UK UK - Sarah Wellgreen, 46, Kent, 9 Oct 2018 #2 *B. Lacomba guilty*

[Alyce]

12:20
Lacomba staying silent during interview 'may harm his defence'
Judge Kinch explains that before being interviewed by the police in October and December 2018, Lacomba was cautioned:

You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you fail to mention when questioned anything which you later rely on in court.

He made no comment in answer to all the questions he was asked.

The matters he failed to mention but relied on during his defence in the witness box are:

• That he was enjoying “a more positive relationship” with Miss Wellgreen from May 2018
• That his dumping of his two phones in the Thames at Greenhithe on October 14 were a result of “innocent panic”
• He was “not bothered” by Sarah’s plans to buy him out of 22 Bazes Shaw
• He mislaid his brown shoes on the morning of October 10
• He had been working on the house and in the garden while on bail after his October 16 arrest and had used rags, probably including the wet woman’s pyjama top
• That he had cause to go outside during the night before (October 8/9) to “investigate noise from cats”
• He used car park 2 on occasions to leave room for Sarah Wellgreen to park outside their shared house when it was busy
• His car was cleaned on October 10 to remove mud which had got on his car from returning from his final taxi driving job near Sevenoaks on October 9
  
  You are entitled, subject to certain conditions, to draw the conclusion that they are not the truth and have since been invented by him to support his defence,” as he did not mention them when cautioned, Judge Kinch tells the jury.
  
  These conditions are that the prosecution case presented at the time of interview called for an answer, he could reasonably be expected to mention those matters and the only sensible reason for not raising them is that he had not yet thought of them.
  
  Lacomba says he did not answer questions because his solicitor advised him not to but he “still had a choice whether or not to accept this advice,” says Judge Kinch.

• 
  Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Alyce]

12:31
Judge Kinch concludes his summary
The judge has gone through Lacomba’s account of the evening of October 9 and the morning after on October 10.

After a short break, he resumes by continuing with the evidence concerning the days following Miss Wellgreen’s disappearance.

This completes his review of the evidence.

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Alyce]

12:33

Jury out

The jury has left the courtroom to begin their deliberations.

They have been asked to seek a unanimous verdict on which they all agree.

There must be no pressure of time on your deliberations. No one can know whether it will take will you a long time or a short time to reach your conclusion. It must take as long as it takes,” Judge Kinch tells them.

Be sure to stay tuned for all the latest as we await a verdict.

Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Alyce]

JMO but I think he actually had planned to do away with Sarah on that date - he needed it to be a Tuesday due to his habit of getting the taxi cleaned on a Wednesday morning so no changes in his routine would be flagged up, he'd deliberately parked out of sight of the CCTV cameras. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he'd already been and prepared the grave/disposal site so he'd be out of the house for the least time as possible in case a child woke - I bet he wishes he'd dosed them up with Calpol now! I think the prosecution are spot on about him getting "the shock of his life" when he got home and found the child up watching TV
It'd be interesting to know which car park his taxi was in on the previous nights that the CCTV was turned off - maybe he'd had an aborted attempt in the weeks before but things hadn't played out for him?

That's a very good point re the taxi cleaning. Keep the lie as close to the truth as possible, follow normal procedure.
Also, though it may not be as relevant, Wednesday was refuse collection day.

 

[Elgana]

What is the thread marked 'Found Desceased'? Did I miss something or is that an error?

 

[Spy Versus Spy]

What is the thread marked 'Found Desceased'? Did I miss something or is that an error?

It makes no sense and is publicly prejudicial imo. SW is still 'Missing'?
Have reported to Mod

 

[Delisa]

I wonder how long they'll be out. I thought it might be really quick at first but now I'm thinking they might not be able to all agree

 

[Delisa]

What is the thread marked 'Found Desceased'? Did I miss something or is that an error?

It's been like it since yesterday

 

[Mrs Marple]

I wonder how long they'll be out. I thought it might be really quick at first but now I'm thinking they might not be able to all agree

I think it very likely at least one of the jury will have doubts.

 

[Kaykedi]

It's been like it since yesterday

It must be an error. How can this happen though? I've just checked the news, and, nothing on there about Sarah

 

[Alyce]

15:02

Jury note

The jury has returned to the courtroom after producing a note that arose from their first two hours of deliberations.

It contained the three following questions which have been answered by Judge Christopher Kinch.


1.Do we have a full length picture of Sarah?

Judge Kinch explains there is the view of Sarah Wellgreen entering her car captured on CCTV on the morning of October 9 inside the jury bundle.

Lacomba also describes her as “about 5 ft 7” and “like a size 12 or something like that” in the 999 call.

The taxi driver said in his own evidence he thought she was “about his height, 5 ft 6 to 5 ft 7” and “about 13 to 14 stone”.



2. Have police investigated the ten Vauxhall Zafiras?

Judge Kinch says:

Yes, at least to the extent reflected in the agreed facts which states that 10 Zafiras were the same model and year of first registration and none of those 10 were registered as a taxi.”



3. Can we have Marilyn Lacomba’s statement?


Judge Kinch tells the jury:

No, we rely on the prosecution and defence to call evidence that is relevant and helpful.

You and I are not investigators and so the fact is that where neither side has chosen to call someone as a witness, there is no evidence from that person.

You must not speculate about what other evidence there might have been.”



Live updates as Sarah Wellgreen's ex-partner goes on trial accused of her murder

 

[Alyce]

Most interesting. So Prosecution and Defence agreed between them not to introduce ML's statement and not to call her as a witness.
I would have thought Prosecution would have called her, even as a hostile witness.

 

[Mommysleuth11]

Wasnt ML due to appear as witness for the prosecution? I wonder why the last minute change of plan. Interesting.

 

[Shadowplayed]

I too find it astonishing that such a central figure as Marilyn Lacomba was not called as a witness. There will probably be a "good" reason for this, but I can't see why the prosecution wouldn't want to question her on many things, not least her bizarre Christmas present from her son...

 

[Alyce]

Lacomba also describes her as “about 5 ft 7” and “like a size 12 or something like that” in the 999 call.
The taxi driver said in his own evidence he thought she was “about his height, 5 ft 6 to 5 ft 7” and “about 13 to 14 stone

Surely the police did not rely solely on the accused's description of SW ? It would be in his interests to make her seem as tall and heavy as possible.

 

[Miss Scarlet]

Sounds to me like they’ve not had much more evidence that we haven’t heard then!
Kent Live were definitely under the impression we were going to hear from ML after lunch that day.
We don’t get that many murders in Kent. You’d have thought the police would be far more thorough. It seems to me they were treating it as a missing persons enquiry from the offset, rather than a potential murder.
By the time they decided it was a possible murder, crucial evidence was lost. Shoddy work IMO

 

[Mrs Marple]

A full length picture of Sarah? Are they wondering how he could have got her out so quietly too, l wonder.

Also very interesting about MLs statement. They must be thinking it will confirm something they are debating- or not confirm it.

 

[Mrs Marple]

Sounds to me like they’ve not had much more evidence that we haven’t heard then!
Kent Live were definitely under the impression we were going to hear from ML after lunch that day.
We don’t get that many murders in Kent. You’d have thought the police would be far more thorough. It seems to me they were treating it as a missing persons enquiry from the offset, rather than a potential murder.
By the time they decided it was a possible murder, crucial evidence was lost. Shoddy work IMO

To be fair to KP, yes they treated it as a missing person because that is what BL reported to them. In the absence of a body or any other evidence indicating Sarah has come to harm, l can't see what else they could have done.

 

[Shadowplayed]

As for this:

2. Have police investigated the ten Vauxhall Zafiras?

Judge Kinch says:

"Yes, at least to the extent reflected in the agreed facts which states that 10 Zafiras were the same model and year of first registration and none of those 10 were registered as a taxi.”

Surely the Police would have spoken to all Zafira owners in the area about their movements to rule each of them out wouldn't they ????

 

[Mommysleuth11]

It really does seem that KP may have missed several opportunities to follow things up amd have those loose ends tied up, a very patchy picture.

I can only think perhaps ML was considered a 'reluctant witness' by the prosecution and as such it would have been risky calling her. Maybe they decided whatever she could have added to their case she would be unlikely to say, 'cant remember','dont recall' etc but it would have given her opportunity to be cross examined by defence about her 'wonderful boy'. Maybe they just thought it wasnt worth it.