The Silenced Rifle Did Not Fit Inside The Gun Cupboard

[Erik Narramore]

Everybody says that Jeremy was wrong (and maybe lying) when he claimed that the silenced rifle, outside its case, could not fit inside the gun cupboard.  As proof, they refer to Anthony Pargeter's statement and also the photograph attached.

I take the opposite view.  I think this is another myth of the case.  I consider Jeremy was correct on this point and the photograph proves him right.

This is a classic example of how the camera can lie.

A casual observer looking at the photo taken by DC Hammersley in November 1985 would just assume it shows a rifle stored inside a cupboard or recess.  But if you consider the matter in the context of everyday firearms usage, a moment's thought should tell you that what Jeremy has described is confirmed by the photograph.

You can see clearly that the rifle does not fit and has had to be made to fit.  In reality, nobody would store the rifle in that cupboard in the manner shown, together with all the other firearms and paraphernalia that would have to fit in there.   

Anthony Pargeter claims he saw the rifle in that cupboard with the silencer on, but I think it is very likely his recollection was mistaken and influenced by the shooting incident.

[Erik Narramore]

Page 2 of Anthony Pargeter's second statement to the police, dated 12th. December 1985:

"The gun fitted easily in the cupboard with the silencer and scope fitted."

From context, this is clearly in reference to an Anschutz rifle, of which I will assume the Bambers only had one.  Basically, Anthony is on a visit to the farm.  This is late July 1985.  He has three guns stored in the downstairs washroom.  He goes to check and finds one of them, his .22 rifle, is missing.

June then tells him it may be in the gun cupboard, in the den.  He goes there and this is when he notices the Anschutz rifle.  He takes it out of the gun cupboard, has a look, then returns it to its place.  He says the silencer and scope were fitted throughout.

To me, the way that the rifle is placed in the gun cupboard in that black and white photo suggests somebody has set out to make it fit, rather than it fitting 'easily'.

[Erik Narramore]

If Sheila kicked off with the rifle, Nevill would be nervous about how it would look.  If police officers were needed to talk Sheila down, they would want to know how she had got hold of the rifle in the first place.  They might then want to inspect the gun cupboard and would see that it is not secure.  Nevill may also have automatically thought of Jeremy because it was Jeremy who left the rifle out in the first place.

The cupboard was lockable.  The point is that it was not secure.  It was just a simple ball and catch mechanism.  Yet P.C. Dryland in his report earlier that year must have recorded that the gun cupboard was padlocked.  This, I suspect, was based on the officer's assumption or Nevill's assurances.  Or it could be that the officer has lied, or been told to lie by his superiors who were nervous about questions being asked.  Didn't the press and media ask how Sheila or Jeremy could have got hold of a gun in the first place?  Neither held a firearms certificate.

[Erik Narramore]

The rifle could not fit in the gun cupboard with the silencer.  Ironically, the very photo that is produced to prove that it could actually shows that it couldn't.

[Erik Narramore]

We know it does fit, because we have the photo (above), but Anthony Pargeter says 'easily', implying that Jeremy would do this routinely.  Yet I can't see how you could fit the rifle with silencer attached in the cupboard in this way without some effort, including kneeling down, tilting the barrel at a 45-degree angle, before pushing it upwards into place.  You would then have to reverse this process to remove the rifle, which I would think must have been awkward.  The difficulty would be exacerbated if the small table with the radio on was nearby, as this would limit the extent to which one could open the veneer door.  Bear in mind also that there would be other guns and boxes in there while this is being done.

Wouldn't it be easier, and more natural, to unscrew the silencer, then lean the rifle at the side within the cupboard and place the silencer in a box?

[Erik Narramore]

The official position is that what you are looking at is the complete murder weapon, consisting of the rifle with the silencer attached.  These exhibits were in the possession of the police at the time and were used by the police, as you say, to take this photograph in order to show that the rifle could fit in the gun cupboard with the silencer attached to it.

In case you don't already know, the significance of this is that Anthony Pargeter had given evidence that on the 24th. July 1985 he visited White House Farm and looked in the gun cupboard for his own rifle.  In the course of doing so, he noticed the new rifle bought by Nevill and Jeremy at Radcliffe's, the gun dealers. This was the Anschütz .22 LR 525.  Mr Pargeter states that the rifle had both the silencer and scope attached at that point.  The natural question that arises is: How come the rifle found with Sheila did not have the silencer and scope attached?  The prosecution assert that the silencer was attached when Nevill, June and the twins were shot, and for at least one shot to Sheila, perhaps both, then replaced in the gun cupboard by Jeremy for reasons I am sure are known to you.  Meanwhile, the scope was detached by Jeremy before the incident in the belief it would impede him otherwise.

I believe Mr Pargeter's recollection from his visit on the 24th. July that year is likely to be wrong.  I am not suggesting he was lying to the police, merely that he was mistaken in what he remembered - probably his recollection was clouded by the discovery of the silencer, which I think was before his statement.  The opposing argument to mine would be that Mr Pargeter was one of two family members - along with, I think, Peter Eaton (a gun dealer himself) - to remark on the absence of the silencer in the aftermath of the tragedy.  You could argue on this basis that I am wrong.  After all, why would Mr Pargeter bring up the silencer?

As an aside, my thread that I link to above was meant to argue - and, I hope, demonstrate - that the photograph does not establish what the police believe, because it is clearly staged for the purpose, and does not take account that somebody using the gun cupboard was much more likely to unscrew the silencer before placing the rifle and silencer in the cupboard.  Ironically, the police photograph lends support to this contention, rather than undermining it as the police had intended.  On this point at least, I think Jeremy was telling the truth when he said that the rifle would not fit in the gun cupboard with the silencer attached.  Yes, if you really try to fit it in, it may fit - but that's all the photograph shows, in my opinion.

[Erik Narramore]

If I am trying to pack a suitcase and can't fit something in, and then somebody comes along and says, 'Oh, you could have done if you had really squeezed it in, look, let me show you...', that doesn't mean I was lying when I said I could not fit it in.

I may have misremembered Jeremy's exact words, I would have to check back for my own source, but in any event, 'Don't know' is of the same effect as 'No' for the purpose of this question.  By taking the photograph, the police were responding to what they saw as Jeremy's lack of candour by attempting to prove that in fact it would fit.

My view is that Jeremy was telling the truth when he said 'No' (or, if he said, 'Don't know', he was not being disingenuous), because it will only fit in a staged situation.  In normal use, it won't fit.  To me, this points to Mr Pargeter having made a mistake in his witness statement when he tried to recollect what had happened on the 24th. July 1985.

[Erik Narramore]

There is a transcript of Jeremy's interview in which he is asked if the rifle with silencer attached fits in the gun cupboard and he answers, 'Don't know'.  I believe that answer (and possibly other representations from him), together with Anthony Pargeter's evidence, is why the photograph was taken.  See my explanation already given above.

I think it may also be that Jeremy said he could not fit the rifle with silencer attached inside the gun case.