Something to Declare by Cyclist

Chapter 52

EXTREMELY UNPLEASANT MATERIAL BELOW.
I was not required as a witness, as my “evidence” was simply the initial recognition of Alfie Smith’s face. Naomi, however, was called, and when the day of the trial came up we made a party of five for the trip up to Croydon Crown Court, us, Naomi and Albert, and Sally.

The scum had all pleaded not guilty at their Plea and Direction Hearing, and been put on remand in Lewes, except of course, for Anstey, who was simply returned to continue his existing sentence.

Prisoners awaiting trial on remand, as opposed to convicts, serve “soft time” with extra privileges, and time on remand counts double towards time sentenced. We left Sally and Naomi outside, as witnesses, and sat in the public gallery, which was packed. Several clearly transgendered people were there, both men and women, as well as at least a dozen Royal Marines in uniform. The usher stepped forward.

“All rise!”

The judge took his seat, and we settled down. I noticed that when the accused foursome appeared, the Marines’ heads turned as one, and I felt the temperature in the courtroom drop. The clerk stood, they stood, and he read out the charge, that they, on, at, were accused of, in breach of, and in pursuit of prejudice based on sexual orientation, contrary to, and so on. Oddly, the charges included murder and manslaughter. There was something else here I didn’t know.

“How do you plead?”

“Not guilty”, four times over.

We had sat next to Sally’s new fancy man’s friends, of course, as Stewart had been called as a witness and as one caught me looking at Smith senior, who had an arm in a sling and a very badly-bruised face, he passed me a note. “Not all bootnecks stay out of trouble after they retire. There was one in Lewes”

Counsel for the defence rose. “Your Honour, I wish to make a representation. Would it be possible to have the public gallery cleared, as the presence of so many persons in uniform is intimidating to my clients”

“I do not see how the presence of public servants can possibly be seen as improper, Additionally, from my knowledge of the deceased’s circumstances I would submit that these men are here effectively as the lady’s family, and I would exclude such parties only in extreme cases. Request denied.”

And so we began the dance. There are certain very specific tactics used by defence barristers, apart from simply trying to deny or disprove the facts. One is called “smoke and mirrors”, in which the lawyer tries to confuse the jury. Another is simple mudslinging.

The proved to be the tactic. The prosecution case was laid out clearly and in painful detail. The four accused had driven to the pub n two large vans laden with illicitly imported beer, which the landlord sold off-record (I resolved to look up the files later, and if necessary make a phone call). They had stayed for a drink, and then poor Melanie had come in to celebrate her upcoming surgery.

The video and other evidence introduced from the witness box by Naomi showed them approach her, and follow her as she left. The footage we already knew by heart was rehearsed yet again, and then the man from the Forensic Science Service followed the arresting police officers into the box. The blood from poor Melanie in the alley, on the brick and iron bar they had used on her. The DNA from the two boys on said brick and bar, the woman’s blood on Anstey’s hidden stash of clothing.

The examining doctor from the post mortem described the injuries she had suffered, including the marks of a ring from punches to her face, marks which matched a ring on Anstey’s right hand at the time of arrest. He mentioned the brick dust on the stumps of her teeth, and I left at that point to be sick in the ladies’. Several jurors were also looking ill, and the judge adjourned for lunch.

The evidence continued, with the Force Medical Examiner testifying to the match between the heel mark on Anstey and her shoe, and the similar match between her ring and Smith junior’s facial injury.

Sally gave her own account of that awful night, breaking down in the witness box as she did so.

Witness statements from the various poor drivers were taken as read.

The defence finished their cross-examinations, and then put Alfie on the stand, followed by the other three, and we got a different story, of a predatory pervert touching up a seventeen year old boy n a pub and then dragging him into the alley for sex as he left the pub and, well, you have to protect your kids, doncher?

Prosecution then called Stewart, who gave a passionate eulogy posing as evidence n respect of Melanie’s service career, courage and honesty and, to be blunt, lack of misbehaviour in the showers. His response to the cross-examination was monosyllabic and controlled, summed up by the word “no”

Our man then called Sally back.

“Ms Flint, you were Miss Stevens’ psychiatrist, you have told us. Would it be fair to say that you knew her well?”

“I would agree, as that was my job. Yes, I probably knew her better than almost anyone”

“What were her sexual proclivities? Did she like little boys?”

“Certainly not!”

“What about teenaged boys?”

I wondered what the hell was going on. This man was supposed to be on our side…then Sally gave her answer.

“ I really don’t see where this is going. You can specify the ages as much as you like, but Melanie was a confirmed lesbian.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from several of the jurors, and I saw Anstey’s head sink into his hands. The defence lawyer visibly wilted, and I could read his mind, wondering whether he had any chance of dropping out of the case for fear of “professional embarrassment”

At that point, I knew I was seeing a beaten man.

“No further questions, your honour”

The closing speeches were a complete mismatch, the defence still maintaining the thugs’ lies, but with no real conviction. The judge began his summing up, and it was clear, and very direct indeed. The thing we learnt during the trial had changed everything, hence the charges. It had turned out that there was more to the case than any of us had realised; the CCTV cameras at the footbridge where Melanie had finally surrendered showed the accused there near her. This wasn’t just a beating, it was a hounding to the death.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you have a choice of verdicts here, and I will ask that you strive for unanimity in said verdict. If you believe that Ms Stevens tragically leapt to her death as a result of her depressed mental state, then you can only convict for assault and an appropriate level of bodily harm. The accused have admitted that they did indeed assault the deceased

“If you believe that the actions of the accused on the bridge caused her to become apprehensive of further injury, but that the accused were not desirous of her death then you must convict the accused of manslaughter. The thing that you must determine is their intent, whether as individuals or in concert. Be sure of what you believe that intent to have been,

“Finally, if you find that the actions of the accused at that point were intended to make her leap to her death, then you have no alternative but to find them guilty of murder. Will you please now retire and consider your verdict”