Alan Stockwell (Maurice O'Connell) stands trial for the murder of Charles Robins. Some familiar faces guest star here, namely Arthur English, Neil McCarthy, Maurice O'Connell and John Abineri (familiar to Doctor Who fans, this time without a wig). Regulars William Mervyn, Charles Keating and Jonathan Elsom also star.
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00:00:00Transcription by CastingWords
00:00:30The case you're about to see is fictional, but the jury is made up of members of the public who will assess the evidence and deliver their own verdict at the end of the programme.
00:01:00The case before Mr Justice Campbell in the Crown Court today involves a serious criminal charge.
00:01:08Alan Stockwell stands trial for the murder of Charles Robbins. He'll be defended by Mr James Elliot QC.
00:01:14Prosecuting for the Crown is Mr Marcus Gilding QC.
00:01:19I call Arthur Robbins.
00:01:22Arthur Robbins, please.
00:01:24The prosecution have called the father of the murdered man as their first witness.
00:01:28What is your religion?
00:01:39Church of England.
00:01:40Take the testament in your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.
00:01:44I swear by Almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
00:01:51Are you Arthur Robbins?
00:01:52Yes, I am.
00:01:53And you live at Charters Paddock, Timsbury, near Fulton?
00:01:57I do, but I'm staying with friends at the moment.
00:02:00I see.
00:02:00And your son Charles lived with you?
00:02:02It was his house.
00:02:04I shared his house, you see.
00:02:06Do you mean you had your own rooms?
00:02:08My own rooms?
00:02:09Well, did you live separate?
00:02:10Not separate.
00:02:11It was a big house, and I had my own sitting room for when I wanted.
00:02:17We didn't get under each other's feet, you see.
00:02:19Yes.
00:02:19Now, were you with him on the evening of Monday, April the 14th of the ship?
00:02:23I was in the house.
00:02:25Tell us what happened, Mr Robbins.
00:02:26Yes.
00:02:27I was watching the television, and there was the doorbell.
00:02:30I didn't give it a second thought, because Charlie had said someone was coming round on business.
00:02:35Had you asked him who was coming, or what it was about?
00:02:37No, he often had people, visitors visiting like.
00:02:41So you heard the front doorbell, and then what happened?
00:02:44Well, nothing.
00:02:46Not for a while.
00:02:48After a bit, say, about five minutes, I heard someone shouting.
00:02:52And what did you do?
00:02:53I went into the hall, and the noise was coming from the far end of the hall, from my son's study.
00:03:00The shouting, you mean?
00:03:01Uh, yes.
00:03:02It's a long hallway, and with the study door closed, I could still hear this fellow shouting.
00:03:09Did you recognize the voice?
00:03:11No, it was a man with an Irish accent.
00:03:13Could you hear what was being said?
00:03:15Yes, the Irish bloke said, you've got everything here, haven't you?
00:03:22And my son said, you'll get it all one day.
00:03:26And then the man said, I wouldn't mind half of it now.
00:03:29And my son said, you'll get it, don't worry.
00:03:34Then it got quiet, and I turned to go back to my room, and that's when I heard this bang, this shot.
00:03:42Then what did you do?
00:03:44Nothing.
00:03:45The study door flew open, and someone came out like a bat out of hell.
00:03:50I said, hey, what's going on?
00:03:51And I'm searching in my pocket for my glasses, and something came flying through the air and hit me by the side of the head.
00:03:59It stunned me.
00:04:00Do you know what had been thrown?
00:04:02Yes, it was a gun.
00:04:04It landed in front of me.
00:04:07And I just stood stunned looking at it.
00:04:11May he be shown Exhibit 1, please?
00:04:20Yes, that looks like the one.
00:04:22Now, members of the jury, as you've already heard, analysis of the marks on the bullet has shown that the murdered man was indeed killed by a round fire from that same gun.
00:04:39Now, what happened next, Mr. Robbins?
00:04:41Well, I just stood looking at the gun, hypnotized-like, and then he was picking up the gun, and in one hand, holding his sweater, pulled over his face, and I gave him a fistful.
00:04:55You mean you hit him?
00:04:56Yeah, round about here.
00:04:57So, you caught him a blow on the left side of his head, just under the eye?
00:05:02Yes.
00:05:03And then he swung at me and hit me against the wall, and he was gone.
00:05:07I was just stunned.
00:05:10It was like a nightmare.
00:05:12It hadn't really happened.
00:05:14Then what did you do, Mr. Robbins?
00:05:17Then I went to my son's study, and my son...
00:05:25Are you all right, Mr. Robbins?
00:05:31My son...
00:05:34Did you find your son in the study?
00:05:38Yes.
00:05:39He was sitting on the sofa, a long one, a seat half a dozen.
00:05:48He liked that sofa.
00:05:50He was sitting with his head in the cushion.
00:06:00Half his face was gone, and his bone and stuff hanging out.
00:06:07That bastard done for him!
00:06:08You're a liar.
00:06:09I've never seen you.
00:06:10I've never been in your house, never.
00:06:11That will do, Stockwell.
00:06:12Now, Mr. Robbins, you are here to give evidence not to hurl insults at the accused, or indeed
00:06:19at anyone else in this court.
00:06:21Now, do you understand?
00:06:22Yes, my lord.
00:06:25Now, on Wednesday, the 16th of April, were you asked to attend an identity parade at
00:06:29Fulchester Police Station?
00:06:30Yes.
00:06:31And were you able to pick out the man who had attacked you?
00:06:33Yes, I was able to.
00:06:34And is that person in court today?
00:06:36He is.
00:06:37Would you point him out, please?
00:06:39It was him.
00:06:39Thank you, Mr. Robbins.
00:06:42Will you wait there, please?
00:06:44So you picked out the accused at this identity parade?
00:06:47I've said that.
00:06:49Is there anything different about him now than from when you say you saw him on the night
00:06:52of your son's murder?
00:06:54How do you mean?
00:06:54His hair is shorter.
00:06:56And what about his clothes?
00:06:58He was wearing a leather jacket.
00:07:00What color?
00:07:01I don't know.
00:07:03Oh, was it black?
00:07:04Brown?
00:07:04Yellow?
00:07:05Blue?
00:07:06It was brown.
00:07:07And what sort of jacket was he wearing at the identity parades?
00:07:11I can't remember.
00:07:13He was wearing a brown leather jacket, was he not?
00:07:16Perhaps he was.
00:07:17He had been wearing a short duffel coat, but he changed it.
00:07:20I don't know about that.
00:07:22He was, in fact, the only man in the line-up wearing a brown leather jacket, correct?
00:07:26If you say so.
00:07:28You're sure you recognized the man, and not a leather jacket?
00:07:30It wasn't the fashion show.
00:07:33I was looking at their faces.
00:07:35And why, then, did you ask to hear the men speak?
00:07:37To be double sure.
00:07:39Why don't you tell the truth?
00:07:40You know I wasn't there.
00:07:40I am telling the truth.
00:07:42Bloody lie.
00:07:42It was you.
00:07:43I saw you there.
00:07:43That is quite enough.
00:07:45He couldn't have seen me.
00:07:46I wasn't there.
00:07:47Stockwell, you must not interrupt.
00:07:49I can't just sit here and listen to lies.
00:07:51You will have every opportunity of speaking in your own defense later.
00:07:54I had nothing to do with it.
00:07:55I wasn't there.
00:07:56Someone's got it in.
00:07:57Stockwell, be quiet.
00:07:58My lord, may I have a moment to confer with my client?
00:08:01Yes, of course.
00:08:06What are you trying to do?
00:08:07You'll have the judge and the jury against you.
00:08:10No buts.
00:08:11You do this my way, or you'll go down.
00:08:14Right, on your feet.
00:08:15Apologize to his lordship.
00:08:18I'm sorry, my lord.
00:08:21Good.
00:08:22I would not like to continue this case in your absence,
00:08:25but if there are any more outbursts,
00:08:27there will be no other course left open to me.
00:08:31Do you understand?
00:08:32Yes, my lord.
00:08:33Very well.
00:08:33Shall we get on?
00:08:34My lord.
00:08:35Mr. Robbins, you have stated that the man you heard in the study
00:08:38had an Irish accent.
00:08:40I thought so.
00:08:42Would you say the accused has an Irish accent?
00:08:44No.
00:08:45And then when you heard that voice on that parade,
00:08:47how did that make you double sure that he was, in fact,
00:08:49the Irishman who killed your son?
00:08:51Perhaps he was putting the voice on.
00:08:53On the parade?
00:08:54In the study?
00:08:55Or now?
00:08:57In the study.
00:08:59But why should he do that?
00:09:01I mean, he wasn't to know anyone was listening, was he?
00:09:07Correct me if I'm wrong,
00:09:08but on the morning of the 15th of April,
00:09:11you went to the police station,
00:09:12and from 11 until 1, and again in the afternoon,
00:09:15you looked at photographs of possible suspects.
00:09:18Yes.
00:09:18Now, the accused, Alan Stockwell,
00:09:20has a criminal record
00:09:21for minor and non-violent offences.
00:09:24His photograph would therefore be on record.
00:09:28Were you shown photographs of the accused?
00:09:30I was shown hundreds of photographs.
00:09:31Now, that is not the question I asked.
00:09:33I've been answering questions ever since that night.
00:09:35I wish you'd stop trying to make me out of a liar,
00:09:37trying to win every point.
00:09:39Mr. Robbins,
00:09:41we're not here to win points.
00:09:42Now, Mr. Robbins,
00:09:44I understand this must be an emotional strain for you,
00:09:47but you must answer counsel's questions.
00:09:50Yes, ma'am.
00:09:51Were you shown photographs of the accused?
00:09:54Yes, I was.
00:09:55Yes.
00:09:55Presumably, you were shown cards
00:09:57with several different photographs on each card.
00:10:00Yes.
00:10:00And was Stockwell pointed out as a possible suspect?
00:10:03His name was never mentioned.
00:10:04Was his picture pointed out?
00:10:06Some were pointed out.
00:10:07For what reason?
00:10:09They just said that they weren't in prison.
00:10:12You mean, they were not in prison when the murder took place?
00:10:15Yes, that's right.
00:10:16Well, Alan Stockwell wasn't in prison when the murder took place, was he?
00:10:18No, he wasn't.
00:10:19So, presumably, his picture was pointed out?
00:10:21I guess.
00:10:24At last.
00:10:26Now, were you also shown individual photographs?
00:10:29Yes.
00:10:30And were these photographs in a pile on the desk,
00:10:33or were they handed to you one by one?
00:10:36Sometimes they were handed to me,
00:10:37and sometimes they were on the desk.
00:10:39Now, this is important, Mr. Robbins.
00:10:41Were there occasions when you asked for the next photograph
00:10:44and were told not to rush,
00:10:46to take your time,
00:10:49to take even a second look at the photograph in your hand?
00:10:53There were times.
00:10:54I just wanted to get a move on.
00:10:55Yes, quite.
00:10:55And was one of the photographs that you were asked to take a second look at
00:10:58a photograph of the accused, Alan Stockwell?
00:11:02Yes.
00:11:04Mr. Elliot, I take it that you're suggesting
00:11:06that the police deliberately tried to influence the witness's identification?
00:11:10I'm exploring the possibility, my lord.
00:11:12Mr. Robbins, when you went to the police station first to look at the photographs,
00:11:16did the police show you a photograph of the accused
00:11:19and suggest that he was a likely suspect?
00:11:23No, I was shown hundreds of photographs.
00:11:25They just let me get on.
00:11:27Left you alone?
00:11:28Yes.
00:11:29Well, not all the time.
00:11:30I mean, sometimes they were with me,
00:11:32and sometimes I was on my own.
00:11:33So the police never said anything to try and persuade you
00:11:36to make an identification?
00:11:38They did not.
00:11:39Did they make any other suggestion in any other sort of way,
00:11:41like leaving a particular photograph in front of you for a long time?
00:11:46Longer, shall we say, than any of the others?
00:11:49The police left it to me.
00:11:51I mean, I picked out five photographs,
00:11:53but I couldn't be sure.
00:11:55Not positive.
00:11:56Only when I saw him.
00:11:58Thank you, Mr. Robbins.
00:12:01Did it.
00:12:01Hello.
00:12:03A charter's paddock is a big house, isn't it, Mr. Robbins?
00:12:06A fair size.
00:12:07A big house surrounded by spacious grounds?
00:12:09A lot of garden.
00:12:11There's a massive wall around it?
00:12:13Yes.
00:12:13Spiked and broken glass embedded along the top?
00:12:16That's right.
00:12:17Did your son have enemies?
00:12:19No, he didn't.
00:12:20Did he not have business rivals?
00:12:23None likely to want to climb the walls.
00:12:27I believe your wife died a little over a year ago.
00:12:30Yes.
00:12:30Your son had just become engaged?
00:12:32Yes.
00:12:34He'd done well for himself, hadn't he?
00:12:36Marvellous.
00:12:37He certainly pulled himself together after the trouble.
00:12:39What do you mean?
00:12:40Well, he did serve a sentence of 18 months' imprisonment, did he not?
00:12:44Well, that was six years back.
00:12:45Well, yes, yes, yes, of course.
00:12:47So, with his criminal activities behind him,
00:12:50he became a respected man,
00:12:52the owner of a big house and a chain of betting shops.
00:12:55Yes.
00:12:56Now, the betting shops were in your wife's name, correct?
00:12:58Yes.
00:12:59Was it because of his record that he wasn't allowed to have them in his name?
00:13:02That's right.
00:13:03So, when your wife died, what happened?
00:13:06How do you mean?
00:13:07Who did she leave the betting shops to?
00:13:09Well, the solicitors hold them in trust.
00:13:12They were executives of the estate, as it were.
00:13:13I see.
00:13:15Why didn't your son put the business in your name?
00:13:19Well, he couldn't.
00:13:19Why was that?
00:13:22Well, for the same reason as...
00:13:24Was it because you yourself have a police record?
00:13:27In the past, yes.
00:13:30Still, with your son's help and money,
00:13:31you've been able to go straight for some time now, haven't you?
00:13:34Yes, he was a good boy.
00:13:35Understandably, you felt grief and anger after his death.
00:13:40Yes.
00:13:41You wanted vengeance?
00:13:42My son's in his coffin.
00:13:44Someone's going to pay.
00:13:45Anyone?
00:13:46The man who did it.
00:13:48Or the man the police suggested might have done it.
00:13:50You've already covered that ground, Mr. Elliott.
00:13:52The witness has told us on oath that this was not the case.
00:13:56Yes, but on.
00:13:56Mr. Robbins, you see the officers sitting to the left of the accused?
00:14:03Yes.
00:14:04Do you know him?
00:14:05No.
00:14:06But now I've pointed him out to you, you would recognise him again.
00:14:09Now you've had a chance to have a good look.
00:14:12Yes.
00:14:13You say you had a good look at the accused that night, didn't you?
00:14:15Yes.
00:14:16From the, what was it?
00:14:18The full length of the hall.
00:14:20Yes.
00:14:20But you were not wearing your spectacles.
00:14:22No.
00:14:23How long is the hall at Charter's Paddock?
00:14:27I don't know, about 25 feet.
00:14:29That's not bad, but it's 35 feet to be precise.
00:14:33Now that was your only opportunity of observing the intruder, correct?
00:14:37I recognise him, I tell you.
00:14:39Take your glasses off, please, Mr. Robbins.
00:14:41What?
00:14:42Take them off, please.
00:14:46Well, you don't mind, do you?
00:14:47I mean, you can't see all right without them.
00:14:49Perfectly all right.
00:14:50Would you excuse me for one minute, my lord?
00:14:52Mr. Robbins, um, would you please look at the officer sitting to the left of the accused?
00:15:17The one I asked you to look at a moment ago.
00:15:19Now, is he still in the same place, or has he changed places with the officer on the right?
00:15:27Yes, he's changed places.
00:15:30Put your glasses on again, please.
00:15:34Yeah, but when he picked up the gun, he was right in front of me.
00:15:36Yes, but as you told us, you were hypnotised, stunned, and the man had his sweater pulled up over his face.
00:15:42Oh, my God, blimey.
00:15:44No further questions.
00:15:45Do you wish to re-examine, Mr. Golding?
00:15:47Indeed I do, my lord.
00:15:50Now, Mr. Robbins, when you were in the hall, you heard a shot.
00:15:54Yes.
00:15:54Coming from the study, which was at the far end.
00:15:57That's right.
00:15:57Yes.
00:15:58And then someone came out.
00:16:00Yes.
00:16:01And you saw that person from a distance of 35 feet.
00:16:04Yes.
00:16:05Now, you said that he came out like a bat out of hell, and then he threw a gun at you.
00:16:10Yes.
00:16:11So I presume he was moving fast in your direction.
00:16:15Yes, he did, before he threw the gun.
00:16:17Yes.
00:16:17How far did he get?
00:16:18Well, I don't know, 10, 15 feet.
00:16:20Well, let's say 15 feet.
00:16:21Now, had he pulled his sweater up over his face at this point?
00:16:24No.
00:16:25So you did, in fact, see the face of your attacker at a distance of some 20 feet?
00:16:30I would have done, yes.
00:16:31Yes.
00:16:31Well, without sending out to the borough surveyor for his tape measure, I think we would all agree
00:16:35that the distance between the witness box and the dock is some 40 to 50 feet.
00:16:41Double the distance, members of the jury.
00:16:43So much for my learned friend's courtroom demonstration.
00:16:46Now, when your attacker picked up his gun, he was close to you, wasn't he?
00:16:52Right by me.
00:16:53With his sweater pulled up over his face?
00:16:55Yes.
00:16:56But not over his head?
00:16:57No.
00:16:58So you could see his hair?
00:16:59Oh, yes, it was pulled up to about here, you see.
00:17:01I could see his eyes and part of his nose.
00:17:04It was up to about here.
00:17:05Yes, thank you, Mr. Robbins.
00:17:07Does your lordship have any questions?
00:17:08No, thank you.
00:17:10You may leave the witness box, Mr. Robbins.
00:17:12I call Robert Markham.
00:17:18Robert Markham, please.
00:17:20Yes, sir, please.
00:17:34What is your religion?
00:17:36I would like to affirm.
00:17:37Raise your right hand and read aloud the words on this card.
00:17:40I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give
00:17:46shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
00:17:50You are Robert Markham of Marigold Court, Empire Drive, Fulchester West?
00:17:54Yes.
00:17:55You have a small minicab business with just a few cars, is that right, Mr. Markham?
00:17:59That's right.
00:18:00Yes.
00:18:00Now, what took place on the evening of April the 40th?
00:18:04Well, Alan Stockwell rang up and he booked a cab for our past seven.
00:18:08And had he engaged your professional services before, Mr. Markham?
00:18:11Yeah, a few times, after parties and that.
00:18:14Did you drive him on these occasions?
00:18:16No, one of my drivers did.
00:18:18Yes.
00:18:18Now, what is the distance from 3 West Road to Charters Paddock?
00:18:22Oh, about 10 miles.
00:18:24And how long did the journey take?
00:18:25Half an hour.
00:18:26And did the accused sit in the front or the back of the car?
00:18:29No, he sat in the front.
00:18:31And did any conversations take place in your cab?
00:18:34Well, we talked about football a bit.
00:18:37Did he tell you why he was going to Charters Paddock?
00:18:40He said he was going to collect something.
00:18:42He said he was going to collect something, yes.
00:18:45Anything more?
00:18:46No.
00:18:47Now, it took you half an hour to drive there, so you arrived at 8 o'clock?
00:18:51Just before.
00:18:53Then what did you do?
00:18:54I waited.
00:18:55For how long?
00:18:57Oh, about 10 minutes.
00:18:59And then?
00:19:00Well, then Stockwell comes out of the house at the bit of a gallop, carrying a bag.
00:19:06Looks as though he's hiding something under his coat.
00:19:08It was the gun, I suppose.
00:19:10But you did not see it?
00:19:12No, my lord.
00:19:13You are here to say what you saw and heard, not what you suppose.
00:19:18Do you understand?
00:19:19Yes, my lord.
00:19:20Elliot, you are awake.
00:19:24Always, my lord.
00:19:25Hmm.
00:19:26I wonder you didn't object.
00:19:28It is our case, my lord, that the accused was not the passenger.
00:19:32I see.
00:19:35Now, when Stockwell ran out, did he get into the front of the cab again?
00:19:38Er, no, this time he got in the back.
00:19:41Did he say anything?
00:19:43He said, get a move on.
00:19:45And where did you drive him?
00:19:46I'd drive him back to his house.
00:19:48And was anything said on the return, Joe?
00:19:50Well, not a lot.
00:19:52Something about Robbins getting too cocky by half.
00:19:57You heard Stockwell say Robbins was getting too cocky by half?
00:20:00Yes.
00:20:01Yes.
00:20:02And did anything else take place?
00:20:03Yes.
00:20:05He, er, he wound down the window and he threw something out of the car near Fensham Woods.
00:20:10Of course, I don't know what it was.
00:20:12Quite so, Mr. Markham.
00:20:15Now, members of the jury, you may recall from the prosecution's opening speech that the police
00:20:19searched the area of Fensham Wood and found the gun there.
00:20:23Do you have any more questions, Mr. Golding?
00:20:26Thank you, no, my lord.
00:20:28Mr. Markham, you say you saw your passenger throw something out the window.
00:20:33Yes.
00:20:33Did you ask him what it was?
00:20:35No.
00:20:35You didn't stop?
00:20:37No.
00:20:38What did you think it was?
00:20:39I didn't know.
00:20:41Something heavy, madam?
00:20:43Do people often throw heavy objects out of your cab window?
00:20:46No.
00:20:47Now, according to you, Stockwell asked you to drive him to the scene of the crime, told you
00:20:52to wait while he committed a brutal murder, got back into your cab, threw something heavy
00:20:55out the window, which conveniently turns out to be the murder weapon.
00:20:58Now, that's what you're asking us to believe?
00:21:00Well, it's the truth.
00:21:02Then Stockwell must be the most incompetent criminal of all time.
00:21:07Or you're lying.
00:21:08I'm not lying.
00:21:09I believe you are.
00:21:12Is it a hard life being a cab driver?
00:21:15It's a living.
00:21:17But you're not just a driver, are you?
00:21:19I own me own business.
00:21:21Well, it's not your only business interest, is it?
00:21:23It's the way I earn my living.
00:21:24A very good living.
00:21:26I don't do badly.
00:21:28Good enough to buy expensive suits.
00:21:30I save up.
00:21:31Good enough to run a Morgan sports car.
00:21:33I also win money on horses.
00:21:36I see.
00:21:38Now, you have connections, have you not, with the large family firm of Matthews of Fulchester?
00:21:43What firm is this?
00:21:45They have several nightclubs, my lord, and a stable of splendid racehorses.
00:21:49Does it have any bearing on this case?
00:21:50Well, yes, I believe it does, my lord.
00:21:52The accused owes Matthews a considerable sum of money.
00:21:56Now, in view of the connection between this witness and Matthews,
00:22:00I question the likelihood of my client ever using a taxi cab owned by Mr Markham.
00:22:04I hope to prove it would be the last thing he'd be likely to do.
00:22:09Well, answer counsel's question.
00:22:13I'm afraid I've forgotten what it was, my lord.
00:22:16Do you have any connection with the Matthews firm?
00:22:19Yeah, I do a bit of driving for them, yeah.
00:22:21Do you do a lot of driving?
00:22:22Well, they ring me up when they want me.
00:22:25How do they pay you?
00:22:27They usually settle their account at the end of the month.
00:22:29And they're reliable?
00:22:30How do you mean?
00:22:32Do they pay you regularly for this work that you do?
00:22:34Oh, yeah.
00:22:35Which is what?
00:22:37Driving.
00:22:38Oh, driving, yes, of course.
00:22:40The accused Alan Stockwell owes them a lot of money, doesn't he?
00:22:44I don't know.
00:22:45Like I said, I only drive for them.
00:22:48Well, you're surely aware that Matthews has gone into the betting shop business.
00:22:51Yeah.
00:22:52In direct competition with the late Charles Robbins.
00:22:55Could be.
00:22:56Mr. Markham, let's get down to the facts of this matter, shall we?
00:23:01Well, I've told you all I know.
00:23:02Yes.
00:23:03Yes, you've been very positive.
00:23:05I've done my best.
00:23:06I'm very sure of everything you've told us.
00:23:08All right.
00:23:09I've just told you the facts.
00:23:10But are you sure of the person you say you drove to Charter's Paddock on the night of the murder?
00:23:15Well, of course I'm sure.
00:23:17You're sure you didn't drive someone else?
00:23:19I couldn't very well mistake who I was driving.
00:23:21Your memory isn't letting you down?
00:23:23No, it's not.
00:23:23But you're not infallible.
00:23:24You don't remember everything, do you?
00:23:26How can he tell you that he doesn't remember everything?
00:23:28What he doesn't remember, he will have forgotten.
00:23:30So, of course, he'll think that what he does remember is everything.
00:23:34Yes, my lord.
00:23:36Yes, I take your point.
00:23:37And I hope you will be coming to yours.
00:23:40Yes, my lord.
00:23:41You went on holiday with Matthews last year, did you not?
00:23:46Yes.
00:23:47The Canary Islands.
00:23:48That's right.
00:23:49For a month.
00:23:50For a month.
00:23:50For a month.
00:23:50Yes.
00:23:52You must know each other very well.
00:23:55Well, I suppose you could say I'm a bit of a friend, yeah.
00:23:58A close friend would be more accurate, wouldn't it?
00:24:00Well, if you want to put it that way.
00:24:03And you're asking us to believe that this man, owing over a thousand pounds to Matthews,
00:24:07would ask you, one of Matthews' close friends, to drive him somewhere?
00:24:11That's what happened.
00:24:12It's a bleeding fit-up.
00:24:13Who's paying you, the filth or the family?
00:24:15I warned you already, Stockwell.
00:24:16All right, Robin's made a mistake.
00:24:18This one's lining his teeth.
00:24:19I've heard of being fit-ed up.
00:24:20That is quite enough.
00:24:21This is Taylor May.
00:24:22This is a Savile Row job.
00:24:24This frame never came off the plate.
00:24:25Mr. Elliot, I cannot allow this to continue.
00:24:28If I might speak to him, my lord.
00:24:29I want another judge.
00:24:31That is impossible.
00:24:32Well, then I think you're bent on all.
00:24:34I want a fair trial.
00:24:35Take him down.
00:24:37I want the jury to know I've never done this.
00:24:39I want a public inquiry.
00:24:42I want the press to know I've never done it.
00:24:47Shall we continue?
00:24:49My lord.
00:24:50Mr. Margham, has your evidence to this court been dictated by Paul Matthews?
00:24:56No, it hasn't.
00:24:57A reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of Charles Robbins' killer, was it not?
00:25:02Yes.
00:25:03One thousand pounds offered by the dead man's father.
00:25:07That's right.
00:25:07Now, is it correct that Superintendent Collins, the detective in charge of investigations into this case,
00:25:14recommended that you should get this money?
00:25:16Yes.
00:25:17Have you, in fact, received this money?
00:25:19Yes, I have.
00:25:21And did you, on May the 6th, withdraw 500 pounds from your bank account in 10-pound notes?
00:25:29Yes, sir.
00:25:30I beg your pardon?
00:25:31I said, yes, I did.
00:25:32Yes, you did.
00:25:33And did you give that 500 pounds to Superintendent Collins?
00:25:36No, I certainly did not.
00:25:40No further questions.
00:25:42Goulding, do you wish to re-examine?
00:25:45Uh, indeed I do, my lord.
00:25:48Mr. Margham, what did you do with that money?
00:25:51I owed it to a bookie.
00:25:53You drew it out to pay off a gambling debt?
00:25:55Yeah, that's right.
00:25:56Yes.
00:25:57And a gambling man has a lot of ups and downs, am I right?
00:26:00Yes, you're right.
00:26:01Are you much of a gambler, Mr. Markham?
00:26:04I suppose you could call me semi-professional.
00:26:07And you're quite successful a lot of the time?
00:26:09Yes.
00:26:09Yes.
00:26:10And when you do win, are you the kind of person who likes to save his money to put it aside for a rainy day?
00:26:15No.
00:26:16You may rather spend it on good clothes and sports cars, that sort of thing.
00:26:22Yes, that's right.
00:26:23Yes.
00:26:24Thank you, Mr. Markham.
00:26:25I've no further questions, my lord.
00:26:46I swear by almighty God that the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
00:27:03William Stuart Collins, Detective Superintendent, attached to the Fulchester Division, my lord.
00:27:07Detective Superintendent.
00:27:08One moment.
00:27:10Superintendent, I've just been informed that attempts have been made overnight to interfere with the jury.
00:27:15Can you confirm this?
00:27:16I understand that to be so, my lord.
00:27:18Yes.
00:27:18One of them believed that he was followed home, and another received an anonymous telephone call.
00:27:23It wasn't my lord.
00:27:23I can tell you.
00:27:24Be quiet, Stockwell.
00:27:25I'm sorry.
00:27:25I was just saying that.
00:27:26Be quiet.
00:27:28Now, members of the jury, I shall be asking for added precautions.
00:27:31You will be escorted between your homes and this court by police officers.
00:27:34If anyone should try to communicate with you in any way about this case, you must at once inform the police.
00:27:41Do you understand?
00:27:43Very well.
00:27:44Mr. Golding.
00:27:44Detective Superintendent Collins, you've been in charge of investigations into this case?
00:27:49Yes, I have.
00:27:50Yes.
00:27:50Will you tell the court what happened on the evening of Tuesday, the 15th of April of this year?
00:27:55As a result of information given to me, I went to number three, West Road, Fulchester, the accused home.
00:28:01He was there alone, apart from his mother, whom I knew to be an invalid.
00:28:05He said she was asleep upstairs.
00:28:08He was wearing dark glasses.
00:28:10I asked him to take them off.
00:28:11He had bruising around the left eye.
00:28:14I told him I was arresting him on suspicion of murdering Charles Robbins, and I cautioned him.
00:28:20He said, you would like to see me go down on a tasty one.
00:28:22What did you take that to be?
00:28:24Go to prison on a serious charge, my lord.
00:28:26Then he said, don't write this down, because I'll deny it.
00:28:31I have an alibi for this one as well.
00:28:33You don't object to this, Mr. Elias?
00:28:36No, my lord.
00:28:37I shall return to this in my cross-examination.
00:28:39Very well.
00:28:40Now, you said, he said he had an alibi for this as well.
00:28:43As well as what?
00:28:45Well, he had been a suspect in a previous case, my lord, but he was able to prove that
00:28:48he was nowhere near the crime.
00:28:50I asked him what his alibi was.
00:28:52He said, I'll think of something.
00:28:54I never said that.
00:28:55I told him where I was.
00:28:56Mr. Elliot, I don't want to have to send him down again.
00:28:59Give me the truth, brother, and that will prove it.
00:29:01That will do, Stockwell.
00:29:03I'm afraid we do not use those methods.
00:29:05You may well be afraid.
00:29:06It'll prove I haven't done it.
00:29:08Although it would be with some reluctance, I'm quite prepared to hear the remainder of
00:29:12this case in your absence.
00:29:20My lord.
00:29:21So, Stockwell said he'd think up some alibi.
00:29:25That's right.
00:29:26I took him to Fultchester Police Station.
00:29:29Later, I cautioned him and inquired if he'd like to say anything.
00:29:31I'll make a written statement.
00:29:33He made no reply.
00:29:34And later, at an identification parade, the accused was picked out
00:29:37by both Mr. Robbins and Mr. Markham.
00:29:39That's correct.
00:29:41Yes.
00:29:41And fingerprints belonging to Stockwell were found on a marble-topped coffee table
00:29:45in a study at Charters Paddock.
00:29:47Yes.
00:29:48Such prints were found.
00:29:49Yes.
00:29:49Thank you, Superintendent.
00:29:51Dives on all.
00:29:52That must have cost somebody something.
00:29:53You've been with the police a long time, Superintendent?
00:29:57Since I left school.
00:29:59It's a curious profession, isn't it?
00:30:00How do you mean?
00:30:01Well, the dedication required.
00:30:03It's a job worth doing?
00:30:05No, but the sacrifice is.
00:30:06It's a job that doesn't give you much time to yourself.
00:30:09An officer has a life outside the force, like anyone else.
00:30:12But to some officers, hours mean nothing.
00:30:15Suppose so.
00:30:16Especially when they're on a case and the hunt is on.
00:30:18You can't just clock off at six.
00:30:20You yourself sometimes work a hundred-hour week, I'm told.
00:30:24Suppose so.
00:30:24Particularly when you're on a murder case.
00:30:27You don't count up hours.
00:30:29No, indeed.
00:30:30And when you're on such a case, you don't even go home, do you?
00:30:34Oh, yes, I go home.
00:30:35I don't live in the station.
00:30:37Don't you keep a bed in your office?
00:30:39Yes, I do.
00:30:40Then you do live at the station sometimes.
00:30:42Well, if something comes up, an emergency, and I stay late, then I sleep in the office.
00:30:46Quite frequently, you never go to bed at all, do you?
00:30:49If we're after someone, then I worry on it.
00:30:53If my information is correct, when you're on a case, you keep an identikit picture of
00:30:58your suspect on the wall beside your bed.
00:31:02Yes, I do.
00:31:03Why do you do that?
00:31:06Well, I look at the picture and I try to visualize the villain, try to get inside his mind.
00:31:12A sort of obsessional approach.
00:31:14More of a psychological approach.
00:31:17When do you retire, Superintendent?
00:31:19Four months.
00:31:20And you'd like to go out with a hundred percent record of detection?
00:31:24Of course I would.
00:31:25Now, you've worked on 35 murder cases, I understand.
00:31:27Mm-hmm.
00:31:28Like the Mounties, you've got your man in 34 cases.
00:31:31Every one.
00:31:32No acquittals?
00:31:34No failures.
00:31:36You look upon an acquittal as a failure?
00:31:38If a man's guilty.
00:31:39Well, if a man is guilty, he shouldn't get off.
00:31:41One hopes so.
00:31:43How do you feel when a man you think to be guilty goes free?
00:31:48Well, it makes you feel a bit sick.
00:31:50Months of hard work, following up every lead, every strand of information.
00:31:54Hours of waiting.
00:31:55I get him.
00:31:58Then he gets in the dock and starts acting.
00:32:01How do you mean?
00:32:02A man in the dock is different to the man on the crime.
00:32:05We see him in a suit with his hair combed.
00:32:07On his Sunday school, best behavior.
00:32:10Talking quietly.
00:32:12Butter wouldn't melt.
00:32:13And we have to pick up the broken pieces.
00:32:16I mean, I'm the only person here who watched the brains being pushed back into Robin's head after he'd had them blown out.
00:32:21But you feel passionate about violent crimes.
00:32:24Any thinking human being feels strongly about violence.
00:32:28Do you get emotionally involved with all your cases?
00:32:31Involved?
00:32:33Emotion gets in the way of logic.
00:32:35Indeed.
00:32:35It might lead some people to take the law into their own hands.
00:32:39Well, possibly.
00:32:41Mm-hmm.
00:32:41I mean, it could turn a policeman into a vigilante.
00:32:44Couldn't it?
00:32:45I don't know any policemen of that nature.
00:32:48Now, what's your opinion of those who say,
00:32:49Well, he's a known criminal.
00:32:53He should have been put away years ago.
00:32:55Doesn't really matter if he did this one.
00:32:56It'll make up for all the ones he got away with.
00:32:58I think that would be a highly dangerous ethic.
00:33:00Yes.
00:33:01It might force a detective to concoct evidence in order to be sure of a conviction.
00:33:05We don't work that way.
00:33:08Some detectives eat and drink with criminals, don't they?
00:33:11I expect you yourself know many professional criminals on a first-name basis.
00:33:14Oh, yes, I do.
00:33:15Yes, of course you do.
00:33:16The detective shares an interest with the villain.
00:33:20Crime.
00:33:21And sometimes, alas, he changes sides for a while.
00:33:26I don't follow.
00:33:27Becomes a criminal himself.
00:33:29Bribes.
00:33:30Shares of the reward.
00:33:31I know all these references to shares of the reward, bribes.
00:33:35They're all my loner's friend's comments.
00:33:37Yes, I think that Mr. Elliot, as part of an almost general attack on the forces of law and order,
00:33:42is in fact suggesting that the superintendent has done these things.
00:33:46My lord, I'm trying to defend the accused to the best of my ability.
00:33:50I'm not making a general attack on the forces of law and order,
00:33:53but if we cannot question those appointed to uphold the law,
00:33:57we're in a situation akin to that in a fascist state.
00:34:00We create citizens who are above suspicion.
00:34:03Yes, I was not suggesting that you should not question the police.
00:34:07If you think you are doing the best that can be done for your client,
00:34:10you had better get on.
00:34:11Thank you, my lord.
00:34:13Now, superintendent, that conversation when you arrested Stockwell,
00:34:17it didn't happen in those terms, did it?
00:34:19Yes, it did.
00:34:19As you told it to us earlier.
00:34:21That's right.
00:34:22With Stockwell saying,
00:34:23you'd like to see me go down on a tasty one.
00:34:26Don't write this down because I'll deny it.
00:34:28I've got an alibi for this one as well.
00:34:30Now, he never said that, did he?
00:34:31Yes, he did.
00:34:32Now, a conversation took place, but not as you told it, though.
00:34:35Exactly as I told it.
00:34:37Did he not tell you he spent the evening in with the sick mother upstairs
00:34:39and you said to him,
00:34:40the firm will break you this time?
00:34:43The firm?
00:34:44Meaning the policeman, my lord.
00:34:45I said no such thing.
00:34:47When asked to make a statement concerning his alibi, he made no reply.
00:34:50He stood by his right to silence.
00:34:52That was his right.
00:34:54As you say.
00:34:56Not as I say.
00:34:57As the law says.
00:34:58Yeah.
00:34:58Am I correct in saying that you're critical of the right of silence?
00:35:04Well, to be frank, like many other informed people,
00:35:06I believe it to be of advantage only to the guilty.
00:35:10The passage of time gives rise to some of the highest paid fiction this side of Hollywood.
00:35:14Not only are you critical of the law conferring the right of silence,
00:35:17but you don't respect it either, do you?
00:35:19I have the greatest respect for the law.
00:35:20Except for the accused being allowed the right of silence.
00:35:22I observe it even when I don't respect it.
00:35:25Well, the passage of time didn't do Stockwell much good, did it?
00:35:28In what way?
00:35:28Well, he didn't come up with much of an alibi, did he?
00:35:31When did he tell you his alibi?
00:35:33When his solicitor was present.
00:35:35Just what did he say?
00:35:37Well, he said his mother had had a nasty turn.
00:35:39The doctor came about six, gave her a sedative, and she went to sleep.
00:35:43He claimed to have stayed home in case she woke up and needed it.
00:35:47But she didn't wake up.
00:35:48Not until the next morning.
00:35:49And no one saw him?
00:35:51No one called on him?
00:35:52No one telephoned him?
00:35:54That's what he said?
00:35:55Yeah.
00:35:55And you're saying that this man, who cannot produce a single witness to back up his story,
00:36:00told you he'd got an alibi?
00:36:01It doesn't make much sense, does it?
00:36:02Ah, well, you're moving into a theoretical area now.
00:36:04Well, if you have a theory, Superintendent, please enlighten us.
00:36:07Well, if I were a criminal, I might think it a good idea
00:36:11to formulate a weak alibi to give my defense a point to fight on.
00:36:16I see.
00:36:17Now, when you went to arrest Stockwell, you went into his house on your own, didn't you?
00:36:22Yes.
00:36:23You were going to arrest someone whom you suspected of having committed a brutal murder.
00:36:28Why did you go alone?
00:36:29I didn't.
00:36:30There were officers outside.
00:36:32But why didn't they go in with you?
00:36:34I knew Stockwell's mother was in the house.
00:36:36I knew she had a heart condition.
00:36:38I didn't want to upset her.
00:36:40I'll consider it.
00:36:40You went in alone so you could have a quick word in privacy with Stockwell, didn't you?
00:36:43No, I didn't.
00:36:44And you said to him, where's your bruise, laddie?
00:36:45I did not.
00:36:46Then you pinned him up against the wall.
00:36:47I did not.
00:36:47Took a swing at his left eye.
00:36:49No, I didn't.
00:36:49And then you said, now you've got the right sort of bruise, laddie.
00:36:52I did not.
00:36:55On this identification parade, did the other men have bruised left eyes?
00:37:02They wore makeup.
00:37:04Makeup?
00:37:04You mean the accused went on an identification parade with 11 other men wearing eye makeup?
00:37:09Made up to make it look as though their eyes were bruised.
00:37:12Was it a good makeup?
00:37:13Yes.
00:37:15Might have been better if they'd worn eye patches, don't you agree?
00:37:17It was felt eye patches might distort the face.
00:37:20Yes, then Mr. Robbins might not have identified the accused from the photograph you showed him.
00:37:24Mr. Robbins saw hundreds of photographs.
00:37:26The men who were not in prison were pointed out.
00:37:28How many possibles did he pick out?
00:37:30Five possibles apart from the accused.
00:37:33And did you say something like, it's one of these.
00:37:35How about this one?
00:37:37I did not.
00:37:39Now, as to the way the identification parade was conducted,
00:37:41Stockwell had a donkey jacket on to start with,
00:37:43but you told him to change into a leather jacket,
00:37:46similar to the one the murderer had worn, correct?
00:37:47I asked Stockwell where he wanted to stand on the line.
00:37:51He stood and chose to stand third from the left.
00:37:55He then asked if he could change his jacket.
00:37:58It happened to be a leather jacket that he chose.
00:38:03Mr. Robbins walked along the line, then, without pointing anyone out.
00:38:06Right.
00:38:07And then he asked each man to say,
00:38:10you've got everything here, haven't you?
00:38:11Yes, he wanted to be quite sure.
00:38:13And then he pointed to Stockwell.
00:38:14Yes.
00:38:15Here's the extraordinary point.
00:38:17I mean, the man he heard in his son's study spoke with an Irish accent.
00:38:21Now, it's perfectly obvious to everyone that Stockwell comes from...
00:38:22Perhaps the murderer put a voice on.
00:38:25Far from making the identification quite sure,
00:38:28he could only have put Mr. Robbins into some confusion.
00:38:30He did not hesitate in his identification.
00:38:32So the voice test was pointless.
00:38:33Mr. Robbins made an identification of the accused.
00:38:36And Robert Markham did the same.
00:38:38That's correct.
00:38:40Is Markham known to you?
00:38:43How do you mean?
00:38:44Kind of superintendent, you go about with him, don't you?
00:38:48Well, I wouldn't put it like that.
00:38:49Well, how would you put it?
00:38:51I have a working relationship with him.
00:38:53A working relationship?
00:38:55My lord, my only reluctance in answering this question
00:38:57is because of the professional nature of this relationship.
00:39:00Sometimes a detective is only as good as his informants.
00:39:06That's the kind of relationship I have with this man.
00:39:08I see.
00:39:08Markham.
00:39:10Let's move on to something else, shall we?
00:39:13Tell us about the last case that you worked on,
00:39:16the one you haven't solved.
00:39:17How is this relevant to the case that we're dealing with, Mr. Elliot?
00:39:20My lord, it is not unconnected, as you will see.
00:39:22Hmm.
00:39:23Very well.
00:39:23Well, six months ago,
00:39:26more than 100,000 pounds worth of diamonds
00:39:28were stolen from a security van.
00:39:31The guard was shot in the head.
00:39:33He's not dead, just a vegetable.
00:39:36Robbers were not caught.
00:39:38I believe the murdered man, Charles Robbins, was questioned.
00:39:40He was.
00:39:41You suspected that he had received the stolen diamonds.
00:39:43He was questioned in that respect.
00:39:45Stockwell was also questioned.
00:39:47That's right.
00:39:48You suspected him of being directly involved with this crime.
00:39:50Yes, but his alibi stood up.
00:39:52Do you still believe that Stockwell was connected with this robbery?
00:39:54I've just said that his alibi was substantiated.
00:39:56Do you accept his alibi was true?
00:39:58Or do you perhaps think,
00:39:59well, we'll get him for this one,
00:40:00because you believe he did the last one?
00:40:02I might remind you his fingerprints were found in the victim's study.
00:40:05I shall be dealing with the fingerprints in due course, thank you, Superintendent.
00:40:07You should deal with them now.
00:40:08I'm asking the question, Superintendent.
00:40:10You're not speaking to one of your criminal friends now.
00:40:12Mr. Elliot.
00:40:13Superintendent, please.
00:40:14Let us try to keep this in the right key.
00:40:18I do apologize, my lord.
00:40:20Now, in December 1973,
00:40:25several officers asked to be taken off
00:40:27a murder squad that you were in charge of, correct?
00:40:32Yes.
00:40:33What reason did they give?
00:40:35Well, that I worked them too hard.
00:40:38There were family troubles.
00:40:41I did.
00:40:41I drove them too hard.
00:40:43What other...
00:40:44I mellowed after that.
00:40:45I eased up on my men after that.
00:40:47What other reason did your squad leave you for?
00:40:49None that I'm aware of.
00:40:52I'm sure you drove your men too hard,
00:40:53and I'm sure there were family problems,
00:40:55but there was something else.
00:40:57I was never told.
00:40:58Then I shall tell you.
00:40:59You threaten your suspects when they refuse to give you information, don't you?
00:41:01No.
00:41:02Well, one of those men on your squad, one Sergeant Longhurst,
00:41:06he asked to be transferred because he was with you
00:41:08when you threatened to plant incriminating evidence on a suspect.
00:41:13Is this true?
00:41:14Huh?
00:41:15Is it true?
00:41:16Well, yes.
00:41:20Do you see, it's not that simple.
00:41:24In that case, I knew the man had been seen near the scene of the crime.
00:41:30Now, I thought he might be the lookout.
00:41:33The gang used jelly knives.
00:41:34Three innocent men were blown up.
00:41:35Now, I leaned on a petty crook
00:41:39to bring a gang of evil men into the dock,
00:41:42to rid society of scum.
00:41:45Now, I got the information,
00:41:47and the case against those men was built.
00:41:51And the drawback is,
00:41:52you can't use the confession against the man himself.
00:41:54But that is not important
00:41:55as long as the big operators go down.
00:41:57What you said to that petty criminal was this.
00:42:00If you don't talk,
00:42:01I'm going to plant your fingerprint on a lump of gelignite,
00:42:04and then we'll have you bang to rights on a murder charge.
00:42:07Well, it's a dirty game.
00:42:09We're playing against evil men.
00:42:12I mean, you don't fight to the Queensberry rules.
00:42:15Society has got to make up its mind.
00:42:17You want anarchy?
00:42:18Right.
00:42:18I'll sit in my office and do nothing.
00:42:20Well, the superintendent,
00:42:21we've finally agreed about one thing.
00:42:22You do not fight by the Queensberry rules.
00:42:26And Mr. Robbins, without his glasses,
00:42:27could not identify his son's murderer.
00:42:30Markham, who says he drove the accused
00:42:32to the scene of the crime,
00:42:33he works for an organization
00:42:34who have the accused on their wanted list.
00:42:37And that leaves the fingerprint evidence
00:42:39that you were so anxious about.
00:42:42Those vital prints found on the coffee table
00:42:44in the murdered man's study.
00:42:47Superintendent, did you plant those fingerprints?
00:42:50I did not.
00:42:51The truth is this.
00:42:52You're convinced that Stockwell is guilty
00:42:55of some other crime,
00:42:56so you've no compunction
00:42:57in rounding off your career
00:42:58by bending the rules further
00:43:00than ever before.
00:43:01I may have worked outside the rules
00:43:03in my career.
00:43:04I may have bullied,
00:43:05I may have threatened,
00:43:05but I have never falsified evidence.
00:43:07Nor have I ever tried
00:43:08to get a man framed or fitted up.
00:43:11Everything I have done has been in the cause of justice.
00:43:14My methods of getting information,
00:43:16those I mix with,
00:43:18it's all been part of a war
00:43:19against a criminal element in society.
00:43:21I've spent my whole life on the force.
00:43:27It's been my life.
00:43:28Nothing else has been as important.
00:43:31If it came to a choice,
00:43:32then it would be my work.
00:43:34Now, I may have threatened
00:43:35to plant fingerprints,
00:43:37but I would never actually do such a thing.
00:43:39nor would I use against a man
00:43:42any evidence obtained by a threat.
00:43:44Detection is bluff.
00:43:47If I ever did anything like that,
00:43:48then I would be as bad
00:43:49as all those criminals
00:43:50I have spent my life fighting against.
00:43:53But the line between the zealous policeman
00:43:55and the corrupt one
00:43:56is very fine, don't you agree?
00:43:58My lord, if my learned friend
00:43:59is attempting to suggest
00:44:00that Superintendent Collins is corrupt,
00:44:01then he should do so in plain terms.
00:44:03What are you suggesting, Mr. Elliot?
00:44:05My lord, I'm just coming to the point.
00:44:08Superintendent, are you aware
00:44:09that on May the 5th
00:44:10Robert Markham received
00:44:11£1,000 for giving the name
00:44:13of the man he alleges
00:44:14he drove to Charters Paddock?
00:44:16Yes.
00:44:17And it was on your recommendation
00:44:18that Markham receive this money?
00:44:20It was.
00:44:21And I am correct, am I not,
00:44:22in saying that on the 7th of May
00:44:24you put a deposit on a small boat?
00:44:27Yes.
00:44:28And I'm correct in saying
00:44:29that that deposit was for £500?
00:44:31Yes.
00:44:32Now, on May the 6th
00:44:33Robert Markham
00:44:34had withdrawn £500
00:44:36from his bank account,
00:44:37had he not?
00:44:38I have no idea.
00:44:39Did not you and he
00:44:42share the reward
00:44:43for having got your man?
00:44:45I'd been saving
00:44:46for that boat
00:44:47for a long time.
00:44:50Now, I'd be pretty stupid,
00:44:51wouldn't I,
00:44:52if I were guilty
00:44:52to bring the money
00:44:54into the open?
00:44:55But you had no idea
00:44:56you were being watched,
00:44:57had you?
00:44:58Chief Inspector Stott,
00:45:14you're the fingerprint expert
00:45:15in this case.
00:45:16Let me put a hypothetical
00:45:18question to you.
00:45:20I'm a criminal.
00:45:22I'm going to a rule.
00:45:24Are you following me?
00:45:26Oh, yes, I think so.
00:45:27I didn't think you were listening.
00:45:29Oh, yes.
00:45:29You're a criminal
00:45:30and you've gone into a room.
00:45:32That's it.
00:45:34Now, I, uh,
00:45:34my fingerprints are found
00:45:35on a coffee table
00:45:37in that room.
00:45:39Does that necessarily prove
00:45:40that I've been there?
00:45:42Definitely.
00:45:42You just told us
00:45:43you went in.
00:45:44Am I not correct
00:45:45in saying that the print
00:45:46could be a forgery?
00:45:48And who would do that?
00:45:49Please answer my question,
00:45:51Mr. Stott.
00:45:52Well, it can be done.
00:45:53Now, will you tell us
00:45:54how it can be done?
00:45:55I'd rather not.
00:45:56He has said the prints
00:45:57can be forged.
00:45:58Why must we know
00:46:00how it's done?
00:46:01Well, it's important to know,
00:46:02my lord,
00:46:02not only if it can be done,
00:46:03but whether, in fact,
00:46:04it was done in this case.
00:46:05Very well.
00:46:07How might it be done?
00:46:09Well, it might be
00:46:11a Xerox copy,
00:46:12if you already had
00:46:13a set of fingerprints.
00:46:14As you would have
00:46:15in a police file?
00:46:15Yes, you could use
00:46:17the Xerox photostatic process
00:46:18to make more prints.
00:46:20You see, in this process,
00:46:22minute carbon-coated beads
00:46:23are laid on paper
00:46:24and fused there by heat,
00:46:25but they're not
00:46:26permanently fixed there.
00:46:27Anyone can lift an impression
00:46:29from the rubber-like surface
00:46:30using scotch tape.
00:46:32You see, the carbon particles...
00:46:33A moment, please, Inspector.
00:46:35My lord, if I might interrupt.
00:46:38An independent expert
00:46:39was engaged
00:46:40by my instructing solicitors
00:46:41to make microscopic
00:46:43and chemical tests
00:46:43of the prints found
00:46:44on the coffee table.
00:46:45Now, this expert
00:46:46has been away
00:46:47and, unfortunately,
00:46:48this report
00:46:49has only just reached me.
00:46:50And how does
00:46:50what your expert say
00:46:52affect the present evidence?
00:46:54He concludes
00:46:55that there is no possibility
00:46:58of the prints
00:46:59found being Xerox forgeries.
00:47:02I see.
00:47:03My lord,
00:47:04now that these supposed
00:47:05forgeries have been discounted
00:47:06by my learned friend's
00:47:07own expert,
00:47:08perhaps he will stop
00:47:09this barrage
00:47:10of unfounded allegations
00:47:11against the police.
00:47:12My lord,
00:47:12I would like to explore
00:47:13this matter a little further.
00:47:15The fingerprints found
00:47:16at Charter's Paddock
00:47:17are of the utmost importance
00:47:18in this case.
00:47:19Hmm.
00:47:21Very well, Mr. Elliot.
00:47:22Thank you, my lord.
00:47:24Now, Mr. Stott,
00:47:25is there any other method
00:47:27of planting a fingerprint?
00:47:29I don't follow.
00:47:31Come, haven't you developed
00:47:32a new system
00:47:32in the past few years
00:47:33where you use
00:47:34a piece of sticking plaster?
00:47:35Oh, adhesive tape, yes.
00:47:36Yes.
00:47:37You put it on the fingerprint
00:47:38and presto,
00:47:39you've got the print on tape.
00:47:40Oh, not all of it.
00:47:41Some of the mark
00:47:42is left on the article,
00:47:42but the majority
00:47:43comes away with the tape, yes?
00:47:44Yeah, and then you marry
00:47:45the print to a piece
00:47:46of transparent material.
00:47:47Yes.
00:47:48So you can take a print
00:47:49off a wall
00:47:49and bring it into court
00:47:51on a piece of glass.
00:47:52Yes, yes.
00:47:53We use perspex.
00:47:54Well, equally then,
00:47:55you could take a fingerprint
00:47:56off an innocent object
00:47:58and transfer it
00:47:59to, say,
00:48:00a coffee table
00:48:02where it would become
00:48:02a piece of incriminating evidence.
00:48:04But you'd have to be
00:48:06in a position
00:48:07to get hold of the fingerprints
00:48:08in the first place.
00:48:10Well, you could have a drink
00:48:11with a chap in a bar
00:48:12and wrap up his glass
00:48:14or the glass
00:48:15and then take the print
00:48:16off at home.
00:48:17Well, if you wrap the glass,
00:48:18you'd wipe the prints.
00:48:20Well, what if you did it
00:48:20straight away?
00:48:22Well, how could you be sure
00:48:23that there weren't
00:48:23other prints on the glass?
00:48:25The barman, say.
00:48:26How difficult is this process?
00:48:29Well, my lord,
00:48:29for someone without
00:48:30fingerprint experience
00:48:31to find the print he wants,
00:48:33lift it without damaging it,
00:48:34plant it
00:48:35so as to fool an expert,
00:48:37I'd say pretty impossible.
00:48:39The only candidate
00:48:39for such a job
00:48:40would be another
00:48:40fingerprint expert.
00:48:41Has Superintendent Collins
00:48:43had fingerprint experience?
00:48:45Yes.
00:48:46So Collins might have done it.
00:48:48Why would he do that?
00:48:49Did he not have the opportunity?
00:48:51No.
00:48:52We arrived together.
00:48:53Of course,
00:48:54I couldn't start my work
00:48:54until the others,
00:48:55the doctor, pathologist
00:48:56and photographers,
00:48:57had finished.
00:48:58But I was there
00:48:59to see where they put
00:49:00their fingerprints.
00:49:01Well, that must have
00:49:02taken some time.
00:49:03And did you not
00:49:05leave the room at all?
00:49:06Well, I went out
00:49:07for a smoke
00:49:07and a breath of air.
00:49:09Well, who was watching then?
00:49:10My assistant,
00:49:11the forensic officer.
00:49:12And Superintendent Collins?
00:49:14Yes.
00:49:16Precisely.
00:49:17Look, before a fingerprint
00:49:19comes into court,
00:49:20it's checked
00:49:20and double-checked.
00:49:22An expert might
00:49:22get past that check.
00:49:24If a plant's
00:49:25to take place,
00:49:26it'd have to be
00:49:26a conspiracy
00:49:27involving nearly
00:49:28all the senior officers
00:49:29and all the civilians
00:49:29working in the division.
00:49:30Well, an expert
00:49:31might fool everyone.
00:49:33I'd put the odds
00:49:34against anyone
00:49:34getting away
00:49:35with planting a fingerprint
00:49:36at 10 million to one.
00:49:38Would you give those odds
00:49:39if our experts
00:49:39set up a test for you?
00:49:41No police officer
00:49:42is going to plant
00:49:43a fingerprint.
00:49:45Do you own that gun?
00:49:47I don't own any gun.
00:49:48Do you know
00:49:49who owns it?
00:49:50No, I don't.
00:49:50Have you ever seen it before?
00:49:52No.
00:49:54Did you have anything
00:49:55to do with the murder
00:49:56of Charles Robbins?
00:49:57No, sir, I didn't.
00:49:58I'm completely innocent.
00:49:59As I said,
00:49:59I'm willing to take
00:50:00any test,
00:50:01truth, drug,
00:50:02lie detector,
00:50:02anything.
00:50:03I've already told you
00:50:03we don't go in
00:50:04for that sort of thing.
00:50:06Were you at Charters Paddock
00:50:07on the night of the murder?
00:50:09No, sir,
00:50:09I've never been
00:50:09to Charters Paddock.
00:50:11Had you ever heard
00:50:11of Charles Robbins?
00:50:12Yes, sir,
00:50:13I've heard of him.
00:50:13In what connection?
00:50:14In connection
00:50:15with his bedding shops.
00:50:16And do you know him
00:50:16to talk to?
00:50:17Just to pass the time of day.
00:50:19Now,
00:50:20will you please tell us
00:50:20what happened
00:50:21on the evening
00:50:21of the 15th of April,
00:50:23the day after the murder?
00:50:25I was in the sitting room.
00:50:27Superintendent Collins
00:50:28comes in.
00:50:29He says he's arrested me
00:50:30for the Robbins business.
00:50:31I'd read about it
00:50:31in the morning papers,
00:50:32like,
00:50:32I said,
00:50:34go on,
00:50:34chance'll be a fine thing.
00:50:36I told him
00:50:37I'd spent the evening
00:50:37in with me mother,
00:50:39sick upstairs.
00:50:40You didn't say
00:50:41I've got an alibi
00:50:42for this as well?
00:50:43I'm hardly likely
00:50:43to say that,
00:50:44am I?
00:50:44I mean,
00:50:44I didn't have one,
00:50:45like if I was out
00:50:46with people.
00:50:47Well,
00:50:47what did you say?
00:50:49I said,
00:50:50you've got it
00:50:51in for me.
00:50:52You'd like to send me
00:50:53away on a tasty one.
00:50:54What did you mean
00:50:55by that?
00:50:56Well,
00:50:56at the time
00:50:57of the diamond robbery,
00:50:58you know,
00:50:58the one six months back.
00:51:00Well,
00:51:01he thought I'd done it,
00:51:02even after it was proved
00:51:03there was no chance.
00:51:05He said to me,
00:51:05at the time,
00:51:07you'll be back in here
00:51:08again one day,
00:51:08laddie,
00:51:08and I'll have you.
00:51:09I'll put you away
00:51:10for the duration.
00:51:12He had a vendetta
00:51:13against me.
00:51:14He even had a mugshot
00:51:15of me up on his wall
00:51:16months after it was all over.
00:51:18Copper told me that.
00:51:20He said,
00:51:20kick your nose clean
00:51:21or the big bad super
00:51:22will come and gobble you up.
00:51:23The coppery had a sense
00:51:26of humour like.
00:51:28And what was
00:51:28Superintendent Collins' reply
00:51:30when you told him
00:51:30that you'd been home
00:51:31on the night of the murder?
00:51:32He wasn't interested.
00:51:33He was just writing
00:51:34in his book.
00:51:34I said,
00:51:35what are you doing,
00:51:35writing your life story
00:51:36or you're making
00:51:37a verbal up for me?
00:51:38That would be
00:51:38your verbal statement.
00:51:39Well,
00:51:41he said my card was dotted
00:51:42because of a set
00:51:43of dabs he'd planted.
00:51:45Meaning fingerprints?
00:51:46Yes.
00:51:47Are you sure
00:51:48he actually used
00:51:49the word planted?
00:51:50That's what he said.
00:51:52Then what happened?
00:51:54Well,
00:51:54he pinned me up
00:51:55against the wall.
00:51:55He said,
00:51:56where's your bruise, laddie?
00:51:58And then he took
00:51:58a swing at me left eye.
00:52:00And then he said,
00:52:01by the time you reach
00:52:02the station,
00:52:03you'll have the right bruise.
00:52:04And why did you exercise
00:52:06your right of silence
00:52:06at the police station?
00:52:08Well,
00:52:08Colin said my card was dotted.
00:52:09It didn't look so good.
00:52:11I just waited
00:52:11for a solicitor.
00:52:12And that was the only reason
00:52:13you stood by your
00:52:14right of silence?
00:52:15Yes, sir.
00:52:16It wasn't to give you time
00:52:17to concoct an alibi?
00:52:19No.
00:52:20Did you,
00:52:21did you see your mother
00:52:22at all that evening?
00:52:24I went up at about eight
00:52:25and again about nine,
00:52:27but she was sleeping.
00:52:28So you were not
00:52:29in Charles Robbins
00:52:30that night?
00:52:31In his study,
00:52:32speaking in an Irish accent?
00:52:34No.
00:52:35Now,
00:52:35on the identification parade,
00:52:36Mr. Robbins Sr.
00:52:37asked everyone to speak.
00:52:38Did you use
00:52:39an Irish accent
00:52:40on that occasion?
00:52:41I used my own voice.
00:52:43Yet after he heard you speak,
00:52:44he picked you out.
00:52:45Well,
00:52:45he was looking at me
00:52:46leather jacket
00:52:46rather than me face.
00:52:51You were suggesting
00:52:52that the murdered man's father
00:52:54identified a leather jacket
00:52:55and not you?
00:52:56Yes.
00:52:57Is that why you chose
00:52:58the leather jacket?
00:53:00What?
00:53:01Is that why you took
00:53:02your donkey jacket off
00:53:03and put on the leather one?
00:53:04I don't understand
00:53:05what you mean.
00:53:06Well,
00:53:06I'm suggesting
00:53:07that you expected
00:53:07Mr. Robbins
00:53:08to recognise you
00:53:09and that is why
00:53:10you changed jackets
00:53:11in order that you
00:53:12would be able to claim
00:53:12later in court
00:53:13that Mr. Robbins
00:53:14picked you out
00:53:14purely on the strength
00:53:15of this leather jacket.
00:53:16I didn't know
00:53:17the murderer
00:53:17was wearing
00:53:18a leather jacket.
00:53:19But you've just told us
00:53:19that you read
00:53:20the morning papers?
00:53:21Yes.
00:53:21Yes,
00:53:21and in the morning editions
00:53:22there was a description
00:53:24of the murderer's clothing,
00:53:25was there not?
00:53:26I didn't remember.
00:53:28Anyway,
00:53:28I think Colin
00:53:28should have heard
00:53:29some others
00:53:29wearing leather jackets
00:53:30in that parade.
00:53:31Indeed.
00:53:33Now,
00:53:34you say that you've
00:53:35never been to
00:53:36Charters Paddock.
00:53:37No,
00:53:37never.
00:53:37But you did know
00:53:38Charles Robbins.
00:53:39Well,
00:53:39not really.
00:53:41If I saw him,
00:53:41he'd nod,
00:53:42I'd nod.
00:53:42That was all.
00:53:44Where were you
00:53:45on the afternoon
00:53:45of the 14th of April,
00:53:47the day of the murder?
00:53:48I was at the
00:53:48Fortress of Races.
00:53:49Yes,
00:53:50and you saw Mr. Robbins
00:53:51there,
00:53:51didn't you?
00:53:52Yes.
00:53:52Yes,
00:53:53and you went into a bar
00:53:54and had a drink with him,
00:53:54didn't you?
00:53:56Yes.
00:53:56Just a quick one.
00:53:59Well,
00:53:59you were doing a bit more
00:54:00than merely nodding,
00:54:02weren't you?
00:54:03Well,
00:54:03I was wondering
00:54:04if he might have a tip.
00:54:06And over this drink,
00:54:07asking about tips,
00:54:08is that when you arranged
00:54:09to meet him later
00:54:10at his house?
00:54:11We never arranged
00:54:12no meeting.
00:54:13Well,
00:54:13what did you do
00:54:14on the Tuesday afternoon,
00:54:15the day after the murder?
00:54:16I went to the second day
00:54:17of the Fortress of Races.
00:54:18Yes,
00:54:18and you wore sunglasses
00:54:20all day,
00:54:20didn't you?
00:54:21I don't know,
00:54:22you know more than me.
00:54:23Oh,
00:54:23do you deny
00:54:24wearing sunglasses?
00:54:24No!
00:54:25I think I may
00:54:27have had them on.
00:54:27Yes,
00:54:28and were you wearing them
00:54:28to hide a bruise
00:54:29under your left eye?
00:54:30No.
00:54:32But it was an overcast day,
00:54:33Mr. Stockwell.
00:54:34There were sunny spells.
00:54:37You went for a drink
00:54:38at the Falcon Public House
00:54:39at about six?
00:54:40Yes.
00:54:41Yes,
00:54:41do you remember
00:54:42wearing your sunglasses
00:54:43whilst you were having
00:54:43that drink?
00:54:45I may have done.
00:54:47Why?
00:54:48Were they having sunny spells
00:54:50at the Falcon Public House?
00:54:51I just forgot
00:54:52to take them off.
00:54:53You just forgot
00:54:54to take them off.
00:54:54The reason was
00:54:55that you had a bruise
00:54:56to hide under those glasses,
00:54:57wasn't it?
00:54:58Look,
00:54:58if I'd have had a bruise,
00:54:59I wouldn't have gone
00:54:59to the Fulchester races.
00:55:00I wouldn't have gone
00:55:01to the pub.
00:55:01I would have stayed at home.
00:55:03I mean,
00:55:03Charlie Robbins.
00:55:04I'm not even in his class.
00:55:07Whoever knocked him off,
00:55:08it's a power game.
00:55:09Now,
00:55:10you're not yourself
00:55:10in this so-called
00:55:11power game,
00:55:12Stockwell.
00:55:13Robbins was holding
00:55:14something,
00:55:15wasn't he?
00:55:16And so you went
00:55:16to Charter's Padded
00:55:17that night
00:55:17and said,
00:55:18give us the swag,
00:55:19and Robbins said,
00:55:20you'll have it one day,
00:55:21and you said,
00:55:21I wouldn't mind
00:55:22half of it now,
00:55:23and Robbins refused
00:55:23to give it to you,
00:55:24so you shot him
00:55:25through the head.
00:55:25I never,
00:55:26I swear it.
00:55:26Yes,
00:55:27I've no further questions,
00:55:27my lord,
00:55:28thank you.
00:55:29Do you wish
00:55:29to re-examine,
00:55:30Mr. Elliot?
00:55:31No,
00:55:31thank you,
00:55:31my lord.
00:55:32Very well,
00:55:32you may return
00:55:33to the dock.
00:55:39Mr. Elliot?
00:55:41I have no other
00:55:42witnesses,
00:55:42my lord,
00:55:42but I would like
00:55:43to make an application
00:55:44to your lordship
00:55:44that would best be made
00:55:45in the absence
00:55:46of the jury.
00:55:48Very well.
00:55:49Now,
00:55:49members of the jury,
00:55:50will you retire
00:55:51for a few moments?
00:55:52There is a matter
00:55:53of law
00:55:54that we must deal with.
00:56:01I'm sorry to have
00:56:02sent you out,
00:56:03but Mr. Elliot
00:56:03wanted to make
00:56:04an application
00:56:05to present
00:56:06some fresh material
00:56:07to you,
00:56:08and naturally
00:56:08I had to decide
00:56:09whether this was
00:56:10a proper thing
00:56:10to do,
00:56:12and so,
00:56:13you can see,
00:56:14I could not decide
00:56:15it while you were here.
00:56:17Now,
00:56:17Mr. Elliot's application
00:56:18was for Superintendent
00:56:19Collins to be recalled
00:56:21for further cross-examination,
00:56:22and under the circumstances
00:56:23I have decided
00:56:25to allow this.
00:56:26Of course,
00:56:27it is entirely
00:56:27for you to decide
00:56:28whether or not
00:56:29the additional evidence
00:56:30he may give
00:56:31carries this case
00:56:32any further,
00:56:33one way or another.
00:56:37Do you recognize
00:56:38the people
00:56:39in that photograph?
00:56:40Yes, I do.
00:56:41Can you tell
00:56:41from the surroundings
00:56:42where it was taken?
00:56:44The Yellow Lantern
00:56:45nightclub.
00:56:45Yes,
00:56:46the club that belongs
00:56:46to our friend,
00:56:47Mr. Paul Matthews.
00:56:48Now,
00:56:48will you please identify
00:56:49the people seated
00:56:50around that table
00:56:50drinking champagne?
00:56:53Now,
00:56:53this is Mr. Paul Matthews
00:56:54and his wife,
00:56:55Mrs. Robert Markham
00:56:56and his wife,
00:56:56and myself and my wife.
00:56:58When was this photograph
00:56:59taken?
00:57:00New Year's party
00:57:01last year.
00:57:02By the state of the table,
00:57:03you had a good dinner
00:57:04with your friends.
00:57:05We weren't having dinner
00:57:06with Mr. Markham
00:57:07and Mr. Matthews.
00:57:08My wife and I
00:57:09were called over
00:57:09to their table
00:57:10for a drink.
00:57:11Well,
00:57:11what about the dirty plates
00:57:12in front of them?
00:57:14They belonged to the people
00:57:14whose seats we were in.
00:57:15What happened to them?
00:57:17Gone home,
00:57:18had they?
00:57:19They were dancing.
00:57:20It's convenient.
00:57:23All right,
00:57:23Superintendent,
00:57:24you spent the evening
00:57:25of May the 3rd
00:57:26of this year
00:57:27at the Yellow Lantern
00:57:28nightclub,
00:57:28did you not?
00:57:29Yes.
00:57:30And you had dinner
00:57:31with the owner,
00:57:31Mr. Paul Matthews,
00:57:32did you not?
00:57:33Yes.
00:57:33You were his guest.
00:57:35That's right.
00:57:35And Robert Markham
00:57:36joined you for dinner,
00:57:37did he not?
00:57:37No.
00:57:38You deny seeing
00:57:39Markham that evening?
00:57:41Mr. Matthews
00:57:42called Markham
00:57:43over to his table
00:57:44for a drink.
00:57:45So Markham
00:57:45joined you
00:57:45for a quick drink?
00:57:47Yes.
00:57:48But he stayed
00:57:48through four bottles
00:57:49of champagne.
00:57:51There were six of us.
00:57:52How long was he
00:57:53at your table?
00:57:54An hour?
00:57:56Well,
00:57:56I don't remember.
00:57:58Well,
00:57:58enough time
00:57:58to get jolly.
00:57:59Not drunk.
00:58:00But you were not
00:58:01on business,
00:58:01were you?
00:58:02A detective
00:58:03is always on business.
00:58:05Did you discuss
00:58:05this case?
00:58:06No.
00:58:07All that champagne,
00:58:08you didn't talk
00:58:08about this case?
00:58:09We may have
00:58:10talked about it.
00:58:11You just said,
00:58:11Superintendent,
00:58:12that you had not.
00:58:13No,
00:58:13before you asked
00:58:14if we had discussed it.
00:58:16You make a distinction
00:58:16between talk
00:58:17and discuss?
00:58:19There's a great difference
00:58:20in talking about a thing
00:58:21and passing
00:58:21and discussing it.
00:58:23Superintendent,
00:58:24are you playing
00:58:24a game of semantics
00:58:25with me?
00:58:26I'm not playing
00:58:27any game.
00:58:28Don't know about you.
00:58:30Did you talk
00:58:30about what evidence
00:58:31he should give
00:58:32at this trial?
00:58:32Emphatically not.
00:58:33It was a chance meeting
00:58:34and most unfortunate.
00:58:36Most unfortunate.
00:58:38Did you tell
00:58:38your friend Markham
00:58:39what to say?
00:58:40I did not.
00:58:41Did you work it out
00:58:42with your other friend,
00:58:42Mr. Paul Matthews?
00:58:44Certainly not.
00:58:46Superintendent,
00:58:46do you habitually
00:58:47fraternize with criminals?
00:58:49Detection is a dirty business.
00:58:52It might upset some
00:58:53to know that a detective
00:58:54goes around with
00:58:55known criminals,
00:58:56but you've got to.
00:58:58You can't help it.
00:58:59Help?
00:58:59Help what?
00:59:00Upsetting a few people.
00:59:02I mean,
00:59:02if someone offers you
00:59:03a drink in a club.
00:59:04Yeah, but we're talking
00:59:04about dinner and champagne,
00:59:06Superintendent.
00:59:06Right,
00:59:06whatever it is.
00:59:07I mean,
00:59:08you use your loaf.
00:59:10You don't want
00:59:10to offend him.
00:59:11He may have
00:59:11useful information.
00:59:13Don't you feel
00:59:13that you're serving
00:59:14the community
00:59:14by wining and dining
00:59:15with known villains?
00:59:17Mostly,
00:59:18I'd rather stay home
00:59:19by the fire
00:59:19with my family.
00:59:21Yes,
00:59:21I'm serving the community.
00:59:22It's my duty.
00:59:23To go drinking
00:59:24with criminals?
00:59:25Three quarters
00:59:26of the criminals
00:59:27I have brought to justice
00:59:28have been convicted
00:59:29because of the help
00:59:30I have had
00:59:31from criminal associates.
00:59:33Would the public
00:59:34rather those men
00:59:34were free?
00:59:35Well,
00:59:36whatever else,
00:59:36Superintendent,
00:59:37I suggest the public
00:59:38would feel a lot happier
00:59:39if you hadn't spent
00:59:40an evening drinking champagne
00:59:41with one of the prosecution's
00:59:43leading witnesses.
00:59:45I have no further questions,
00:59:47the Lord.
00:59:49My members of the jury,
00:59:51each day we read
00:59:52in our newspapers
00:59:53of terrible things
00:59:54happening all over the world
00:59:55and we tend
00:59:56to become hardened
00:59:58by this,
00:59:58but I want to make it
00:59:59quite clear
01:00:00that whether the accused
01:00:01is a part of this crime
01:00:03or not,
01:00:04a man was attacked
01:00:05in his own home,
01:00:06a gun was pointed
01:00:08at his head
01:00:09and part of his head
01:00:10was blown away.
01:00:14So, members of the jury,
01:00:16the vital pieces of evidence
01:00:17are as follows.
01:00:18Firstly,
01:00:19the identification
01:00:19of the murderer
01:00:20by the deceased's father,
01:00:22Mr. Robbins.
01:00:23Now, you've seen
01:00:24his eyesight put to the test
01:00:25and as a result
01:00:27you may feel doubtful
01:00:28about that part
01:00:29of his evidence.
01:00:31Then, on the other hand,
01:00:32you have the positive
01:00:33identification
01:00:33of the taxi driver,
01:00:34Mr. Markham.
01:00:36Now, the defence suggests
01:00:38that he is lying
01:00:39out of self-interest,
01:00:41but would he perjure himself
01:00:42in a case of murder?
01:00:44Well, you've seen
01:00:45Mr. Markham give his evidence.
01:00:46It is for you to decide
01:00:47whether he is
01:00:48a reliable witness.
01:00:51Then, there is
01:00:52the fingerprint evidence.
01:00:53You will recall
01:00:54that the accused
01:00:55said that he had never
01:00:56entered the deceased's house.
01:00:58So, either the fingerprints
01:00:59were planted by someone
01:01:00or else the accused
01:01:02is lying.
01:01:03Now, remember
01:01:04that you have been told
01:01:05that it is very difficult
01:01:07for anyone
01:01:08other than a fingerprint expert
01:01:10to have done such a thing.
01:01:12However, of course,
01:01:14Superintendent Collins
01:01:15did have access
01:01:16to such expert knowledge.
01:01:18Now, he is not on trial
01:01:20here today, of course,
01:01:22but you must consider
01:01:23his behaviour
01:01:24in this case.
01:01:26Short time before this trial,
01:01:28he went to the
01:01:28Yellow Lantern
01:01:30nightclub
01:01:30and spent some time
01:01:31drinking with Mr. Markham,
01:01:33a leading prosecution witness.
01:01:36Now, that was
01:01:36a very dangerous meeting.
01:01:37Superintendent Collins
01:01:38describes it
01:01:39as a chance meeting
01:01:41and most unfortunate.
01:01:43But he did not
01:01:44attempt to leave
01:01:45the company of Markham.
01:01:47Now, you ask yourselves
01:01:48this question.
01:01:49Has Superintendent Collins
01:01:51behaved in a way
01:01:52as to leave
01:01:53his own evidence
01:01:54in doubt?
01:01:55Did he,
01:01:56with the aid of others
01:01:57or on his own,
01:01:59plant that fingerprint evidence?
01:02:01Now, you must remember,
01:02:02of course,
01:02:03that the police are vulnerable
01:02:04to accusations
01:02:05such as planting evidence
01:02:07by criminals
01:02:08trying to protect themselves.
01:02:10And you must also
01:02:11bear in mind
01:02:11that Superintendent Collins
01:02:12is a man
01:02:13with a long
01:02:13and untarnished record
01:02:15in the police force.
01:02:16You must weigh
01:02:18these things
01:02:19in your mind
01:02:19with great care
01:02:21because your decision
01:02:22on this last point
01:02:24will be vital
01:02:25in helping you
01:02:27to reach a verdict.
01:02:28Now, we don't know
01:02:30why Charles Robbins
01:02:31was murdered,
01:02:32but the Crown
01:02:33do not have to prove
01:02:34a motive.
01:02:34As usual,
01:02:35they have to prove
01:02:36their case
01:02:37beyond reasonable doubt.
01:02:39And if you are satisfied
01:02:40that they have done so,
01:02:42then you must find
01:02:43the accused guilty.
01:02:44But if you are not
01:02:45so satisfied
01:02:46and you feel
01:02:47there is a reasonable doubt,
01:02:49then you will find
01:02:50the accused
01:02:51not guilty.
01:02:53Now, members of the jury,
01:02:54will you kindly retire,
01:02:56elect a foreman
01:02:57and consider your verdict?
01:02:59All stand.
01:03:08Members of the jury,
01:03:09will your foreman
01:03:09please stand
01:03:10just to answer
01:03:12this question,
01:03:13yes or no?
01:03:14Have you reached a verdict
01:03:15upon which you are
01:03:15all agreed?
01:03:16Yes.
01:03:17Do you find the defendant,
01:03:18Alan Stockwell,
01:03:19guilty or not guilty
01:03:20of the charge of murder?
01:03:21Not guilty.
01:03:23What about him?
01:03:24What about Collins?
01:03:26Is he going on trial?
01:03:27He's lied his head off.
01:03:29Let him go through this lot.
01:03:30Please,
01:03:31say,
01:03:42blah, blah, blah, blah,
01:03:43ni鉄,
01:03:45oak,
01:03:49please,
01:03:50please.
01:03:51$2.