Sion Jenkins

[Drisgirl]

I just cant make my mind up either - like the Jury.He will not now be re-tried regarding the murder of Billie-Jo.

Just cant understand why,when she obviously has such a large natural family,she was placed in foster care in the first place.As they are so concerned and as I type are making a fuss at the court,why did one of her family members not take her in.

So basically under Scottish Law its a Not Proven verdict - a very contentious verdict here.

What do others make of this case?

[Englishbird]

I can't decide either. The evidence is shaky, but (totally unscientifically) there is something about him that I don't like.

Having said that, It's been going on so long now, that if they can't prove he did it, then they need to cut it loose and let him get on with his life. If he's an innocent man, he's been dragged over the coals for it.

[Drisgirl]

He has spent 6yrs in prison - I should have mentioned.

I agree - there is something about his demeanour I dont like - but that doesnt make anyone a murderer.

[Drusilla]

I just don't think enough evidence has been produced to find him guilty 'beyond reasonable doubt'. I think it would be unfair to put him on trial a fourth time and believe he will be set free.
Billy-Jo's own family are looking for a scapegoat with this chap and conveniently ignoring the fact she was in care because they were all deemed unsuitable guardians themselves.
I don't think English law recognises the Scottish, 'not proven' verdict. Maybe we could learn something from that.

[netibiza]

But didn't his first wife move to Tasmania and forbid their natural daughters from testifying that he was with them at the time of the murder??

[Drisgirl]

He wont be re-tried Drusilla - the Judge cleared him.I'm glad someone else recognises how vocal her family they have suddenly become -pity they didnt speak up for when she was alive.

Not Proven is perceived as a bit of a cop-out in Scotland and is actually not popular.The police dont generally look for anyone in connection etc when that verdict is given.

[Gevs1966]

Why do you have to make your mind up about it? You weren't on the jury and presumably you are not in possession of all the evidence so how can you possibly say either way.

Trial by media perhaps

[Drisgirl]

net - She has moved to Tasmania.Two daughters testified at the last one - or the one before.Think they were allowed a video link from Tasmania latterlyWhat a blooming ordeal for the poor souls.I suspect his ex is extremely bitter and gives the impression she despises him.Shame for the girls and him if indeed he is innocent - what a dilemna.I wouldnt like to be the ex - very difficult situation.

[Drisgirl]

Maybe Gevs - only excersing my right to post a discussion point on AB.

[Drusilla]

Which is the whole point of Answerbank after all, Drisgirl. Why do people post if they've nothing of interest to say?

[andy-hughes]

This is going to run and run I suspect.

From the point of view of all of us - given the media information and left to draw our own conclusions, there will be many people who think Sion Jenkins has got away with murder - certainly the two women who attacked him outside the courts.

The point is, the system we have is not perfect, and people can, and indeed do, get away with crimes they have committed, but the trial-by-jury system is the best and fairest we have, and if it fails, then that is the price we pay for the vast majrotiy of the times when it succeeds.

Either way, a line is drawn, and the people left behind can start to rebuold their lives - and if they can't sleep soundly, that is something they will have to endure.

[bernardo]

I have always believed that Sion Jenkins is innocent. I was shocked when he was convicted in the first place, because there was always doubt about the blood-splatter evidence. I was shocked when he lost his first appeal, because by then there was already strong new evidence which completely demolished the prosecution case re the blood splatter patterns, as well as doubts about the timing. The police and CPS need to explain why they sought a retrial after the second appeal, when there was clearly not enough evidence for any reasonable jury to convict.

I don't know the circumstances of the other family, so I can't judge why they might not have been able to care for Bille-Jo.

[bernardo]

But didn't his first wife move to Tasmania and forbid their natural daughters from testifying that he was with them at the time of the murder??

Yes she did - that is one of the most disturbing aspects of the case. She didn't exactly "forbid" them from testifying; but it seems that she twisted their minds and confused them so much about what happened that they came to believe that he might have committed the murder. Their original statements at the start of the investigation only gave Sion Jenkins a few seconds to be alone in the house, but they later came to believe that they had been "mistaken". For some reason which I don't understand, they could not be forced to give evidence to clarify their statements, and they chose not to do so in the first retrial.

[Drisgirl]

bernardo - I also agree that there is more to the ex than meets the eye - I did make a passing observation in a previous post.

If in your opinion you cant comment on her natural family because of lack of knowledge thats your right.

I witnessed them on the news tonight and had they been as passionate about Billie-Jo when she was alive then one of them surely could have taken her in regardless of the circumstances.Bunch of pikeys if you want my honest opinion.No offence meant to anyone on this site who is a pikey - I'm sure there are decent ones:)

[johnlambert]

Just like bernardo, I thought he was innocent, the police havnt followed up reports that an unknown man was observing the house for several hours while Sion and his other girls were at a diy store.

Why not?

Would that require some good old fashioned detective work? Why bother when you can pin the blame on a scapegoat.

"Case solved M'lud now we can spend our time sitting in patrol cars and catch drivers doing 35 in a 30mph zone"

[johnlambert]

just to clarify my last point, Im not condoning speeding drivers, Far from it, I mean the police need to get their proirities right and in this case they thought they had the guy by the b***s so no need to follow up.

[Steve_Luts]

I can make my mind up, and I think there is someting altogether wrong about Sion Jenkins. I don't generally subscribe to the "he's a wrong 'un" school of thought, but there is something disturbing about the man.

Crucial to me is that this is someone who has attained the position of school headmaster on the basis of fraudulent qualifications - a fake degree and teaching diploma. I know these things are checked to the n'th degree these days, but this is a man who is clearly adept at duplicity on a grand scale, over a long period of time. I just don't trust him, at all.

Further, have you listened to the recently released recording of his 999 call? Dress it up however you will, but it does not strike me as the intonation of a man who has returned home to find his foster child close to death on the patio. There is a degree of coldness about it that I find quite disturbing - he sounds as though he is reporting some kind of minor incident. To my mind he is far too cold and calculating to be believed as innocent, which is why I believe juries have twice struggled to reach a verdict. I would love to see an independent psychological profile of this man, I think it would make intersting reading.

[Steve_Luts]

Drisgirl - just to answer your other point, her natural parents had well documented social problems which meant they were unable to care for Billie-Jo.

I dare say, at the time, her going to live with some middle-class schoolteachers in Sussex was seen as the perfect move for a foster kid from London. I feel its harsh of you to retrospectively criticise her extended family - who might have been in no position to care for her at the time - nine years down the line. Given what has happened, I'm sure if they could turn back the clock, they would.

[libertie]

Can't make up my mind about him either....but then I don't have to! Have always thought it interesting that his first wife readily believed he was guilty, she obviously thought....rightly or wrongly that he was capable of doing it and that fact was not lost on the general public!!

As for the not proven verdict here in Scotland, as Drisgirl pointed out, it's not liked here by anyone, most people interpret it as....you're guilty, they just can't prove it!

[flip-flop]

I have read an awful lot of investigative journalism about this case over the years and from those investigations have always believed he was innocent and I'm glad he's not going to face a further trial.

I think it is unfortunate that he used hyperbole and untruths on his CV as this has been used as a measure of his character BUT messing with your CV doesn't make you a murderer (and come on, who hasn't turned that CSE in Woodwork into an O Level???).

His ex Mrs is a delightful piece of work and I bet he is chuffed that he is (1) well shot of her and (2) that she's on the other side of the world.

And yes, as somebody has pointed out, her natural family, the family who abandoned her (it is a rose by any other name) are a bunch of cheap gold toting pikeys who, were it not for them (this is going to have some people spitting feathers) would be alive and well today and probably well on her way to her fifth child by now - monkey see monkey do.

I couldn't care any less if I tried about what 'social' problems her parents had - when you become a parent (and I can only speak personally here) everything else pales into insignificance and the overriding importance in life is protecting, nurturing, providing for and raising that child - I suspect the 'social' problems they had were drink or drugs, and if they chose those over their child then they are sub-humans.

I am glad for him and hope he can settle down to a peaceful life in Wales from now on.

[Dolly1308]

sorry to be so dim but what is a pikey?