Another Sheila Scenario

[Erik Narramore]

To outline:

(i). Nevill and Sheila are at stand-off in the kitchen.  Sheila has the rifle.
(ii). Nevill is on the phone.
(iii). After a while, Jeremy answers.  Nevill starts to speak to Jeremy.  At that point, Sheila runs out of the kitchen.
(iv). Nevill follows her.
(v). Sheila pivots round on the stairs and starts shooting at Nevill as he is coming towards her.
(vi). Nevill goes back to the kitchen in the hope Jeremy is still there and to draw Sheila away from June and the twins.  Sheila duly follows.
(vii). They struggle for the rifle in the kitchen.
(viii). Nevill is injured, Sheila has the advantage, Nevill is killed or left for dead.
(ix). Sheila returns up the stairs and shoots June and the twins (returning up and down the stairs to re-load as necessary).
(x). She probably shoots June first, realises she is out of ammunition, then maybe speaks to one or both of the twins through the door, either from the hallway or the box room.
(xi). She then re-loads randomly, with let's say seven cartridges, and then returns upstairs and shoots the twins six times and June maybe twice more.
(xii). She then re-loads again, maybe another six cartridges, and returns upstairs and shoots the twins and June twice more each, then washes and changes.
(xiii). She then kills herself.  She can't bear to go back in the twins' bedroom, or the kitchen where her father is, nor does she want to die in a room alone, so she kills herself in the master bedroom near to where June is lying dead.  She develops an anxiety about God's judgment on her actions and opens the Bible at a random page, and after reading it aimlessly, places it near her before she kills herself.

A possible variation on the above is Sheila going straight for June instead and Nevill follows her all the way upstairs.  The struggle then takes place upstairs rather than in the kitchen, with June already severely wounded but Sheila still having plenty of ammunition and having managed to shoot Nevill maybe once or twice from the threshold while he is on the main landing or upper stairs, coming towards her, giving her an advantage.  The two of them then end up downstairs somehow, either because Nevill wants to reach the phone and Sheila follows him, or Sheila is the one who heads downstairs and Nevill follows her and she rounds on him in the kitchen.

[Leslie Aalders]

To outline:

(i). Nevill and Sheila are at stand-off in the kitchen.  Sheila has the rifle.
(ii). Nevill is on the phone.
(iii). After a while, Jeremy answers.  Nevill starts to speak to Jeremy.  At that point, Sheila runs out of the kitchen.
(iv). Nevill follows her.
(v). Sheila pivots round on the stairs and starts shooting at Nevill as he is coming towards her.
(vi). Nevill goes back to the kitchen in the hope Jeremy is still there and to draw Sheila away from June and the twins.  Sheila duly follows.
(vii). They struggle for the rifle in the kitchen.
(viii). Nevill is injured, Sheila has the advantage, Nevill is killed or left for dead.
(ix). Sheila returns up the stairs and shoots June and the twins (returning up and down the stairs to re-load as necessary).
(x). She probably shoots June first, realises she is out of ammunition, then maybe speaks to one or both of the twins through the door, either from the hallway or the box room.
(xi). She then re-loads randomly, with let's say seven cartridges, and then returns upstairs and shoots the twins six times and June maybe twice more.
(xii). She then re-loads again, maybe another six cartridges, and returns upstairs and shoots the twins and June twice more each, then washes and changes.
(xiii). She then kills herself.  She can't bear to go back in the twins' bedroom, or the kitchen where her father is, nor does she want to die in a room alone, so she kills herself in the master bedroom near to where June is lying dead.  She develops an anxiety about God's judgment on her actions and opens the Bible at a random page, and after reading it aimlessly, places it near her before she kills herself.

A possible variation on the above is Sheila going straight for June instead and Nevill follows her all the way upstairs.  The struggle then takes place upstairs rather than in the kitchen, with June already severely wounded but Sheila still having plenty of ammunition and having managed to shoot Nevill maybe once or twice from the threshold while he is on the main landing or upper stairs, coming towards her, giving her an advantage.  The two of them then end up downstairs somehow, either because Nevill wants to reach the phone and Sheila follows him, or Sheila is the one who heads downstairs and Nevill follows her and she rounds on him in the kitchen.

This scenario works fine appart from the shooting of the twins.We have to remember that they were killed while asleep.

Now the way I see it there was nothing premeditated in a Sheila scenario,but once she blows her top and ends up killing Nevill and June,she calms down and realizes her life is finiehed.She knows she will be sent to jail or an asylum for a very long time.

The obvious conclusion for Sheila is to end it all,but take the twins with her.She didn't plan any of this,but because of what has unfolded it is the only way out.

Now the twins were more than likely wakened by the sound of gun fire and screaming,so Sheila calms them down and assures them that everything is just fine,She waits till the twins are sound asleep again,she couldn't bear them to know what was about to happen,then fetches the rifle and sneaks up on them.

That would explain how the twins were found unstirred.

Appart from that I think your scenario is more than credible Erik.

[Leslie Aalders]

Obviously,if JB is guilty and he left the boys till last,he would just go into their bedroom and start shooting regardless.

So,for me,if JB is guilty he MUST have crept in and shot the twins first while they slept.JB could not have calmed the twins down and got them back to sleep again after he had shot everyone else,nor would he have bothered wasting time trying.But Sheila could!

[Leslie Aalders]

It is worth pointing out that Vanezis stated that Daniel was shot five times in rapid succession,this means that whoever shot the twins had no intention of shooting anyone else before reloading,the magazine would have been almost empty.

But it could have left two bullets for Sheila to use on herself.

If JB is guilty his plan may have been to leave the rifle loaded to explain why Sheila didn't have to load the magazine,but this means he must have been intent on a one magazine massacre.

However,if this was the case,why on earth did he use eight shots on the twins for a start?

[Leslie Aalders]

Of course when we ask whether Jeremy was guilty or if Sheila was,we are talking about two different crimes and therefore two completely different scenarios.Jeremy equals five murders,Sheila equals four murders and a suicide.

Basically,Sheila has to get hold of the rifle and shoot four people before turning the gun on herself,that is a Sheila scenario in a nut shell

Jeremy has a lot more to do and cope with for his scenario.It starts from the minute he leaves his cottage and ends when he has returned and disposed of any incriminating evidence.

In my opinion Sheila had a vast advantage,and if it wasn't for the doubt of her ability to re-load the rifle,i would favour her as the assailant.It dosen't matter which order the victims are killed,and Sheila has control over the twins,she is their mother.

All that Sheila needs to do is incapacitate the two adults with the first magazine then she has all the time in the world to work out how to re-load and finish them off.Thats about it really,if you think about it.

JB,however,has to travel three miles to and from the Whitehouse unseen,and enter and exit through windows.JB has to kill five people,leaving Sheila till last and make it look like she committed suicide,which he did somehow achieve against the odds.No one has managed to convincingly explain how he did this if guilty.

And it appears that JB left no bloodied footprints or even patrial prints of any kind running all through the house,no evidence was found of him being at the crime scene.

So really all Sheila needed to do was overpower the two adults,Jeremy however had to contain five people in three different rooms,he had no influence or control over the twins like Sheila had.He had to kill them all and make it appear that one victim took their own life.No mean task by any stretch of the imagination.

I know that I haven't said anything new here,but deciding which scenario is most believable obviously has an influence on which side you come down on.I personally go through every step in my head to determine who most likely carried out the massacre,as i am sure you all do.

[Leslie Aalders]

As far as Sheila being sedated and a lamb to the slaughter.it is worth reading this statement from Vanezis.

'I have also been informed by Huntingdon laboratory that Sheila Caffell had a trace of cannabis in her urine and Haloperidol in her blood in similar amounts'

Does similar amounts mean a trace?

[Leslie Aalders]

Another point to consider is this.Did Sheila decide to shoot the victims after arguing in the kitchen with Nevill or had she already made up her mind to do so?

What I mean is this,if Sheila was having a heated argument with Nevill then blew her top,she couldn't just go into the scullery and get the gun and point it at him,she had to load the magazine,cock the rifle and check that the safety pin was off.Wouldn't Nevill have seized the rifle from her before she got this done,if he was present?

So had Sheila already decided to shoot everyone and made ready the rifle before Nevill found her in the kitchen?

[Rob Garland]

Another point to consider is this.Did Sheila decide to shoot the victims after arguing in the kitchen with Nevill or had she already made up her mind to do so?

What I mean is this,if Sheila was having a heated argument with Nevill then blew her top,she couldn't just go into the scullery and get the gun and point it at him,she had to load the magazine,cock the rifle and check that the safety pin was off.Wouldn't Nevill have seized the rifle from her before she got this done,if he was present?

So had Sheila already decided to shoot everyone and made ready the rifle before Nevill found her in the kitchen?

A schizophrenic episode does not necessarily come on all of a sudden but over a period of time. On the drive down to WHF Sheila never spoke a word, I find this vey telling and a sign of what was to come.

Sheila was also acting strangely when she spoke on the phone on the eve of the tragedy.

A person I know who has schizophrenia told me that when in hospital it was not uncommon for someone to blow, necessitating armed police being called out as things can get very violent.

[Leslie Aalders]

Another point to consider is this.Did Sheila decide to shoot the victims after arguing in the kitchen with Nevill or had she already made up her mind to do so?

What I mean is this,if Sheila was having a heated argument with Nevill then blew her top,she couldn't just go into the scullery and get the gun and point it at him,she had to load the magazine,cock the rifle and check that the safety pin was off.Wouldn't Nevill have seized the rifle from her before she got this done,if he was present?Thanks Rob,I dont personally know anyone with schizophrenia

Another point to consider is this.Did Sheila decide to shoot the victims after arguing in the kitchen with Nevill or had she already made up her mind to do so?

What I mean is this,if Sheila was having a heated argument with Nevill then blew her top,she couldn't just go into the scullery and get the gun and point it at him,she had to load the magazine,cock the rifle and check that the safety pin was off.Wouldn't Nevill have seized the rifle from her before she got this done,if he was present?

So had Sheila already decided to shoot everyone and made ready the rifle before Nevill found her in the kitchen?

A schizophrenic episode does not necessarily come on all of a sudden but over a period of time. On the drive down to WHF Sheila never spoke a word, I find this vey telling and a sign of what was to come.

Sheila was also acting strangely when she spoke on the phone on the eve of the tragedy.

A person I know who has schizophrenia told me that when in hospital it was not uncommon for someone to blow, necessitating armed police being called out as things can get very violent.

So had Sheila already decided to shoot everyone and made ready the rifle before Nevill found her in the kitchen?

A schizophrenic episode does not necessarily come on all of a sudden but over a period of time. On the drive down to WHF Sheila never spoke a word, I find this vey telling and a sign of what was to come.

Sheila was also acting strangely when she spoke on the phone on the eve of the tragedy.

A person I know who has schizophrenia told me that when in hospital it was not uncommon for someone to blow, necessitating armed police being called out as things can get very violent.

Thanks Rob,I dont personally know anyone with schizophrenia.But it does seem that Sheila was acting very withdrawn in the days leading up to the trajedy.There is no doubt she was very ill and quite capable of violence.As far as the rifle is concerned,she could have been in the scullery fiddling with it for quite some time undisturbed.

But how would she know when it was cocked and ready to shoot? Would she pull the trigger now and again till it fired? She wouldn't go and try and shoot anyone till she had tried a test shot would she? Of course this is presuming that she had never loaded the rifle before.

But maybe she did fire a test shot and that may have brought Nevill to the kitchen,especially if he was sleeping in the living room.And as I have pointed out,if both Nevill and June were incapacitated with the first magazine,Sheila had all the time she needed to re-load and finish the job,probably leaving the twins till last.