David Boutflour: An Emotional Man

[Erik Narramore]

I haven't seen the documentary yet, but I recall a previous documentary in which David was interviewed and he was clearly upset. This was many years after, yet his voice broke when talking about the moment he realised Nevill, June, Sheila and the twins were dead.  Most people would just accept these emotions unquestioningly, but is it really what we should expect?

Why would it be a traumatic event for him?  I can see why the attention surrounding it could be, and probably much of what we discuss here will annoy him, and at times, upset him, but 'traumatic' is a big word for the emotional reaction he is likely to have had at the time and when thinking about it since.  I think we should question what the true reason for his emotional reaction is.  Did he break down in the witness box at trial?  I've not seen any report of that.  Julie did.  Why her and not the others?  Did Ann?  Again, not that I know of.  Robert Boutflour didn't.  Is there just something sensitive about David Boutflour, even many years later?  It just doesn't seem like a normal reaction when discussing the deaths of people who were not his own children, and many years after the event too.

As far as I can tell, David Boutflour was not close to Nevill or June.  He knew them well.  They were his relatives.  But normally people don't have strong close emotional bonds with aunts and uncles unless particular circumstances dictate it.  I had an uncle I knew quite well and even lived with at one point.  When he died, I was sorry about it, but I wasn't crying or anything like that because he wasn't immediate family.  It's not the same as learning of the death of your father or mother, when usually you would be very upset, even if you never liked them, as the genetic link is direct.

David did know Sheila as well.  He had taken her dancing in the past and she had holidayed with the relatives in Scotland on at least one occasion.  They were of comparable age and so had shared experiences from growing up together.  Yet, a lot had happened since their childhood and teens and David had led his own life, so I can't see why David would be traumatised by Sheila's death.

The death of the twins would be upsetting, but again, they were not his own children.  I have nephews and nieces, who I know quite well.  If any of them die before I do, I would be quite upset, but I'm not sure it would be 'traumatic' or that I'd be sitting in a room sobbing or my voice would break when discussing it many years later.