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White House Farm: everything to know about Jeremy Bamber

Find out more about one of the subjects of ITV's White House Farm

jeremy bamber
Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
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ITV's hit show White House Farm is now available on Netflix, and tells the true story of the investigation behind the murders of five members of the same family, June and Nevill, their daughter Sheila, and Sheila's six-year-old twin boys, Nicholas and Daniel.

MORE: White House Farm: Where is Julie Mugford now and what happened to her after the trial?

While the detectives initially believed that Sheila had killed her family and then herself in a murder-suicide, her brother Jeremy was eventually found guilty of their murders. Find out more about the case surrounding Jeremy, and where he is now...

Jeremy Bamber's family

Jeremy, an adopted son, was convicted of killing his parents June and Nevill, his sister Sheila and his nephews Nicholas and Daniel. He tried to pin the homicides on Sheila, who was also adopted, and who suffered with mental illness. Jeremy's cousin Ann Eaton was always suspicious of her cousin and convinced Sheila hadn't killed the family.

WATCH: The moment Jeremy Bamber admits his guilt In White House Farm

How Jeremy tried to cover up the murders

Jeremy was the one to call the police, claiming that he had received a phone call from his father to say that his sister Sheila had "gone beserk" with a gun. However, there was no evidence that Jeremy had received a phone call from the farmhouse, and the prosecution also argued that Jeremy's father Nevill, who had fought his attacker, would have been too injured to have made the phone call to his son.

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Jeremy's girlfriend at the time, Julie Mugford, also claimed that Jeremy had spoken about breaking into the house through the kitchen window by using a loose latch to commit the murders, and then fleeing the crime scene by cycling around the backs of the houses to return home rather than use his car.

The case against Jeremy Bamber

Since the prosecution argued that Jeremy's father Nevill wouldn't have been able to use the telephone on account of his injuries, this meant that Jeremy would have had no way of knowing that something was going on at White House Farm.

MORE: White House Farm: what are the facts about the murder case?

MORE: Everything you need to know about true crime ITV drama White House Farm

It was also considered that Sheila would have been unable to take her own life using the shotgun, and it would have been too long for her to reach the trigger. Family members were concerned by Jeremy's behaviour after the funeral, as he booked holidays and attempted to sell nude photos of his late sister to newspapers for £25,000. Sheila's ex-husband, Colin, also expressed his concern at Jeremy's behaviour.

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Jeremy's ex-girlfriend, Julie Mugford, also have a great deal of information about Jeremy's discussing his plans to kill his family with her, and claimed that he had told her that he had planned to do it on that night.

Who was Jeremy Bamber's girlfriend?

Jeremy had opened up about his plans to kill his family to his girlfriend Julie Mugford. She was there to support him at the family's funeral and the aftermath of the murders, but after she and Jeremy broke up, Julie went to the police and gave him away. Julie eventually moved and started a new life in Winnipeg, Canada, where she subsequently changed her name.

According to the Mirror, she has worked as a teacher and vice-principal, is a mother-of-two and is married to Canadian-born Glen Smerchanski. She has yet to speak about the ITV drama based on real-life events.

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The site where the Bamber family were found murdered

What are Jeremy's thoughts on the show?

Jeremy opened up to East Anglian Daily Times about his thoughts on ITV's White House Farm, calling it a "disgrace". Speaking to the newspaper from prison, he said: "The ITV drama is a disgrace. It is being broadcast in the middle of a judicial review and is likely to interfere with the CPS being able to pursue the option of a retrial. It is promoted as 'a drama' as Carol Ann Lee's book that it's based upon is, for the most part, simply made up."

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Carol responded to the interview, saying: "I fully appreciate he'll have an opinion on it, but it's just not true to say it's speculation. Everything in the book is meticulously footnoted, there is a very small piece of speculation at the end when I discuss how the murders could have been carried out but I make it very clear that that is the case."

Where is Jeremy Bamber now?

Jeremy is a category A prisoner, and resides at HM Prison Wakefield in Yorkshire. During his years in prison, he has transcribed books into Braille, worked as a peer partner and reportedly studied for his GCSEs. He is serving time with a whole life tariff, meaning that he will have no chance of ever being released from prison.

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Does Jeremy Bamber maintain his innocence?

Jeremy has constantly claimed his innocence, and has repeatedly attempted to have his conviction overturned with no success. He has recently claimed that new evidence shows that there was someone still alive inside the farmhouse while he was waiting outside with the police. He said: "It is the ultimate alibi that I was in the company of dozens of police officers when it was clear that a person or persons were alive in the house who I am convicted of murdering."

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