respect I think its only healthy that a community should stand united, cheesy how that may appear to some.

Well-said, and excellent point on the lantern release - I'd forgotten that.

While I think Anorak correct in the main, I must also say that in the case of Swindon I was hugely impressed with its people. Those posting on the Facebook Help Find Sian O'Callaghan pages were, for the most part it seemed, hugely affected by her having gone missing. Many expressed surprise that "so many of us here in Swindon care" - so one hopes that feeling of community can be sustained after Sian's story disappears from the headlines.

Previously, I'd only known Swindon in the context of its being the home and origins of one of my favorite bands - XTC. Now when I hear the name I will think of the caring of its people too.

 

[Clio]

Police have finished the search at EastLeach.

We can confirm that work to recover a second body at East Leach has been completed and the scene released. Forensic investigations to establish the identity of this young woman are ongoing using DNA and the speed of this identification process relies on whether or not we have her DNA on a database. If we don’t get a DNA match further investigations will need to be carried out which may take some time.

The public can be assured that we will of course inform the victim’s family wherever possible before releasing any details in the media.

Above quote from http://www.wiltshire.police.uk/inde...n-ocallaghan-29032011&catid=43:news&Itemid=50

 

[whiterum]

Anorak has a provocative piece on public mourning:

Sian O’Callaghan’s Death Is Invaded By The Grief Circus
the rest at link above

Regarding the anorak article and the question (when JB died in 1993 did strangers sign a book and place flowers and teddies on his grave ?) the answer is ( yes they did).

The railway embankment upon which his body had been discovered was flooded with hundreds of bunches of flowers and toys. The crime created great anger in Liverpool,

The murder of a child by two other children caused an immense public outpouring of shock, outrage, and grief, particularly in Liverpool and surrounding towns

Hundreds of flowers have been heaped around the entrance to the shopping centre where James was last seen, on security video, being led away

The 35,000 people at Liverpool Football Club's Anfield ground stood for a minute's silence before the game against Ipswich Town today.

The outpouring of grief for little JB was no less than that of Baby P

Regarding little Baby P who was tortured, abused and died in agony with untreated injuries, including a broken back. People are enraged by the likes of this, it’s as if they personally know the child and grieve and weep for him as if he were their own. So they want to leave flowers and teddies because they feel the need to show that he was precious, they would have loved and cared for him and their revulsion of all those who failed him.

To refer to their grief as being contrived, is wrong, in my opinion.

I personally think it is a good thing for society to outwardly show they care.

 

[Cherwell]

If people want to leave flowers, why do they never take off the paper wrappings? When there is a large amount, it ends up looking like a rubbish tip.

Please - take the paper away! The flowers will look nicer, and after they have faded they can be recycled into compost more easily without all the awful cellophane and stuff.

 

[Paulette]

To refer to their grief as being contrived, is wrong, in my opinion.

I personally think it is a good thing for society to outwardly show they care.

Yes, you are so right. People see violence only on TV or read about it in the paper, but to have it on their doorstep is an awakening of their compassionate spirit. They are very affected and need to express their grief.

Cherwell, they stay fresher longer in the plastic sleeves.

 

[Cherwell]

Cherwell, they stay fresher longer in the plastic sleeves.

But then no one can see them properly, so what's the point.

 

[wfgodot]

No ID of second victim yet, but a couple new articles:

Sian police search fields for her missing handbag (BBC)

Cabbies unhappy at media’s treatment (Swindon Advertiser)

 

[whiterum]

No ID of second victim yet, but a couple new articles:

Cabbies unhappy at media’s treatment (Swindon Advertiser)

Thanks wfgodot, that article was very informative, I never knew there was a difference in Taxis.
The comments below the article were also very interesting such as this one

cab driver Swindon says...
9:36pm Tue 29 Mar 11
RED DEVIL,

It is impossible for a Hackney to "fly" we are insured regardless of who we pick up, unlike private hire who break the law and drive without insurance everytime they "fly"
You should be returning to your base everytime you have completed a job,

Your GPS can be switched off anytime you wish (so please don't hide behind it), hence the fact that the private hire firm that Chris halliwell worked for could not confirm if he was working or not the night Sian disappeared.

We want people to be able to enjoy a night out in Swindon and be safe regardless of how they get home.
Rest in peace Sian x

 

[whiterum]

£150,000 bounty on Halliwell's head

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/view/183697/Sian-man-Gypsies-put-up-150-000/

 

[whiterum]

Daily Star:

Police yesterday left a cross and bunch of forget-me-knots at the spot where the body was found.

forget-me-knots

In the case of the as yet ‘unknown lady’ the little flowering plant ‘Forget-me –not’ left at her burial site is a very thoughtful gesture by the Police.

One legend regarding the flower’s origin is, when God was naming all the plants a little unnamed flower cried out, "Forget-me-not, O Lord!" God answered and said, "That shall be your name."

I hope it will not be long until the lady is named and returned to her loved ones.

 

[Clio]

I hope it will not be long until the lady is named and returned to her loved ones.

Sadly, it looks like she might not be identified easily

Sian O'Callaghan murder: police draw blank in tests to identify second body

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...w-blank-in-tests-to-identify-second-body.html

Press reporting CH appeared at Bristol Crown Court this morning.
No application was made for bail.
Next appearance will be 8th April via video link

 

[whiterum]

Sadly, it looks like she might not be identified easily



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...w-blank-in-tests-to-identify-second-body.html

Press reporting CH appeared at Bristol Crown Court this morning.
No application was made for bail.
Next appearance will be 8th April via video link

That is so sad. I think Halliwell knows fine rightly the exact year, he is a liar. If no clothes, items, were found with the body, he took them. I assume the girl must have had a purse,cards, etc: He murdered the girl, dug a grave, buried her and dosen't remember the year. If you ask me he remembers the very time, day and year, probably also her name. At the moment everyone is guessing and searching, only he holds the key but I hope not for long.

 

[Firefly75]

I think you may well be correct there, Whiterum. Surely it's not so easy to forget a murder you've committed - unless there are so many that your victims begin to blur in your memory? But then he remembered where he'd dumped her.

What a sick *advertiser censored*.

The fact that the tinkers have money on his head and bets how long he's going to last in jail worries me somewhat. I think the victims' families need answers which will only come out if this guy is tried.

 

[Cherwell]

But if he pleads guilty there won't be a trial, he would just be sentenced.

 

[wfgodot]

Roy Greenslade has an interesting article in the Evening Standard regarding the 'hierarchy of death' in terms of press coverage:

Sian murder says a lot about media's values

From the dawn of newspapers, murder has been a major component of the news agenda. It is unsurprising. In civilised society, the killing by one human being of another human being is an appalling act. It is the crime of crimes.
---
But that does not mean every murder gets equal coverage. While some appear on front pages, others slip under the media's radar and are given little, if any, space. Why should that be?
---
I am not doubting for a moment that these [those of Sian, and Jo Yeates] killings deserved to be covered and I mean no disrespect to their grieving families by raising the subject. But I am asking, just as many people ask me, whether there were special reasons why the deaths of these two such women were deemed to be worthy of front page coverage while others were not.
---

much more at link above

 

[naturally suspicious]

I live in Swindon and today learnt that police took over the house of a neighbour in Ashbury Ave in order to put surveillance on CH, prior to arrest.

Yes, you are right.
Feelings of horror and hatred run deep in the town at the moment.

 

[Distant Observer]

That is so sad. I think Halliwell knows fine rightly the exact year, he is a liar. If no clothes, items, were found with the body, he took them. I assume the girl must have had a purse,cards, etc: He murdered the girl, dug a grave, buried her and dosen't remember the year. If you ask me he remembers the very time, day and year, probably also her name. At the moment everyone is guessing and searching, only he holds the key but I hope not for long.

I am not sure I agree with this. CH clearly has a cold-blooded personality and appears to be capable of acts of unbelievable callousness and cruelty. Yet paradoxically there has been nothing reported about his past behaviour to infer any dishonesty in his psychological makeup. I personally would believe what he told me. I think the unknown victim was probably a vice girl as he said with her own problems. Probably she had been rejected by her family who didn't even report her missing at the time. She could well have been a drug user with a nomadic lifestyle moving around the country so I am not that surprised by the difficulty in identifying her.

Maybe this is one of those cases which will have to await further developments in the use of DNA before her identity can be determined.