Man cleared of Rachel murder
Defendant says: "Justice has been done."
A man who spent almost six years in prison wrongly accused of murdering his girlfriend before the BBC programme Rough Justice highlighted his case, was today cleared by a jury.
Barri White, 29, had been jailed for life in 2002 after being convicted of murdering 18-year-old Rachel Manning in Milton Keynes in December 2000 and dumping her body at Woburn golf course in Beds.
The conviction had largely been based on scientific evidence and his case was taken up by the campaigning programme Rough Justice which came up with conflicting views on the scientific findings.
In 2007 the Court of Appeal heard the new scientific evidence which put the conviction in doubt and they freed White, but ordered a retrial.
Today at Luton Crown Court, at the end of a four week trial, White and his family reacted emotionally when the not guilty verdict was given.
Members of Rachel Manning's family, who had attended every day, and had had to relive events which took place eight years ago, were silent.
Outside court Barri White said: "Justice has been done today. My years in prison were horrible, not a day went past when I was not thinking about this case.
"I am not angry, what is the point of being angry. But I want the police to investigate the case properly now.
"I miss Rachel as much as her family do and only now will I be properly able to mourn her. "
His mother, Sharon Shaheed, who has campaigned tirelessly since he was jailed, echoed his views.
She said: "We have finally got justice and I am totally overwhelmed. This is the moment I have been waiting for for eight years.
"I knew right from the start that he was innocent. I know him inside out and knew he could not have done it.
"I would tell people but they didn't believe me. Without Rough Justice and his solicitors he would still be in prison.
"Things have got to change so that the view of one scientist can no longer put an innocent person in prison. There should be at least three independent scientists in agreement for their evidence to be considered.
"And now this case must be re opened and we must campaign to get the true killer in prison. We have to try. Her family have gone through hell and we will give them all the help and support we can."
White's friend Keith Hyatt, 56,was also convicted at the original trial of perverting the course of justice by helping White dispose of the body in his work's transit van.
His conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal, but he did not face a retrial. He had completed his sentence before the appeal came to court.
During the second trial the jury of seven women and five men had heard how Rachel and Barri were not living together at the time but were still boyfriend and girlfriend.
On the night of December 9 2000 they attended White's mother's 1970s themed birthday party in distinctive fancy dress costumes and then went on to a night club.
But at the end of the evening they had a dispute about where to spend the night. White said he was going to Hyatt's house to ask for a lift to his mothers in Epsom Grove, Bletchley.
Rachel wanted to get a taxi back to her shared house in Windsor Street, Wolverton. White gave her 5 for the fare but left her. He said he saw her turn round and walk away.
He maintained he never saw her again. He said when he got to Hyatt's house in Fishermead, Rachel rang him and said she was lost in the Oldbrook area. He said he and Hyatt went out in the van looking for her, three times. Then he went out alone on foot but could not find her.
But the prosecution alleged that Rachel had made a distressed reverse charge call to her housemates at 2.43am asking for help. They tried calling her back without success and did not know where she was.
Prosecutor, Julian Baughan, alleged that White, in the minutes after that call, strangled her with a ligature and frantically called Hyatt to come and help him dispose of her body.
They then drove to the Marquis golf course and hid her body in undergrowth after disfiguring her face with a crook lock.
But defence barrister John Coffey QC criticised the prosecution evidence in his closing speech.
He said: "Some of the prosecution's propositions border on the ludicrous. The central criticism is that the Crown's case is unsafe and built upon shifting sands."
He said crucial scientific evidence given at the first trial, which intended to establish a link between Rachel's clothing and the seat of the van it is alleged her body was driven away in had since been shown to be misleading.
He said one of the prosecution's experts had even altered his conclusion twice during the course of the current trial.
"It is frankly almost unbelievable that such evidence has been called to support a murder trial, it truly does beggar belief," he said.
He said: "It is said that Rachel Manning had no enemies but sadly you don't have to have enemies to be murdered. You simply have to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
After the hearing Thames valley Police said it acknowledges the jury decision.
A spokesman said the case will be re-examined by the force's Dedicated Review Team.
"At all times during the intial investigation and subsequent court cases our duty has been to seek justice for Rachel and her family," the spokesman said.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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