Deceased/Not Found UK - April Jones, 5, Machynlleth, Wales, 1 Oct 2012 #4 *M. Bridger guilty*

[jigzy]

I think it's weird that you would show the licence to the neighbour - unless he was in the Police or something.

Seems to me that MB was just showing off to the younger man. Look at me, I'm ex-army, I know how to handle a weapon - kind of thing.

jmo

 

[Clutchbag]

Does anyone think it is possible that the van was indeed "parked" as in MB had got out briefly to perhaps take something to a resident or post a letter, and April climbed into it recognising it was one she had played in before. MB then hopped back into the van and drove away before realising there was a kid in it. When he saw April and having a dodgy clutch and not wanting to turn around again he let her out thinking she would be able to walk home ok alone from a few streets away. Then something happened to her.

Or did the eye witness specifically say the owner "invited her to get in"?

Thats an idea which I would think is plausible but only if the child was alot older, cant imagine anyone would leave a five year old to walk home though I dont know the customs in a safe village where everyone knows everyone

Also how can you not notice anyone in the passenger seat, a foot away from you, nice thinking out of the box though here

Also if thats all he did why not admit it or come forward the next day.

 

[Cherwell]

what was the point being made about the location of the steering wheel, perhaps I missed it.

Merely that April is said to have got into the vehicle "on the driver's side". In most UK vehicles, the right-hand side door would be perceived by most people as "the driver's side".

 

[LegallyBrunette]

Certainly, that's true. If he were willing to drive on the wrong side of the street, he could pull up next to curb with the passenger door facing children playing there. But I thought, perhaps mistakenly, that the thrust of the conversation here is that the steering wheel location mattered, and made a difference to the events. If one is willing to drive against traffic, it doesn't make particle of difference where the steering wheel is, one can turn the vehicle any which way to angle either door toward the curb. But, in that case, what was the point being made about the location of the steering wheel, perhaps I missed it.

The vehicle was parked in a parking area.:banghead:

 

[veggiefan]

Hitting her with the car and panicking seems like a more rational, indeed, simpler explanation than snatching her off the street and killing her.

The penalty for murder is life imprisonment with probably no chance of even being considered for parole for 30 years.

Causing death by dangerous driving carries a penalty of between 12 months and (in extreme cases) 14 years, only half of which is served if the prisoner has behaved well.

It is very difficult to see why he would dispose of the body and risk spending the rest of his life in prison for murder if it really was a car accident.

 

[LegallyBrunette]

Seems to me that MB was just showing off to the younger man. Look at me, I'm ex-army, I know how to handle a weapon - kind of thing.

jmo

Sounds about right

 

[Cherwell]

Everyone seems to be assuming that he "pulled up". However, according to the 70-year old neighbour, he was parked next to the garages rather than stopping by the kerb:

"I noticed it parked up next to the garages which was strange because no one would park there usually. The kids were still playing at that point. But suddenly they weren’t there and I noticed the car drive briskly down the road towards the town centre."

I'd be interested to know where the neighbour saw this from. Looking at the pictures of the estate, there are several groups of garages dotted around and I don't know if we know for sure which one is referred to and therefore exactly where the children were playing.

 

[LegallyBrunette]

OK. Sorry, I did not know that you're in Australia.

No worries mate

 

[Inge Jones]

If one is willing to drive against traffic, it doesn't make particle of difference where the steering wheel is, one can turn the vehicle any which way to angle either door toward the curb

In this case there wouldn't have been any driving against traffic involved. We're talking about a quiet access road on an estate, probably nothing else passed in that period of time.

 

[greenpalm]

Does anyone think it is possible that the van was indeed "parked" as in MB had got out briefly to perhaps take something to a resident or post a letter, and April climbed into it recognising it was one she had played in before. MB then hopped back into the van and drove away before realising there was a kid in it. When he saw April and having a dodgy clutch and not wanting to turn around again he let her out thinking she would be able to walk home ok alone from a few streets away. Then something happened to her.

Or did the eye witness specifically say the owner "invited her to get in"?

Thats an idea which I would think is plausible but only if the child was alot older, cant imagine anyone would leave a five year old to walk home though I dont know the customs in a safe village where everyone knows everyone

Also how can you not notice anyone in the passenger seat, a foot away from you, nice thinking out of the box though here

Also if thats all he did why not admit it or come forward the next day.

I think it's possible, or some other scenario like it. What if she were in the back? He might not have noticed her. Obviously the child was permitted to play at some distance from her home, so maybe letting her out to walk just a bit father seemed okay, especially given he was having trouble with the clutch. Reasons for not admitting it? Maybe he is admitting it and giving those reasons. We wouldn't know. but we do know that the police have heard his explanation of events and the prosecution has been informed of his likely defense. So, whatever he's saying must not be convincing enough to drop the charges.

This theory explains why he can't help them find her, he wouldn't know.

Edited to add: but it doesn't explain why they charged him with murder. They've got to have a reason for that.

 

[Elainera]

Re the theory that he might have struck/injured her with the car - if that had been the case I think someone would have reported a scream or screeching car breaks or something like that. I don't think it would have happened completely unnoticed. Also, if she was injured would she have been able to climb into the car at all? Her friend, at at least shouting distance, didn't mention that anything was wrong with April at that point.

Re the theory that he had popped out of the car to do *whatever* and she had climbed in while he was gone - April was reported to have said to her friend "It's ok, I know them", implying that there was in fact a person in the car, not just an empty car.

But interesting thoughts nevertheless.

Interesting also the fact that a neighbour saw a car parked by the garages. I wonder if he was in fact waiting for an opportunity, which makes the whole thing again smell very much of premeditation. Unless he was just trying to figure out what was wrong with his car (as he was driving erratically up and down the road not long before).

 

[Elainera]

The vehicle was parked in a parking area.:banghead:

Do we know for a fact that car the neighbour saw parked near the garages was the same that April got into?

 

[greenpalm]

In this case there wouldn't have been any driving against traffic involved. We're talking about a quiet access road on an estate, probably nothing else passed in that period of time.

Begging your pardon. I meant "driving against traffic" to mean driving on the wrong side of the road, whether there was actually any traffic or not. The term refers to being in the wrong lane; going the wrong way. When a ticket is written for such an offense it says, "driving against traffic." even if you are alone on the road.

 

[LegallyBrunette]

In this case there wouldn't have been any driving against traffic involved. We're talking about a quiet access road on an estate, probably nothing else passed in that period of time.

Hardly the M1

 

[Inge Jones]

Also how can you not notice anyone in the passenger seat, a foot away from you, nice thinking out of the box though here

Also if thats all he did why not admit it or come forward the next day.

Who said she then sat waiting in the passenger seat? She might have been hiding in the back for fun by that time having climbed over the seat. Children have no idea of what can go wrong with their games.

Maybe he didn't even *know* she hadn't got back safely till the police apprehended him the next afternoon. After all, seeing as they didn't seem to know where he had moved to, I'd guess no one had been able to tell the police, which means no one would have been able to contact him to say April was missing. And I do remember that the very evening she went missing, it wasn't in the news as extensively as it was the next day, so it was missable by someone who didn't sit glued to the TV all evening. That might easily explain why he seemed so casual and carefree when he was spotted on the riverbank - having dropped his car off finally, he had nothing worrying his mind at that time.

 

[Clutchbag]

Do we know for a fact that car the neighbour saw parked near the garages was the same that April got into?

No we dont, there was no description given in that daily mirror article and the police have not released any info that ties the pensioners witness statement to a similar or same vehicle seen by the child or children who described it and I cant think why they wouldnt

 

[Clutchbag]

I think it's possible, or some other scenario like it. What if she were in the back? He might not have noticed her. Obviously the child was permitted to play at some distance from her home, so maybe letting her out to walk just a bit father seemed okay, especially given he was having trouble with the clutch. Reasons for not admitting it? Maybe he is admitting it and giving those reasons. We wouldn't know. but we do know that the police have heard his explanation of events and the prosecution has been informed of his likely defense. So, whatever he's saying must not be convincing enough to drop the charges.

This theory explains why he can't help them find her, he wouldn't know.

Edited to add: but it doesn't explain why they charged him with murder. They've got to have a reason for that.

You do make some very excellent points. Im just stuck that he would not have rang the police as soon as the information came out on the tv from the monday night unless he did not have a tv. then again maybe he panicked and thought he could be accused of abducting her if he came forward.

 

[Cherwell]

Maybe he didn't even *know* she hadn't got back safely till the police apprehended him the next afternoon.

So where is she then? The police have some sort of evidence pointing to her death and presumably it is linked to MB.

the police have not released any info that ties the pensioners witness statement to a similar or same vehicle seen by the child or children who described it and I cant think why they wouldnt

Because they don't have to/don't need to.

 

[Inge Jones]

Begging your pardon. I meant "driving against traffic" to mean driving on the wrong side of the road, whether there was actually any traffic or not. The term refers to being in the wrong lane; going the wrong way. When a ticket is written for such an offense it says, "driving against traffic." even if you are alone on the road.

That wouldn't apply here. Residential roads tend to only have room for two cars to pass each other slowly and at a squeeze - especially when like my road there are residents' cars parked both sides. All cars drive in the middle of these roads until such time as they have to pass one going the other way, then they pull over to their own side as much as possible. Cars park either to the right or the left of their direction, depending where they can find a space. Flow of traffic rules only apply where there are lanes marked.

 

[Clio]

For anyone who hasn't seen it, the photo of the pink bike is in this article about halfway down.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...sted-as-cops-hunt-for-missing-April-five.html