Landlord Chris Jefferies is not a suspect in Jo Yeates murder case

So after a protracted time whilst he has had to endure innuendo from the tabloids, a disgraceful episode whereby police leaked his name and the fact that he has been on police bail for over two months under suspicion, Christopher Jefferies is unceremoniously dumped back into the world to get on with his life.

All the whisperers who thought "he was the one what did it" can spend a day looking at themselves in a mirror. A spokesman for Avon and Somerset police said, "We can confirm that a 66-year-old arrested on suspicion of murdering Joanna Yeates was released without charge on Friday 4 March" and with that he went back to his desk.

My grandmother had a saying, "Life is real and life is earnest". It certainly is. One can only wonder what the next phase of this murder case will reveal. Anyone watching The Killing on BBC4 will be accutely aware that not everything is at it seems. There may be uncanny parallels here.

Vincent Tabak's family hire a "professional spokesman"

According to De Telegraaf, one of the top newspapers in the Netherlands, the family of Dutchman Vincent Tabak, the man accused of murdering Joanna Yeates, has hired a media man to protect their side of the events. They have suggested that the British media has not portrayed them in a favourable light. The family is convinced of his innocence and now feel the need to present their views in this way.

I suspect that certain cultural differences may be beginning to emerge. This story is full of twist and turns. I just don't get the sense that it is going to be that straightforward.

Vincent Tabak charged with the murder of Joanna Yeates

Vincent Tabak, a Dutch architectural engineer, who lives in the same apartment block as Joanna Yeates, has been charged with her murder. He will appear in court on Monday.

This is progress in the case, but it does not mean it is the conclusion. Depending on his plea, Tabak will be able to have a defence or instruct his counsel otherwise. There should be no rush to judgement. There has been too much of that already in this matter and in other cases down the years a similar attitude has prevailed. The media needs restraint now as before.

Pressing times - media twists and turns

I was reminded on this blog that the reporter who decided that Robert Murat (of the Madeleine McCann case) was a suspect was Lori Campbell of the Sunday Mirror. This is a youtube of her in action. She could have been speaking about herself and her rag!



And then there is Martin Brunt, the crime reporter from Sky News. He has the look of a lost ferret trying to find a trouser leg. This is his take on the McCann case in Portugal.



The trouble with these characters is that they are paid handsomely to speculate and spew out their notions in a very casual manner. Brunt has been in Bristol following a similar pattern of thought process.

From Sky News -
Sky News' crime correspondent Martin Brunt, in Bristol, said that after Jefferies had spoken to Sky News there were questions surrounding his claim. "I think he first told neighbours that he thought he had seen Miss Yeates leaving with two people before he spoke to the police, but when we spoke to him he seemed rather vague about the details," he said. "It then became a bit of mystery and it almost was a case of things not adding up." He added: "Police now have up to 96 hours to either charge him, release him on bail for further questioning, or release him with no further action. "It's important to stress at this stage that he has simply been arrested on suspicion of her murder and he hasn't been charged, and it may well be that he is not charged."

Maybe Dominic Grieve should tap Brunt on the shoulder?

Some wise cove has suggested on a webchat site that Christopher Jefferies will "get over it". Nobody gets over it. None of these things can be forgotten. Not one person involved in such cases. Joanna Yeates' boyfriend has quite rightly rounded on the media. Just going around pointing the finger does no good whatsoever. It certainly does not help grieving relatives who only see a circus of thoughtless clowns.