Today will see the end of this first week. It seems to be going well for us so far and all concerned – barristers, CPS and police – are all quietly satisfied with the progress made.
There have been occasions when frustration has set in. We, or the jury or sometimes the press, have been asked to leave the courtroom during legal debates. However, we had been forewarned to expect this kind of thing, so we are not unduly worried. This morning some discussion takes place in hushed tones between Mr Marson and the judge before Little is even brought into the court. Soon afterwards, we are all asked to vacate the court.
On our return, we learn that a warrant has been produced for Marc Fuller, the lad at Little’s flat on the day of the arrest. It is quite an unexpected turn of events and rather worrying. We don’t know if, or when, Marc will be located. If he does make an appearance, will his evidence help or hinder the case? I am fearful but can do no more than wait and hope.
Our liquid lunches continue. It is quite out of character for most of us, but in this strange new world in which we find ourselves everything has a dreamlike quality to it. We are just not the same people we were this time last year. How could we be? Never in our wildest dreams could we have imagined ourselves in this situation. Rachel herself would be shocked rigid at all of this but we are living it and must see it through to the bitter end.
When we return to court one, we learn that Marc will indeed put in an appearance today. Not only that, but his mother and sister will also be witnesses for the prosecution. The police have no doubt that Marc was in no way connected with Rachel or her murder and any suggestion to the contrary would be dismissed. Some of his family members will travel from Scotland. We also hear that one person will be coming over from Spain next week. We are astonished to learn of these further witnesses.
Marc’s evidence could be crucial in putting Little’s yarns into disrepute. The prosecution insist that Little’s first version of events is the only true one, the one that lays the blame purely at his own feet and exonerates Marc. Their job is to prove this version while, at the same time, disproving all the other ones. They have to prove Michael Little guilty, whereas the defence do not have to prove his innocence.
This is a frightening and, to my mind, most unfair aspect of the British legal system. The defence must be given every scrap of evidence as it emerges, but they need not reciprocate. It gives the accused an advantage since he can be told what the prosecution has against him and thus is able to act upon every allegation. Since trials such as this one take many months to come to court, so the accused has ample time in which to build up a plausible story in his defence, to cover every eventuality.
It would seem that Little has taken full advantage of this rather precarious point of law. Back in April when DNA results were returned, proving without a shadow of a doubt that he had had sex with Rachel, a rethink was required. Until that point, he had never mentioned that this act had taken place. Perhaps he thought that it would remain undetected, that such evidence would have disappeared due to the length of time Rachel had lain in the cupboard. How wrong he was.
Between then and his plea and directions hearing in May, a second defence statement was conjured up. As expected, he did not enter a plea on 2 May. Instead, he was granted a further three weeks in which to put together his story. So it was that, at the end of that month, he pleaded not guilty on the grounds that a third party was to be implicated and that this third party was, in fact, the murderer, though he did have consensual sex with Rachel. That much he couldn’t now refute.
Marc has now arrived in court. We know he is here because the media have informed us. We are all nervous and we wonder what will happen. There has been so much damning evidence against Little that there can be no real reason to worry. Marc’s evidence can only compound the case against Little. The fact that Little has already made it clear that Marc was in no way involved and that Little has signed his own confession and been seen on CCTV at the relevant time must surely be enough to condemn him?
An independent doctor, at the time of the arrest, could find no trace of a wound on Little, thus refuting the claim that Rachel had cut his arm. As well as this, we have heard the evidence of the three constables and the partygoers that night, all of which put Little’s later defence statements into disrepute. What, in the face of all this evidence, should we have to fear? Surely Marc’s evidence can only help us more?
The police have no doubt that Marc’s alibi is concrete and they put much effort into proving it. We put our trust in the police even while realising that the defence could yet put a spanner in the works. No doubt they have further tricks up their sleeves but what these tricks are, we have no way of knowing.
Marc takes his place on the stand and it is plain for all to see he is a very hostile witness. He repeats the oath and begins to speak. His words are littered with expletives even when he is questioned first by Mr Marson, the prosecution barrister.
Oh my God! This is dreadful to behold. What will the jury think of his outbursts, his anger and his disrespectful attitude? Marc is terrified and therefore furious. If this is how he is reacting when quizzed by the prosecution, how will he conduct himself when confronted by the defence? He will be fair game to Mr Kadri and I must leave the courtroom following this exchange with our own barrister. I know that I will be unable to watch while this vulnerable young man is torn to shreds by Mr Kadri, a very experienced barrister. I am afraid that, in his current mood, Marc will blow his top completely. I have no wish to witness what might happen then.
Later, when I am joined on the concourse by some of the others, I learn that sparks really flew during the heated exchanges that took place. Marc caused quite a few raised eyebrows with his language but he held his own very well under intense pressure from the defence. The police are pleased and relieved at how he came across and I understand that there were a few light-hearted moments.
I ask to meet Marc, in order to express our thanks for what he has done today. Marc is in a small private room and I am told he is extremely upset. I can only see him if he agrees to it and I ask the DC in charge to pass on our thanks, should Marc not wish to see me. Maybe this works, because I am quickly taken to where he is and Vanda joins us after a few moments. All of his previous bravado is gone and he is crying his eyes out. My heart goes out to him and Vanda and I thank him profusely for being here. I add that, had he and Rachel ever met, they would have got on very well. This merely serves to upset him even more. I whisper to him that I know for certain that he is in no way connected to Rachel’s death.
Even without Little’s own confession, without the weight of evidence stacked up against him and aside from my own recognition of him, I know, with a gut feeling, that he is the one. The same gut feeling that tells me Marc is not involved at all.
Court is about to convene once more and some of his family are to be called as witnesses for the prosecution. I am anxious to hear what they have to say. Marc’s mother and sister are expected to appear first and no doubt they are every bit as afraid as he was when he took the stand. Were he a son of mine, I would be scared stiff knowing, as I am sure they must, what he is now being accused of. Do they know, I wonder, that the defence are trying to place Marc in the frame by means of the CCTV footage taken from the supermarket, as a means of backing up Little’s allegations?
The image of a young man they have isolated is shown to Marc’s mum and later his sister. Both deny that it is him and both are questioned in depth as to how they are so certain of this. It seems to me that the defence, in their desperation, are simply clutching at straws and my suspicions are further roused when the time comes up on the screen. The figure in question appears before 1am and sits on a nearby electricity supply box for ten minutes doing nothing in particular. When the tape is forwarded, it shows this same person get up and saunter away in the opposite direction. The defence allege that it was Marc and that was the spot where he was waiting to meet Rachel in order to hand over cannabis. It was a drug deal that was to go wrong and Marc was the killer. Pure fiction which the jury had no trouble disregarding. Apart from anything else, the forensic evidence demonstrated beyond doubt that no drugs were involved.
The figure on the screen is a noticeably shorter person and the clothing does not correspond to what Marc is said to have been wearing that night. It could have been anyone but for sure, it isn’t Marc. Are we seriously expected to believe that this person, whoever it was, loitered around for an hour and did not encounter either Rachel or Little on their way home? Since it was around 2am, not 1am, when they were captured on this same camera, with nobody else nearby at the time, it is hard to believe that this person is of any significance whatsoever.
Further evidence from Marc’s family would seem to back up the idea that he could not have been anywhere near that spot at 1am that morning. Phone records from his home that night prove that calls came in from Scotland and North Yorkshire. These were timed at just after midnight and then 15 minutes later and, in each case, it was Marc who answered the telephone before passing it on to his mother. His mother, sister and consequent witnesses state this to be true. I do not consider for one moment that they are all lying, since this has been their evidence from the very start, even before Little changed his story. They are therefore not just making this up; their original statements were made way back in February.
I feel that the defence are particularly harsh and scathing towards both mother and sister, neither of whom shares Marc’s anger, or his strong language! They both retire in tears at the end of a lengthy grilling at the hands of Mr Kadri.
He is not so vitriolic towards the two uncles from whom the telephone calls had been received that night, as the timing of the calls cannot be disputed. He still insists, however, that Marc could have left the house afterwards and arrived at the spot in question before 1am, though I fail to see how.
Michael Little and his counsel are using the full letter of the law to their advantage. It is their prerogative to keep back whatever they wish.
It is beyond comprehension that, having already confessed to Rachel’s killing, the odds continue to be stacked in Little’s favour. Instead of her being the victim, he remains innocent until proven guilty. Meanwhile, he is able to pull every trick in the book in pursuit of freedom. How can that be fair?
On a scale of one to ten, this was not the worst of days, but bad enough. We are all looking forward to a little respite over the weekend and the chance to recharge our batteries, ready for what still lies ahead.