Bamber appeals on new DNA clue

Bamber, centre, was jailed in 1986

Fresh DNA evidence is to be put before appeal judges in an attempt to clear the name of multiple murderer Jeremy Bamber.

He was jailed for life in 1986 for killing his mother, father, sister and twin nephews at the family farmhouse in Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex.

The case was referred back to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which investigates possible miscarriages of justice, and is due to start on Thursday.

The main plank of his appeal will be DNA evidence relating to blood found on a gun silencer.

The farmhouse where the murders took place

Bamber, who was convicted at Chelmsford Crown Court of five counts of murder, has always protested his innocence.

Bamber's mother June, and six-year-old nephews Nicholas and Daniel were shot dead in their beds at White House Farm in August 1985.

His father, Neville, was found slumped downstairs, while his sister Sheila Caffell - a model nicknamed Bambi - was found by her parents' bed.

She had been suffering from a mental illness and was staying with her parents to recuperate at the time of the killings.

A .22 rifle which had fired 25 shots was found next to her body by police.

The prosecution at Bamber's trial contended that a silencer from the gun which had been found elsewhere in the house had traces of Caffell's blood on it - ruling her out as the killer.

New inquiries

However, Bamber's legal team will produce evidence at the appeal which suggests the blood was not Caffell's, pointing the finger once again at her as the murderer.

The hearing is expected to last six weeks.

Last July, a team of police officers was given four months to complete fresh inquiries into the killings.

A hearing in London directed that evidence from the new investigations - as well as material from inquiries by Essex Police in 1986 and City of London Police in 1991 into the handling of the murder investigation - would be disclosed to Bamber's defence lawyers.