Sheila did not have time to commit the murders

[Erik Narramore]

When people make this point, what they are you are doing ultimately (mostly without realising it) is repeating an argument made by author Roger Wilkes in his book on the base.  I've read his book several times and I have had correspondence with him.  Wilkes is giving an interpretation of part of the judge's summing-up.  What it boils down to is this: if Jeremy and the response cars arrived at 3.48 a.m., that must mean Sheila could not have shot anybody after 3.48 a.m.  This seems to me like a naive application of the facts.

First, the response car arrives at Pages Lane at 3.48 a.m., and Jeremy arrives at 3.50 a.m. (at least), and you have to add at least a few minutes on as they stand around making general introductions and talking and what not, and asking Jeremy questions.  In his statement of 16th. August 1985, PS Bews recalls, seemingly ad verbatim, a lengthy conversation with Jeremy that took place at Pages Lane on arrival.  PC Saxby then was appointed as radio officer, opened a scene log, and asked BT telephone operator Jean Rowe to check the line. It must have been at least 4 a.m., if not later, before PS Bews, PC Myall and Jeremy even approached the White House.
 
The three of them did not get right up close to the farmhouse at all prior to the setting up of the Forward Observation Post by armed officers and commanders, which was some time later and not of relevance to this.  Instead, PS Bews, PC Myall and Jeremy first went to the rear of the farmhouse (west side), then walked around the side and to the front, always maintaining their distance.  From the east field side (the front), they thought they saw something in the window.  Since all this happens at some distance from the farmhouse itself, they would not have heard anything of the melee inside (assuming Jeremy is innocent and Sheila was not using a silencer), nor necessarily need they have heard water from the drains if Sheila was washing herself or whatever.

PS Bews only radioed for armed support at 4.22 a.m., which suggests that the three of them were out in the fields and surrounds of the White House for quite a number of minutes, yet crucially:

(i). they were not at hearing distance due to an abundance of caution; and,

(ii). the 'movement in the window' was seen from the east field, which was the last observation point of the three before PS Bews returned to Pages Lane.

Note: the timings I give here are based on the official record of officers of Essex Police.

Now let's consider this '38 minutes' controversy in view of the above facts.

1. First, we can't rely on Jeremy's timing of 3.10 a.m. for receiving a call from Nevill.  This is not a point 'for' or 'against' Jeremy.  You could make the argument that the call must have been received later and therefore compress the time available to Jeremy.  But Adam insists on 3.10 a.m., based on Jeremy's first statement to the police, so let's assume that as our bookend for now.

2. If we are taking 3.10 a.m. as our starting-point, then it wasn't 38 minutes.  It was more like at least 70 minutes, if not more, because, as we can now see, the bookends are 3.10 a.m., and 4.22 a.m.  When you also consider that, unlike Jeremy, Sheila was already in situ, this does not seem unreasonable at all, but my timeline says that Sheila took around 75 minutes, which fits the scenario anyway.

3. We shouldn't take this issue too seriously, for the reason given in 1 above.  An innocent Jeremy could have received the call from Nevill at 3 a.m., 3.05 a.m., or whatever, and then delayed in making the call for the reasons he states.  It is the early hours of the morning.  We don't know how long Nevill has been trying to call him or where Sheila is (though in my Sheila scenario, Nevill terminates the call as soon as Sheila goes upstairs).  Jeremy was confused by Nevill's call.  He tried to call Nevill back, to no avail.  Maybe tried more times than he remembers. At about 3.15 a.m., he rings Julie, his steady girlfriend, because he is in a state of confusion, and perhaps this is the point he checks the time and later assumes he got Nevill's call at 3.10 a.m. for that reason.  After a very brief call to Julie, he then tries calling the police.  He's frightened of calling 999, and it's not clearly an emergency at this point.  He finally gets through to a police officer at 3.24 a.m.  The seriousness of it is gradually dawning on him.  He goes to the scene.  None of this is implausible.

[Erik Narramore]

As an after word, and continuing the above post - and to play Devils' advocate - while 30 yards is a great distance in this context, the upper sash or transom of the main bedroom window was open, I believe, and the distance the two officers and Jeremy were observing at may have given them an advantage of perspective.  Depends - you'd have to go there and test it to see.  Some people would argue that Bews and Myall must have heard something or seen movement in the front windows if stood outside in the east field.  Yet Sheila could have shot June before the officers were at the front of the farmhouse.  If she killed herself, she may have moved first along the corridor from the twins' bedroom and could be out of sight when entering the main bedroom.  She would not have made much, if any, noise.

Of course, we can't rely on 3.10 a.m. as the supposed time of Nevill's call and could bring the times back and forward as we please.  It's all guesswork and speculation.  The point is that the scenario of Sheila alive after 3.48 a.m. is entirely plausible.

[Erik Narramore]

A further note to this of relevance is that the first time Sheila was hailed by a loudspeaker was at around 5.20 a.m., by the armed officers PCs Collins and Delgado.