By Roddy AshworthMASS murderer Jeremy Bamber has launched a new bid to prove his innocence, claiming previously unseen photographs of his dead sister will clear his name.

By Roddy Ashworth

MASS murderer Jeremy Bamber has launched a new bid to prove his innocence, claiming previously unseen photographs of his dead sister will clear his name.

Bamber's legal advisers said a recently-discovered police statement provided more evidence to suggest his conviction was unsafe.

The 44-year-old has always denied shooting dead his adoptive parents Nevill and June Bamber, sister Sheila Caffell and her twin six-year-old sons Nicholas and Daniel at the family's home in Tolleshunt D'Arcy in August 1985.

He hopes to secure a third appeal against his convictions and his legal advisers claimed the photographs proved Bamber was in police custody when Ms Caffell - nicknamed Bambi - was killed.

Detectives initially suspected Ms Caffell, who had failed to take her schizophrenia medication, had murdered her parents and sons before turning the gun on herself.

Bamber, who stood to inherit almost £500,000 from his parents' estate, has lost two appeals, in 1987 and 2002, since his conviction in 1986.

His legal adviser, Giovanni di Stefano, has written to the Criminal Cases Review Commission with details of the new evidence and now hopes a further appeal date will be set.

Mr di Stefano claimed pictures of Ms Caffell, taken at about 9am on the day the bodies were found, showed her covered in fresh blood. It is suggested that because of this, she could only have died a maximum of two hours before.

But Bamber was taken into custody by officers at 3am after calling police to tell them about a dispute at the family home.

Mr di Stefano said a statement from the first police officer to enter the house, at about 7.35am, corroborated the photograph theory.

The statement, made by Pc Peter Woodcock in September 1995, said: “She (Ms Caffell) had what appeared to be two bullet holes under her chin and blood leaking from both sides of her mouth down her cheeks.”

Mr di Stefano said: “Now we have a confirmation by Pc Woodock that when he went into the room there was blood leaking down her cheeks. That corresponds with the photographs at 9.30am.

“If the time of Sheila's death was at 3.05am, the blood would not be leaking at that time. We say the time of death was between 6am and 7am, in which case it could not have been Bamber who killed her.”

A spokeswoman for the Criminal Cases Review Commission said she could not comment on specifics of the Bamber case. “However, I can confirm we do have the case and it is currently under review,” she added.

roddy.ashworth@eadt.co.uk