Jeremy Bamber could be freed from life sentence by mysterious 999 call from inside house where his entire family was murdered

By LETTICE BROMOVSKY, NEWS REPORTER Published: 20:16, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 20:17, 8 June 2026 A bombshell new claim about a mysterious 999 call from inside the farmhouse where five members of the same family were slaughtered could pave the way for one of Britain's most notorious killers to challenge his conviction once again. Jeremy Bamber, who has spent more than four decades behind bars for the infamous White House Farm murders, is at the centre of new evidence that supporters say could prove he was wrongly convicted of one of the UK's most shocking mass killings. Bamber, now 64, is serving a whole-life sentence for the shotgun murders of his adoptive parents Nevill and June Bamber, both 61, his sister Sheila Caffell, 28, and her six-year-old twin sons Daniel and Nicholas at the family's Essex farmhouse on August 7, 1985. After police finally entered the sprawling Georgian farmhouse following an hours-long siege, they discovered all five family members dead. One of the twins, Daniel, was found with his thumb still in his mouth. Bamber has always maintained his innocence, insisting that his sister Sheila, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, killed the family before turning the gun on herself. Now, campaigners believe newly uncovered evidence could provide the breakthrough they have been searching for. Central to the latest claims is evidence suggesting a 999 call may have been made from inside White House Farm while Bamber was standing outside with police officers. According to the documentary, a volunteer working on Bamber's case discovered a single line in an Essex Police log sheet referring to a call made from the farmhouse. Jeremy Bamber was found guilty of the murder of his adoptive parents, his sister Shelia and her six-year-old twin boys, who were shot at White House Farm on August 7, 1985 Jeremy Bamber at the last court appeal, he has already spent more than four decades behind bars for the infamous White House Farm murders At Bamber's trial, jurors were told that after Nevill Bamber's alleged desperate phone call to his son, the receiver had been left off the hook, allowing the telephone company and police to monitor the line. But when journalist Rachel Aviv Blake tracked down former call handler Nicholas Milbank, he reportedly gave a different account. Milbank told her that 'someone phoned 999 from inside the farmhouse' at 6.09am. He said he had heard 'movement or voices in the background'. Asked whether this suggested somebody was still alive inside the property, he replied: 'Well, obviously.' If true, the implications could be profound. At the time of the alleged call, Bamber was already outside the farmhouse with police officers.  Supporters argue that this would provide him with a powerful alibi, undermining the prosecution's case that he carried out all five murders. The claims were subsequently submitted to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), but controversy has surrounded the handling of the evidence. Bamber's legal team say the CCRC did not interview Milbank directly, instead leaving the matter to Essex Police - the same force whose investigation has faced criticism for alleged mistakes and inconsistencies. Milbank later reportedly denied making the comments attributed to him and referred to an earlier statement which made no mention of a 999 call or background noises. Appeals lawyer Emily Bolton, who successfully helped overturn Andrew Malkinson's wrongful rape conviction, is among those now raising serious concerns about the safety of Bamber's conviction. She tells the documentary that the case 'bears all the hallmarks of the sorts of wrongful convictions that have been overlooked, that I've seen in my years practising'. New gun tests have undermined the prosecution case that Sheila Caffell (pictured) could not have shot herself if a silencer was fitted, Bamber's lawyer has claimed Speaking about the treatment of Milbank's evidence, Bolton says: 'It's absolutely ludicrous to allow the investigating force to go and take a statement from him. 'PC Milbank was essentially a whistleblower. He said something that undermined the police case. He should have been protected.' Before Bamber's legal team could pursue a complaint with the CCRC, Milbank died, leaving unanswered questions over the conflicting accounts. The documentary also reveals a series of letters allegedly written by Sheila Caffell before the killings, raising fresh questions about her mental state. In one previously unseen letter to her mother, she wrote: 'The Sun newspaper, the police are going to be in touch soon and get this whole dirty mess cleaned up. 'As soon as this is dug up and the public know then my darling mummy, with my babies and me go to our rest.' According to the programme, Essex Police claimed the handwriting was illegible and the letters were not disclosed to Bamber's defence team. Further doubts are raised by new ballistic testing carried out by firearms expert Philip Boyce. The prosecution case maintained that Sheila Caffell could not have shot herself if a silencer was attached to the murder weapon. However, Boyce's testing reportedly concluded there was no silencer fitted to the rifle, potentially supporting the defence argument that Sheila was capable of inflicting the fatal wound herself. The original investigation initially treated Sheila as the prime suspect before attention shifted towards Bamber. That change was largely driven by evidence from his former girlfriend Julie Mugford, who told police he had confessed plans to kill his family. It later emerged that Mugford had agreed to sell her story to the News of the World for £25,000 if Bamber was convicted. Bolton believes key evidence now emerging should have been presented to jurors at the original trial. She told The Mail on Sunday: 'This evidence should have been in front of the jury – and it was not. For that reason, the conviction must be quashed.' The director of the non-profit organisation Objection also says she believes 'history is repeating itself', with significant evidence emerging that was never heard by the jury. Bamber remains incarcerated at HMP Wakefield and is one of only a small number of prisoners serving a whole-life order, meaning he is expected to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Jeremy Bamber: Proof Of Innocence airs tomorrow at 9pm on Channel 5 and will also be available to stream on C5. 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