But apparently he is. She gives him a meaningful look. `Well, I suggest you have a good look at the trial transcripts.' She leans forward and puts a business card on the table. `And when you have, give me a call.'
* * *THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURTThe Old BaileyLondon EC4M 7EHBEFORE:THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HEALEYR E G I N Av.GAVIN FRANCIS PARRIEMR. R. BARNES Q.C. and MISS S. GREYappeared on behalf of the prosecution.MRS. B. JENKINS Q.C. and MR. T. CUTHBERTappeared on behalf of the defendant.Wednesday, 10th November, 1999[Day 19]ADAM FAWLEY, recalledExamined by MRS. JENKINSQ. Sergeant Fawley, I'd like to return to the incident you were describing to Mr. Barnes yesterday. Specifically the sequence of events which led to the arrest and detention of my client. You told us that you received a telephone call from Ms. Sheldon at 11.45 on January 3rd this year.A. Yes, I did.Q. She rang you on your mobile, I believe?A. Yes.Q. One might have thought that she would have called 999, in the circumstances.A. I couldn't say.Q. Someone in her situation would normally do so, surely?A. I was the officer who interviewed her after the attempted assault. I would imagine that's why she chose to call me, but you'd have to ask her.Q. And the reason for this call was that she believed she had identified the man who attacked her.A. That's correct.Q. But how could she have done that, if, as you have already told us, she never saw his face?A. She had recognised his smell. She was queuing up to pay for petrol at a garage on the ring`“road and noticed a distinctive odour. A sweet smell, like overripe fruit.Q. From the man standing behind her?A. Yes.Q. And she recognised this?A. Correct. She said she suddenly became extremely anxious while standing in the queue but it took a few moments for her to realise why.Q. Had any of the other victims mentioned a smell?A. No. But they had plastic bags tied tightly over their heads. In Ms. Sheldon's case, the perpetrator fled the scene before he was able to put the bag fully in place. We concluded that this would account for it. We also ascertained that Mr. Parrie suffers from type 1 diabetes. If the condition is not well-managed it can sometimes lead to a distinctive smell on the breath. A smell very much like what Ms. Sheldon described.Q. What did Ms. Sheldon do next?A. She followed him back out to the forecourt and started to follow his van in her car.Q. She was putting herself in considerable danger, was she not?A. She was. She was very brave.Q. What happened next?A. She saw Mr. Parrie park outside a garage off the Botley Road, open the door and go inside. She called me from her own car at that point.Q. And help was dispatched?A. Yes. I also advised her to go to an appropriate public place, where there were other people, and remain there until back-up arrived.Q. And that's what happened?A. Yes. She went to the Co-op supermarket and I met her there approximately half an hour later.Q. And where was my client at this time?A. By the time we reached the scene, Mr. Parrie had adjourned to the Fox Geese pub. We were able to secure the garage and van for forensic testing, and take him in for questioning.Q. Some people might say you did all this on rather tenuous grounds. You arrested a man on the basis of a bad smell?A. When I interviewed Ms. Sheldon immediately after her assault I found her to be intelligent, observant and articulate. It was my judgement that this potential identification of her attacker had to be taken seriously. And the items subsequently found in the garage bore that out.Q. What were these items, Sergeant Fawley?A. A quantity of pornography, assessed as category A.MR. BARNES: Members of the jury, item 17 in your bundle is a schedule of these items, in the form of Agreed Facts. Both prosecution and defence accept that these items were indeed discovered in the garage.MRS. JENKINS: What else was discovered, Sergeant Fawley?A. Various cable ties of the same type and colour as those used in the attacks.Q. But not the item of jewellery taken from Miss Donnelly, which we heard described earlier in the trial?A. No.Q. And nothing linking Mr. Parrie to any of the other victims?A. No.Q. But there was one other, highly significant item, was there not?A. Yes. The Scenes of Crime team found three strands of Ms. Sheldon's hair. The provenance was confirmed by DNA testing.Q. And that testing was possible because the root was still present? Indicating that it was hair that had been ripped out, not cut?A. That is correct.Q. And you were certain, were you, that Ms. Sheldon did not go into the garage in the period of time between her call to you and the arrival of the police personnel?A. I wasn't there. But there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that she did.Q. But if she had done so, she could have planted the strands of hair herself, could she not? Specifically to incriminate my client?A. Theoretically, but `“Q. You must acknowledge she had a motive to do so. She thought this man had not only attempted to rape her, but since that incident had brutally assaulted several other women. It's only natural she would want him caught.A. At the time of her assault, Ms. Sheldon had long hair. The hair found in the garage was over ten inches long. By the time of the events in question her hair had been cut short. Very short. Even if she had indeed wanted to tear out her hair and plant it to incriminate Mr. Parrie, it was far too short by then to be of any use.Q. One final question at this time, Sergeant Fawley. You referred again, just now, to the fact that she called you that day. She called you direct, rather than 999 or any other police number.A. Yes, as I said.Q. And how did she come to have your number?MR. BARNES: My Lord, if I may, Sergeant Fawley has already explained that he interviewed Ms. Sheldon after her assault, and that he gave her his card at that time.MRS. JENKINS: Is that correct, DS Fawley?A. Yes, I gave my card to Ms. Sheldon at that time.* * *`I didn't know either, not till last night.'
Baxter, Quinn, Everett and Somer. Eight in the morning, in the coffee shop just along St Aldate's, but upstairs, which is usually half empty and right now is completely deserted, apart from the four of them, sitting in the corner furthest from the window by the only radiator. There's a pile of court transcripts on the table between them.
`The defence obviously thought there was something to it,' says Baxter. `Even though they clearly didn't have enough to push it.'
`And that Bowen woman definitely thinks there was something dodgy going on,' replies Quinn. `Made us look like a right bunch of donkeys, by the way.'
`Speak for your bloody self,' says Baxter tetchily.
`Come on,' says Ev, staring gloomily at her coffee. `That's not going to help. We need to stick together on this. Work out what to do.'
`I'm not sure what we can do,' observes Somer, `apart from come straight out with it and ask.'
`But shouldn't Gis do that?' replies Ev. `As DS?'
`Well, that's why they pay him the big bucks,' mutters Quinn sardonically.
`Shouldn't I do what?'
They all turn to see Gislingham at the door. And he doesn't look happy.
`I know it's Saturday but we've got a bloody murder on our hands. The incident room looks like the bloody Mary Celeste. What the hell are you lot doing skiving off up here?'
They look at each other, and Quinn gives Baxter a nudge and a meaningful look: You're the one with the proof `“ you tell him.
Baxter clears his throat. `It's the Parrie trial transcripts, Sarge. There's something you should know.'
* * *
Sent: Sat 06/04/2018, 08.25 Importance: HighFrom: AlanChallowCSI@ThamesValley.police.uk To: DIAdamFawley@ThamesValley.police.uk,
CID@ThamesValley.police.uk Subject: Case number 1866453 Blake, SA quick heads-up on Ashley Brotherton. We've had the test results back. There was no DNA from either Faith Appleford or Sasha Blake in the back of his van, and the female DNA on the condom is not a match for Blake. Furthermore, Brotherton is not a match for any of the male profiles found on the plastic bag used in the Faith Appleford attack.AC* * *