The Jeff NEEDS Justice team has found a previously undiscovered bloody fingerprint on the intercom just above Helen’s dead body. This demonstrates that she contacted Jeff on the intercom just before she died, as Jeff has consistently stated.
What Was Found?
Jeff has always given the same account of what occurred since he arrived on his neighbour’s doorstep in the early hours of the morning on 28 August 1993. He has described how he was woken by his mother’s voice screaming over an intercom that connected the house to the boatshed at the water’s edge where Jeff slept.
Helen Gilham’s body was found directly in front of the upstairs intercom unit, her right arm outstretched.
Several months after Jeff was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, two members of the Jeff NEEDS Justice team reviewed the police video recording of the crime scene. The video shows the intercom unit to have been partly covered by a falling calendar during the fire and is melted and scorched otherwise. A police officer picks up the intercom, the debris is shaken off and the intercom is held up to the camera. Then a gloved hand wipes across the face of the intercom. In these few seconds dark reddish marks on the front panel of the intercom the size and shape of fingerprints are visible. One of the marks, directly under the call switch and in an area protected from the fire by the debris, smears upon the police examiner’s touch.
As with many aspects of the forensic examination in this case, which was heavily criticised by the judge presiding over both Jeff’s trials, the way the intercom unit was handled contaminated key evidence. The unit itself was not collected for detailed forensic inspection nor was it tested for blood.
What Does It Mean?
This crucial piece of evidence that directly demonstrates Jeff innocence has been uncovered from the police crime scene video tape. The tiny but compelling detail went unnoticed by police, prosecutors, the jury, or Jeff’s defence team but has now come to light and is part of Jeff’s appeal.
The discovery of a bloody fingerprint on the intercom shows that Helen called Jeff on the intercom after she had been stabbed by her other son, Christopher. This is entirely consistent with Jeff’s account of what occurred.
Helen was found face down with stab wounds to her back. Helen was also stabbed in the front of her chest and neck and arm — given her position at death these injuries must have been inflicted first. She had seen her attacker. If Jeff was the attacker, Helen wouldn’t have tried to use the intercom to call for his help.