Beyond Innocence (17 page)

Although it had stopped raining, it was still very dull and overcast in Liverpool, and Irene Yarwood shuddered as the thought flashed through her mind it might be an omen. Dismissing such negative thoughts from her mind, she hurried inside the sombre grey building determined that she, and her team, would do everything in their power to defend Harry Thompson and restore his freedom.

Right on time, Judge Ewing settled into his seat and the case for the defence began with Harry Thompson, the accused, taking the stand.

Irene Yarwood had agonized over this moment throughout the trial because, apart from a series of outright denials, the defence had so little to go on. There were no witnesses to either crime. Thompson, her client, had no witnesses to support his alibi and there was nobody who could offer anything in support of his defence. In the end she realised that she had nothing to lose by putting him on the stand. With any luck, she told herself, he might make a more than favourable impression upon the jury.

For both of them it was a triumph. Harry was fully alert giving a first rate performance. His replies to all the questions were clear, concise and, well-directed at the jury. His denials to the crimes were emphatic without being dramatic in any degree. When questioned about his alleged confession, he followed his defence instructions to the letter remaining calm and dignified at all times, so much so Irene reasoned, he came across as a very credible witness. Now it was the turn of the prosecution and the defence could only hold their breath hoping that Harry stood up to his task.

Sir Gordon Nuttall-Jones got to his feet very slowly looking at the accused all the time. Then, he shuffled some of his papers about as if he was becoming nervous but, it wasn’t nerves at all on his part. All he wanted to do was to keep Harry waiting as long as possible in an effort to unsettle him. Then it was time to begin and, as he did, his deep, booming voice reverberated around the Court.

“Let me take you back to the time of the disappearance of your fiancée Diane Wilson or, to be more precise, your visit to her parents’ home on the first occasion before you went to the police station with your future father-in-law.”

In reply to the query, “Do you remember the occasion in question? Harry nodded, and answered, “Yes,” wondering where this line was leading as the QC continued, “Will you tell the jury what you said to Mr. Wilson at the time you arrived at the house?”

Thompson.        “I honestly can’t remember. Presumably, I asked if there was any news about Diane.”

The prosecuting counsel paused for a moment before continuing, “No, Thompson that’s not true and you damned well know it. As a matter of fact you didn’t say anything remotely like that. Would you like me to tell the jury what you said?”

Harry nodded and before he could speak Nuttall-Jones continued, “Is it not a fact, and is it not true that, on this occasion, your words to Mr. Wilson were, “Has she surfaced yet?”

There were gasps from around the court as the impact of the statement registered with those present. Without wishing to lose any momentum from his assault and, ignoring the shouts of objection from the defence, Sir Gordon repeated the question bellowing, “Did you or, did you not, say to Mr. Wilson, “Has she surfaced yet?”

When Harry confirmed that he had said that or, something very similar, utter pandemonium reigned. It was several moments before the judge could restore order by allowing the defence to object on the grounds that the statement had not been elicited by the prosecution during the examination of the deceased’s father at the beginning of the trial.

Before the judge could rule, Sir Gordon was on his feet quickly pointing out that Mr Wilson was still in court and that he could be recalled if necessary, although there did not seem to be much point in it, seeing that the accused had already admitted the statement was true.

With several loud bangs of his gavel, the judge brought order to the proceedings. He solemnly announced that he would allow the testimony to stand and motioned to the prosecution to continue.

Sir Gordon was in his element and he continued to press his advantage for all it was worth saying, “Over the next few months all the country was looking for this poor unfortunate young lady. Only the killer, only the murderer, knew where her body lay. Only one person knew her body had been consigned to the deep waters of the quarry and that person was Harry Thompson, the accused. That is why when he went round on that occasion, he said, “Has she surfaced yet?” He knew very well she had not surfaced. He knew only too well she was hardly likely to be found and he was overconfident and that’s when he made his first mistake.”

Throughout this tirade Harry Thompson had lost his composure. He brought his fist down repeatedly on the dock rail in front of him whilst he shouted out to no avail that the whole scene and his words had been taken out of context and nothing like that had been intended, let alone implied.

Eventually the scene was over and the defence were granted a brief recess. During this brief interlude there was no time for recriminations. It was more of an exercise in damage limitation and, although Miss Yarwood was extremely annoyed with recent events in court, she certainly didn’t let it show as she explained to Harry that, as soon as the prosecution were through with their cross- examination she would be taking him back through that now crucial part of his evidence in order to impress upon the jury it was, at worst, a completely innocent remark, which unfortunately had potentially disastrous consequences for his case. All too soon it was time for the court to reconvene. Surprisingly enough when they returned to the court the prosecution decided that their cross examination had finished which led the defence to conclude that Sir Gordon did not wish to lose any advantage gained beforehand.

Miss Yarwood rose to continue, “Mr Thompson, during my learned friends cross-examination it was implied, because you used the expression
‘has she surfaced yet?’
that you already knew that your girlfriend was dead and you knew where her body had been placed. “Is that true or untrue?”

Thompson.        “Totally untrue, Miss, at that time I had no idea whatsoever what had happened to Diane and I was as anxious as anyone to find her or to discover what had happened to her.”

Miss Yarwood. “So in other words you are saying that when you said
‘has she surfaced?’
you didn’t mean it in that way at all and what you were trying to say was that you were merely enquiring whether or not there was any news or developments in the case?”

Thompson.        “Yes Miss, that’s exactly what I meant.”

Miss Yarwood  “Now let us be quite clear about this and let us make quite clear that everybody here fully understands that your choice of words was, at worst, most unfortunate as at that time you had no idea she was dead, let alone languishing under water, in a lake, some forty miles away.”

Thompson.        “Yes, Miss, that’s quite correct.”

Miss Yarwood  “Now I will ask you, once again, did you Harry Thompson, kill either of these two women?”

Thompson.        Thompson “No, I did not and, that’s the truth so help me God.”

With no further questions Harry Thompson’s ordeal was over and it was time to recall Bridget Riley. As the doors opened, all heads turned again to watch Bridget Riley make her entrance. She took her place in the witness box and Miss Yarwood wasted no time in coming straight to the point.

Miss Yarwood. “Miss Riley, let me remind you that you are still under oath and I have some more questions to put to you. A few days ago, you told this court you had seen Angela Clarkson wearing a very expensive watch which she told you she had bought, and paid for, herself. You also told this court that you didn’t know how much she paid for it and you didn’t ask her where she bought it.”

Bridget             “Yes that’s true. I told you all that the other day.”

Miss Yarwood  “I must remind you again now, Miss Riley, that you are under oath and there are very serious penalties for those who come before the courts and perjure themselves. I am reminding you of this again because the defence have discovered that this watch could not have been purchased in Liverpool or Chester, or for that matter, anywhere in the north of England. Therefore, it would have been impossible for your friend to have purchased it herself. Furthermore, I have obtained copies of bank statements of accounts held by Miss Clarkson just prior to her death and she never had sufficient money in her account to withdraw enough funds to pay for such an expensive item of jewellery. According to the manufacturers of this watch, all the items sold have been traced with the exception of one which was purchased for cash in a London store, by an unknown person. This purchase was made a short time after the death of your friend. No doubt, in the fullness of time, the purchaser will be identified, but for the moment it doesn’t really matter. What does matter to this court, however, is where your friend obtained her watch, if she ever had one. Miss Riley, I am now putting it to you, once again, that Angela Clarkson never told you that she had bought that watch. I am also putting it to you that you never saw Angela Clarkson wearing that watch or one remotely like it. I am putting it to you that your evidence in this court is nothing but a tissue of lies.”

Bridget knew she was in deep trouble over this and she also knew she couldn’t afford to admit she had lied. Apart from any perjury charges she would probably have to face, there would be more trouble with Detective Sergeant West once the trial was over. Therefore, she was now faced with a very difficult choice. Either give up and cave in now or stick to her guns and brazen it out.

However, before she could answer, the judge intervened. Taking off his glasses, he leaned across his vast desk then, in a very stern voice he spoke. “I must warn you again, young lady, that the penalties for perjury are quite severe and, in my court, would involve a custodial sentence. Make no mistake I shall not hesitate to bring you back before me if, at some future date, it transpires that you have given false evidence before me in this court. Please think very carefully before you answer the questions put to you by the learned counsel for the defence.”

Had the judge not intervened at this point, Bridget would have capitulated and admitted, there and then, that her evidence was false but, once the judge had made his statement, the prospect of prison filled her with alarm and she resolved to give it one last try as she answered, “I am telling you the truth. Angela did tell me that the watch belonged to her. She never told me how much it cost, or how she paid for it. For all I know, when she said she’d bought it, she could well have been lying to me. Well not actually lying but showing off. After all how could I know? All I can tell you is I saw Angela Clarkson wearing the watch a few days before she died and that’s the truth.”

Noting the shift in the prostitute’s evidence, Irene decided there was nothing further to be gained. Suffice to say she had exposed a chink in Bridget’s testimony and it would be up to her to exploit it during her summing up. As she prepared to sit down, she advised the judge she had no further questions, and that concluded the case for the defence.

After an early lunch, it was time for the closing statements. It was the turn of the defence to open and Miss Yarwood made as much as she could of the fact that the DNA sample, although Thompson’s, was irrelevant as he had always admitted that he and his girlfriend had sex on their last evening together. Then there was the lack of motive or witnesses to either crime. She made another reference to the DNA sample in the second case which the prosecution had stated and considered to be totally irrelevant, whilst making it all too relevant when applied to the Wilson case. She urged the jury to reject the evidence of Bridget Riley on the grounds that there had been a shift in her evidence when she was recalled and, in her view, she could hardly be called a credible and reliable witness.

Turning to the alleged confession, she pointed out that they, the jury, could hardly take the word of a convicted felon against the word of her client who, up until now, had never even clocked up a ticket for speeding. Throughout her impassioned address, she constantly reminded the jury of the efforts made by Harry Thompson to trace his missing fiancée. Finally, she came to that damning phrase elicited from her client, whilst under cross examination by the crown saying to the jury, “Far from proving his guilt, it only serves to underline the innocence of my client. Think of it this way, if he were guilty of either of these crimes, do you honestly think he would have admitted so readily that he made those remarks?”

“Has she surfaced?”
Can you not stop to consider that, if this man was guilty as charged, surely, he would have denied ever making such a statement, knowing full well that it could only be substantiated by the father of the dead girl! In addition, if he were guilty, then such an admission, on his part, could only serve to underline his guilt.”

She concluded her submission by asking the jury to find in favour of the accused adding if there was any doubt in their minds, they should return a verdict of ‘not guilty.’ As she resumed her seat, she nodded to Harry indicating that they had all done their very level best.

Sir Gordon Nuttall-Jones drew himself up to his full height of six foot eight inches. His sheer size, and physical presence, seemed to fill the court as he began. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, do not be fooled by the eloquence of the learned counsel for the defence. Throughout this case, we have introduced all the evidence you could possibly wish to hear to show that the person before you is indeed the perpetrator of these terrible crimes. Indeed it is probably a good thing he was caught when he was, because, for all we know, other innocent lives might well have been lost whilst he was still at large. From the time the police discovered the first victim, they only ever considered one man fitted the bill, and that was the person here before you. Remember him, so earnestly pretending to search for his lover. Yet, all the time, he knew she was reposing in that cold, watery grave where he had left her. Why else would he have made that remark to his prospective father-in-law, “Has she surfaced?” Well, I’ll tell you. It was because he was the only person on this earth who knew where her body had been left. The defence can say what they like about it simply being an unfortunate phrase, or, choice of words, but you all know better. It was the voice of a guilty man, giving himself away, whilst thinking he had got away with murder. He raised his voice slightly as he added, “and he would have got away with it, had it not been for the intervention of fate.”