Trudi Benjamin

When I fist wrote to Jeremy at the tail end of 2010 I already believed that he was innocent, although I probably wasn’t exactly sure why. I knew the basic facts of course, I had followed it in the media from day one. You could say I had grown up with the case. Over the last four years I have done as much in depth research as I can and I now spout with confidence (and I do often!) why I know Jeremy did not and could not have killed his family. I have spent probably 100’s of hours reading all the information that is available to me and I know the following to be true or point to Jeremy’s innocence, in no particular order and certainly not exhaustive:

• No forensics link Jeremy to the murders.

• There was more than one sound moderator, exhibit labels were manipulated and four moderators were passed off to the jury as one and recent forensics have revealed that the silencer wasn’t even used in the murders.

• We are asked to believe that Jeremy was able to get Shelia to calmly lay down whilst he shot her after first killing her children and her parents. I conclude that this would have been impossible.

• We are asked to believe that Jeremy got from the murder scene home in time to make a phone call and leave no forensic trace. No Mud, blood or gun shot residue. I conclude that this would have been impossible.

• We now know that Nevill called the police also, a fact that the jury never heard.

• Non-disclosure of evidence by Essex Police in this case stinks of a cover-up. In fact the 1986 Dickinson report into their conduct was a whitewash based on the biased testimony of Jeremy’s relatives. The very fact that the original murder/suicide file remains under PII is very suspicious.

• We know that the police made a mess of the investigation but failing to mention for twenty odd years that they used the bodies in a training exercise and, furthermore, re-staged and photographed Shelia with the gun and then tried to make out it was Jeremy who had done the staging, is appalling.

• The relatives were terrified that they were going to lose their land and livelihood should Jeremy inherit and had everything to gain from Jeremy’s conviction. Certain members of the family were also incredulous that the “adopted” son would inherit everything.

• Julie Mugford was a bitter jealous jilted woman, who would have been charged with drug offences, cheque book fraud and burglary. Instead she got the ultimate revenge on Jeremy and gained £25K from the NOTW and immunity from prosecution. Not hard to see why she lied.

• Whose fingerprints were on the Bible and why was this never disclosed?

• Why were exhibits destroyed despite a Court Order for them to be retained?

• Why was it claimed that Shelia’s feet were clean when actually photographs show otherwise?

• Jeremy passed a lie detector test. This in itself as been criticised as a meaningless exercise but most importantly for me is why on earth would he push so hard to take it if he was guilty and risked failing. Now that would have been game over!

It still doesn’t explain why I campaign for Jeremy, so I believe he is innocent but I’m often asked why dedicate so much of my time and energy for someone I have no connection to and have never met. Well that is simple I hate injustice. I hate it with a passion. I have watched other miscarriage of justices and seen innocent men and women walk from the Court of Appeal, whilst Jeremy continues to be left behind. It fills me with horror that for nearly 29 years justice has failed him. The jury didn’t get to hear a large part of the most important evidence and the evidence they did hear was tainted by manipulation and lies. I have read and re-read the 2002 appeal document and I’m no legal expert but Jeremy didn’t catch one break, not once did any of the Judges concede even tiny points, it was as if their minds were made up even before the hearing. Jeremy deserves a fair crack at presenting what the jury didn’t hear. It also makes me angry how he has been misrepresented in the press, how people who once supported him give accounts to newspapers that they never mentioned previously and how awful it is for Jeremy to have had his family almost demonized at times, as if they somehow deserved what happened to them. Jeremy loved his family very much and I have no doubt that they loved him. Suggesting anything else and having to hear all the lies about them is an injustice all by itself.

Getting to know Jeremy through his letters over the last four years has been a privilege. In my opinion he is a very intelligent,

articulate, resilient and honest individual. He has a very dry sense of humour which has often cheered me up. Jeremy offers help and advice when asked and has never failed to support me in my normal life struggles. His strength of character is the single most important reason why he has kept going nearly three decades. Jeremy never wants his friends to worry about him and I’m pretty sure he hides how hard it is at times to keep his head above water, even so I never hear any self pity or thoughts of giving up. It is his sense that the truth will finally prevail which keeps him going. In the very first letter Jeremy wrote to me about his case he said “….never miss an opportunity and make hay while the sun shines – but most of all tell the truth always, never be tempted to lie or misrepresent the situation and above all else work hard…” Jeremy has exhibited these qualities to me over and over and it is why I will continue to campaign for him until I witness him walking free from The Court of Appeal also and I have a feeling that day isn’t long away.