GUILTY UK - Joanna Yeates, 25, Clifton, Bristol, 17 Dec 2010 #2

Slewth said:

Hi everybody! Time to throw in my two penn’orth.

There are so many interesting aspects to this bizarre case. Focusing on just one for now: people are asking, “why won’t the police just eliminate GR once-and-for-all?”

Well, the police must surely have established that GR has a cast-iron alibi – it would be one of the more straightforward tasks in this intriguing case. He left Bristol at such a time as to be in Sheffield well before midnight. If he’d hung around and not got away till say 10pm – and everything seems to point to her having been murdered in the flat that evening, and carried off over the murderer's shoulder in the dead of night - he’d have been arriving well after midnight. Things were complicated by the weather of course, but the police can factor that in (their own motorway patrols would be aware of how traffic was flowing on the route he took). Also, his mobile would have revealed his whereabouts, unless he’d taken the battery out (as someone on here has already pointed out, I think).

However, the police may also suspect – or know - that his relationship with Jo was not as idyllic as has been portrayed. The fact that he thought it was “not untypical” for her to ignore his calls - on this occasion for more than two whole days, even after his long and difficult journey through blizzards, and with her supposedly having time on her hands at home all weekend - speaks volumes. It’s also consistent with the police’s even considering as a possibility her having let a Facebook stranger(s) (how can you call them “friends”?) into her home without GR’s knowledge. Think about it: even if he’d thought the relationship was rock solid before he went to Sheffield, it certainly wouldn’t have been after his return, once he’d found out that she’d entertained a stranger(s) in their own home behind his back. He’d have every right to feel disappointed in her - to put it mildly! I'm not saying she definitely did invite someone in, but then you don't have to, in order to conclude that all was not well with their relationship.

In summary, he has an alibi, but he may also have had a motive. Consequently, if he were involved, it could only have been through an accomplice – unlikely, maybe, but I imagine the police cannot rule this out at this stage, hence, but only for this reason, cannot formally rule him out yet.

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The parents of Louise today urged the same police force that caged their daughter’s killer to take swabs from people in the Clifton area of Bristol.

Gillian Smith, 63, said DNA tests on residents in upmarket Clifton, Bristol, where Jo went missing, would help achieve “justice” for her parents David and Teresa.

She said: ”I would hope that people in the area are tested when the police are ready to do it.

”If they have a sample of DNA and no match on the national database, then they should use it.

”They should test residents near where she lived in Clifton and where her body was found."

http://swns.com/parents-of-1995-mur...ut-dna-tests-near-jo-yeates-house-071551.html

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whitedove said:

Welcome to Websleuths Mikeybot, I wrote a similar story where the b/f returned the belongings, and I was thinking of saying he took the body with him, it would give him a better time line, but I left it out, but an interesting theory.

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wfgodot said:

Swab 'em all, wot?

O'er-lenghty article introducing into the Jo equation the Yate, Bristol, murder of "tragic Louise Smith, 18," whose 1995 murderer David Frost (no, not that one) was found after attempting to avoid mass-swabbing of males in the area:

Parents of 1995 murder victim urge police to carry out DNA tests near Jo Yeates’ house



Question: should DNA samples from area residents be a requirement in the Yeates case? It did nail Colin Pitchfork once upon a time.

Thoughts?

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Nausicaa said:

........But I am surprised that little attention has been paid to her decision to buy two smallish bottles rather than one full size one. Does this not suggest that she was expecting to meet someone ?

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mikeymot said:

I think most members of the public, who live in or around Clifton[, would have no objection to giving a DNA sample..but guess there will be those who would worry that the samples would remain on the police database and may implicate them in some future crime. Many believe that it is a little too much like 'Big Brother' (1984) and if someone has access to your DNA they may be able to plant it.? Would be interesting to see who, in the immediate area, refuses a DNA test though?/I]

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wfgodot said:

Swab 'em all, wot?

O'er-lenghty article introducing into the Jo equation the Yate, Bristol, murder of "tragic Louise Smith, 18," whose 1995 murderer David Frost (no, not that one) was found after attempting to avoid mass-swabbing of males in the area:

Parents of 1995 murder victim urge police to carry out DNA tests near Jo Yeates’ house



Question: should DNA samples from area residents be a requirement in the Yeates case? It did nail Colin Pitchfork once upon a time.

Thoughts?

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jigzy said:

I think it was Bargain Booze that she visited - correct me please if I am wrong, but they do deals such as Jacques Fruit Cider 2 for 6.50 so I think that may not be so strange after all, jmo.
http://www.bargainbooze.co.uk/categories/cider/index.html?page=2

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Slewth said:

Hi everybody! Time to throw in my two penn’orth.

There are so many interesting aspects to this bizarre case. Focusing on just one for now: people are asking, “why won’t the police just eliminate GR once-and-for-all?”

Well, the police must surely have established that GR has a cast-iron alibi – it would be one of the more straightforward tasks in this intriguing case. He left Bristol at such a time as to be in Sheffield well before midnight. If he’d hung around and not got away till say 10pm – and everything seems to point to her having been murdered in the flat that evening, and carried off over the murderer's shoulder in the dead of night - he’d have been arriving well after midnight. Things were complicated by the weather of course, but the police can factor that in (their own motorway patrols would be aware of how traffic was flowing on the route he took). Also, his mobile would have revealed his whereabouts, unless he’d taken the battery out (as someone on here has already pointed out, I think).

However, the police may also suspect – or know - that his relationship with Jo was not as idyllic as has been portrayed. The fact that he thought it was “not untypical” for her to ignore his calls - on this occasion for more than two whole days, even after his long and difficult journey through blizzards, and with her supposedly having time on her hands at home all weekend - speaks volumes. It’s also consistent with the police’s even considering as a possibility her having let a Facebook stranger(s) (how can you call them “friends”?) into her home without GR’s knowledge. Think about it: even if he’d thought the relationship was rock solid before he went to Sheffield, it certainly wouldn’t have been after his return, once he’d found out that she’d entertained a stranger(s) in their own home behind his back. He’d have every right to feel disappointed in her - to put it mildly! I'm not saying she definitely did invite someone in, but then you don't have to, in order to conclude that all was not well with their relationship.

In summary, he has an alibi, but he may also have had a motive. Consequently, if he were involved, it could only have been through an accomplice – unlikely, maybe, but I imagine the police cannot rule this out at this stage, hence, but only for this reason, cannot formally rule him out yet.

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Luna15 said:

Interesting post.

Add to the questionable state of their relationship; this is the first time she has ever stayed in the flat on her own!! A basement flat with, shall we say, some odd characters for neighbours, they’ve only been in town a couple of months, and you don’t want to know that she is ok?
Another reason why I find it hard to theorise that these known neighbours could have been involved; they have lived in the area for many, many years, I feel sure that they would have known a more discreet/remote spot to have left a body, I don’t think one of them would risk parking up in Longland (what a narrow street!!!) Greg on the other hand had only lived there for a couple of months, and this road leads to the motorway he would have needed to travel to Sheffield.

I know this might be very unpopular, but has anyone considered ‘erotic asphyxiation’ – perhaps they were engaged in some ‘fun’ and she died, and he has covered it up to spare her (and his) embarrassment? How you gonna tell the in laws that! It really isn’t my intention to offend, but I don’t think it can be ruled out, can it? What with the police ‘not ruling out sexual motive’ but no signs of ‘sexual assault’

I will edit the above if it really offends.

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Sgt Jones said:

They could be looking for the sock...

Maybe the sock was recovered at the scene early on in the investigation and the police havse sent out a red herring about a missing sock to see who pops up near the body dump site.

Only reason I can see for the police not appealing for the missing sock straight away in the same way they wanted to find the missing pizza.

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wfgodot said:

Yep, agreeing all down the line. Recently a distant cousin, who's done work on our family tree, paid for me to send a DNA sample (via swabs) to a firm in New Orleans to keep on file - to try and match up with far-flung members of the family, ancestry-wise, something like that.

I couldn't really say no, as the genealogical work she's done has been enormous and I've benefited from it, knowing when we got over here and why, etc. etc., having the whole family chart from 1685 on, that sort of thing. But I did think, "Hey, wait, do I really want my DNA on file anywhere?"

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wfgodot said:

Red herring-wise (if the "missing" sock turns out to have been a police ploy), I still think it would be a dangerous game they're playing - the constabulary is under enough pressure, and is beginning to be viewed at this time as ineffective and misguided; can't believe they'd throw meat to the press jackals by lying on camera in the faint hopes they'd find the perp that way.

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Police believe the timing of the 25-year-old’s disappearance is “crucial’’ and are studying her texts, phone calls and emails to draw up a list of everyone who knew she was going to be alone. A senior source told the Daily Star: “It would be extraordinary to suggest it was a coincidence that Jo was attacked the very first time she had been on her own since she moved in,

“In our experience you rarely get coincidences in murder cases. A key aspect of our investigation is working out exactly who knew she’d be alone.

“It is possible she was being watched. She may have been attacked by a stalker she didn’t know she had.’’

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Sgt Jones said:

I do - look what happened to Colin Stagg in the Rachel Nikell murder - that was very high profile at the time.

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