Prosecution

It is the prosecutions case that Simon was a bit short of cash, so decided to commit a burglary in the home of Joan Albert in order to gain funds. When confronted by Mrs Albert, Simon feared being recognised and decided that his only option was to murder her.

Evidence

The main thrux of the case was the discovery of polyester fibres and black flock fibres from clothing at the murder scene and at locations attributed to Simon, his parents home and cars he had access to. The fibres were described as ‘indistinguishable’ so the presumption was made that these fibres all came from a common source.

In interview at a Suffolk Police Station, Simon gave an account of his whereabouts but discrepancies in timings created a “window of opportunity” for Simon to have committed this crime.

The prosecution alluded to the fact that Simon had knowledge of the victim because his mother Lynne Hall ran errands for her and also because he lived in the next street and because he used to go to the next door neighbours house to play when he was a child.

Combining these bits of information together, police decided that Simon had the means, motive and opportunity to have been the perpetrator of this murder.