This is my narrative based on everyones input.
What We Know & How It Might Fit Together
One way or another that last Saturday evening in the pub resulted in the death of Diane Jones, she was under the influence and very drunk. It’s highly likely that in this state she said a lot of things that might incriminate her husband and maybe others.
During the course of the evening she said “I’m not going home with you, you’ll beat me up”, according to other accounts this was not all that uncommon, so RJ must have had a temper.
At the end of the evening she was carried in what was described as a “fireman’s lift”, and put into RJ’s car.
What happened after this is conjecture based on the known facts, we’ll assume they went home to Lees Farmhouse, then its possible (as suggested by others) that she died as a result of some kind of accident.
Repainting the front gate tends to make me think this, RJ said he dropped Diane at the front door and then put the car in the garage, when he returned she was gone. What if the argument that was witnessed in the pub then continued when they reach home, RJ struck her and she fell against the gate?
RJ would be worried about what Diane said in the pub before they left and the fact that no one would believe it was an accident. The chain of events that followed supports this:
- Not reporting her missing for 9 days, a doctor would know that any evidence of violence would not be found after this, especially if more time elapses before Diane’s remains are found.
- He repaints the front gate, why if not to hide any possible evidence.
- The his car is sold, seemingly in haste, Diane’s possessions are still inside.
- He says he can’t remember who he purchased the car, another delaying tactic.
If he genuinely believed (as it is reported he said on the Sunday evening) that Diane had left him, he would have cleaned out hiss car before selling it. After all, Diane has left him before and returned, so in theory this is not an unusual occurrence, so why sell the car in such a panic?
Ask any police detective (or ex detective) about the statistics surrounding murders and they tell you that not every murderer is a serial killer. The vast majority kill once and never again, so the behaviour of these single killers is very different.
When Diane’s body was found she had to be identified via detail records, a forensic team back in 1986 would have had very little to go on due to the time delay in finding her body.
The 9 day delay in reporting Diane missing and the subsequent 3 months before she was found would also have rendered forensics difficult in the case of Lees Farmhouse and to a degree RJ’s car.
So given the circumstances its hardly surprising that RJ became the police’s prime suspect:
- The husband is the first person the police look at in cases like this.
- RJ’s account of what happened when he got home is highly suspect.
- His 9 day delay in reporting Diane missing is very suspect.
- Selling his car prior to reporting Diane missing is also very suspect.
- Unless RJ is into DIY, repainting the front gate is also a little suspicious.
What goes against the above is that the police carried out extensive forensic work at Lees Farmhouse and also on RJ’s car, this turned up no evidence (or at least not enough for the DPP).
IMO if Diane had died accidentally during an altercation with RJ and the police had turned up on the Saturday evening RJ would have been arrested and charged with Diane’s murder. Again IMO had this have gone to court he would have been found guilty.
This is a factor that I’m sure didn’t escape RJ and self preservation may have taken over.
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