Found Deceased UK - Samantha Eastwood, 28, Stoke-on-Trent, 27 July 2018 *Arrest*

[Yozzer]

IDK Yozzer, it's not something I've ever had to look up during a WS case I was just throwing that factor in but I do remember the complexity of proving different types of suffocation from a previous WS case. (can't remember the deceased's case now as it's a good while ago. )

Sorry Cottonweaver re 'Temporary?'...you mentioned the shallow construction of the grave and whether this was due to it being rushed. I was suggesting the shallow grave may have been a temporary (but certainly rushed) effort at concealment and at a later point...once the heat was off MS, he would have returned to do a more permanent job.

 

[Yozzer]

Is it possible that something happened at Cromer St as the police are treating it as a crime scene ?
Could SE have called there on her way home from work , something happened & MS was seen bundling her into her own car ( hence the kidnap charge ) he then drove her car back to her house & parked up & asked his father to bring the van ? This could explain why SEs car was parked where it was so the van could be pulled into the drive . The second person charged with helping could then have picked the father up .

That's an interesting theory Florence. The only difficulty I have is if you look at MS's property, there is no side space to park so SE would have had to park on the road and this would have made it highly risky for MS to transfer her to the boot of her own car. Also being on home territory, he would have run the risk of KS returning. I believe the screams at 2pm from SE's house were significant.

 

[jessie]

OIMO but I am taking the scream/s with caution. Many redtops (and other MSM) reported "screams" or even "screaming" but I think the very first report was of "a scream" heard by a neighbour. This neighbour didn't consider it to be serious enough to investigate at the time, only spoken of in hindsight, and could it have come from elsewhere? Who knows yet?
Maybe superfluous yet for us here to take it as firm evidence.
It is so frustrating for all of us here on MS that we aren't kept informed of the details

 

[Alyce]

I agree re MS house. There are those parking slots at the front, but they are very visible and open to view by neighbours or passing traffic. I think it would not have been viable for anything to happen there.
I would say the house search is simply because he is the main suspect.

Re the screams. I agree Jessie. Original reports mentioned a single scream, which the neighbour clearly did not think important enough to check out.
Later articles have talked of screaming which I think may owe more to journalistic licence than reality.
SEs house being where it is, on the end of the road, I would say the only people who could have heard a scream would have been next door house or next door but one. I think they were neighbourly enough that a succession of screams would not have been ignored.

 

[ohthesharkbabe]

Hi All, I've been reading all your posts (interesting) but not commented as yet. I just wanted to add that their have been conflicting reports of MS's address - some reports say Cromer Road, Northwood and some say Gratton Road, Bucknall which is his parent's home I think. All the reports of the court hearing yesterday say Gratton Road and I believe he gave that as his address on Monday in court. I thought he might have moved back in with his parents, but then I guess he and his wife wouldn't have been going on holiday together. Confused!!! And some reports say the police searched the JP's grandmother's empty house - anybody know anything about that. Poor girl, so sad. I believe the police know everything already.

 

[Alyce]

Hi Shark Babe and welcome.
I imagine MS used his parents address to deflect attention from the home his wife lives in.
You might want to edit your post and remove the specific address details. I know its not hard to find out an address, but at the same time, not great for his wife if people can read it on here.

 

[ohthesharkbabe]

Hi Shark Babe and welcome.
I imagine MS used his parents address to deflect attention from the home his wife lives in.
You might want to edit your post and remove the specific address details. I know its not hard to find out an address, but at the same time, not great for his wife if people can read it on here.

You're right, I've deleted it. But do I have the correct addresses for people - it's so hard to work out?

 

[AlphaRomeoFoxtrot]

I have quietly been reading all the posts and a few things stood out.

1. Pre-meditated/planned abduction/murder: I didn't think so to start with, but I do now. Stirling had already threatened her and I think he planned the pseudo/sudden holiday to make it look like he was elsewhere. Oddly, there is a Brit Netflix show The Fall where part of the plot is similar - he breaks into houses of women living alone - first watched their regular patterns, then lay in wait inside many times, or broke in when they were unsuspecting. He keeps an old girlfriend hostage in a disused country house. He abducts her, bundles her into his car, at one point has her in the boot of his car. Keeps her hostage in the country house for weeks and tapes her mouth. Keep wondering if Stirling got ideas from it - copycat style.

2. Suffocation as cause of death: I think this is very possible. Someone suggested it. I do think he taped her face/eyes so she couldn't see where she was being taken. And taped her mouth and inadvertently suffocated her. If this is what he told police, they will want absolute evidence as one is murderous intent and the other is not. Strangulation would be obvious. Suffocation would mean that she was alive/kidnapped/bundled into the van injured and possibly died through suffocation which would account for the 6 months needed for specialist forensic pathology.

3. Significance of scream: I think he broke into her house while she was sleeping in preparation of her next shift. Someone suggested this too. I agree. She already knew him to be a threat so it's too hard to believe she would knowingly let him in. She'd expressed concern to colleagues that she could go missing. She wouldn't have let that kind of threat into her home. She would have called the police, not let him in if he'd simply knocked on the door and asked to have a word. In my opinion, he has let himself into the house while she was asleep, or lay in wait for her.

4. Police evidence - telephone: Police have said they have this along with CCTV and plate identification. Likely to be text exchange with his dad, i.e."Police keep on at me. Can you just say I was with you." However. it is very possible that at some stage, Stirling had also sent Samantha a threatening or abusive text message which resulted in her letting colleagues and potentially even police know. Remember, that these things are hard for police to do something about until something happens. Many a stalker gets away with insidious behaviour for years before they cross the line that police can take action on.

5. Motive - some sort of unrequited love/perceived rejection: I still believe that Stirling probably became obsessed with Samantha and was somehow rejected by her. Clearly there is something crazy about him for him to have done this - right down to taping her eyes/face. It all screams man gone crazy.

 

[leaanne613]

Why do you think he took the Radley purse, because he had to have taken it and why were her bank cards not in it. It's clearly the type of thing you would keep bank and credit cards,id's, money in.

 

[AlphaRomeoFoxtrot]

Why do you think he took the Radley purse, because he had to have taken it and why were her bank cards not in it. It's clearly the type of thing you would keep bank and credit cards,id's, money in.

Two possibilities.
1. To make it look like a burglary gone wrong.
2. Or to keep as a souvenir as it was very distinctive and he was potentially a bit obsessed with her. He wouldn't have wanted the cards. Only the wallet if that was the case. And maybe that's why the police searched his house so much.

Funny. In The Fall, the murderer kept a distinctive souvenir from all his victims. Hid them in the roof attic.

 

[Elainera]

I have been down that lane many times and within the quarry as I have horses so I know it fairly well.

The lane and quarry itself are used by many horse riders, walkers and bikes. I hope someone saw something that pin points him there and that the evidence is so heavily weighted against him, he is charged with murder and UNable to walk free again. I truly hope he isn’t able to give any plea bargain for a lesser sentence.

I am also aware that people in the local area were taught by this individual at joinery college/school.

bbm Wait what? He was a teacher? I thought he was a gardener?

 

[Bethan]

Deleted

 

[kongpick2018]

bbm Wait what? He was a teacher? I thought he was a gardener?

I’m talking atleast 10 years ago here. Not necessarily teacher but lecturer - I think it was a college rather than school.

 

[Florence61]

That's an interesting theory Florence. The only difficulty I have is if you look at MS's property, there is no side space to park so SE would have had to park on the road and this would have made it highly risky for MS to transfer her to the boot of her own car. Also being on home territory, he would have run the risk of KS returning. I believe the screams at 2pm from SE's house were significant.

 

[Florence61]

What if she was alive though & perhaps kicking up a fuss & it was seen by neighbours ?

 

[ST3anonymous]

Rumours around here are that she was moved in the roof box and that his car was seen on CCTV by police earlier in the week. A local farmer shared footage early on and they were investigating the area before it was know on the news. I reiterate this is only local rumours and personally I agree the roof box seems too awkward to use perhaps. However, apparently the car was seen around the area. I’m not sure if this is instead of or in addition to the van.

 

[cottonweaver]

I’m talking atleast 10 years ago here. Not necessarily teacher but lecturer - I think it was a college rather than school.

That would mean he was employed as a college lecturer at 22. Quite young ...but possible. Could he have been a college technician though instead... unless he had at 22, sufficient qualifications to meet the job requirements.

 

[cottonweaver]

Rumours around here are that she was moved in the roof box and that his car was seen on CCTV by police earlier in the week. A local farmer shared footage early on and they were investigating the area before it was know on the news. I reiterate this is only local rumours and personally I agree the roof box seems too awkward to use perhaps. However, apparently the car was seen around the area. I’m not sure if this is instead of or in addition to the van.

Interesting. By seen around the area, do you think they mean B.Green or the disposal site?

 

[ST3anonymous]

Interesting. By seen around the area, do you think they mean B.Green or the disposal site?

Apparently the car was recorded on CCTV by a farmer by Tickhill Lane (Caverswall)

 

[kongpick2018]

Rumours around here are that she was moved in the roof box and that his car was seen on CCTV by police earlier in the week. A local farmer shared footage early on and they were investigating the area before it was know on the news. I reiterate this is only local rumours and personally I agree the roof box seems too awkward to use perhaps. However, apparently the car was seen around the area. I’m not sure if this is instead of or in addition to the van.

They were certainly in Caverswall on Friday (I saw the helicopter over that way and three police vehicles pass my house with lights on but no sirens relatively late Friday evening which is quite unusual) and one farmer reported Thursday they were already on that lane. I can’t say for certain if it was closed off at that point though but Saturday it certainly was from early morning.