We took the path up the hillside at the back of the car park, up and through a gap in the drystone wall to join the main path towards the hall. After a few minutes the path splits, we took the one to the right, it takes you in a ‘u’ shape off the main path and climbs slightly before rounding a corner leading up to the front of the hall.
As we rounded the final bend the hall came into view. Simultaneously, me and Mike, “Mr Loppington”, saw a man running at speed into the rhododendron bushes. His direction of travel was from the front entrance of the hall. We thought it was unusual and I was initially a little unnerved, why would a grown man on his own be running into bushes? Regardless we continued onwards toward the hall.
The hall is in an elevated position above the path, so the bottom of the entrance doorway is at eye level. As we approached, we saw a female lying prone on the ground on the right-hand side of the doorway as we looked at it; we scrambled up the rocky mound between the path and the hall to reach her. Once we had got to her side, we could see that there was considerable trauma to the front left of her neck, specifically the Carotid Triangle. This part of the neck contains the main arteries which carry blood to the head, it was immediately apparent that the wound was substantial and there was nothing that could be done to save her.
Mike left me with her whilst he went to the rhododendron bushes to look for the man who had run from the scene.
He had only been gone about a minute, if that when he returned. By now I was on the phone requesting assistance from the emergency services. He interrupted my call to say we required an ambulance as there was another casualty at the bottom of a ravine on his back in the stream who was unconscious. The sides of the ravine were too steep to get down to him and determine how bad his injuries were, but by his skin colour he still looked alive.
Remarkably the first Police units arrived within fifteen minutes, considering the remoteness of the location I considered that to be fast. On arrival they secured the scene. We identified ourselves as medical personnel and requested assistance to reach and help the man at the bottom of the ravine. With his local knowledge one of the PCs took us back down the path to the point where we could access the ravine by walking up the stream.
When we finally reached him, he was indeed unconscious, we couldn’t do anything for him he was breathing but spread over rocks in the stream, he would need to be extracted on a spinal board to avoid further injury to his spine, neck and skull. It was then, at this point that we realised that he had a large knife, possibly six or seven inches long in his left hand. We immediately made the PC aware that this was the man who we had seen disappearing into the bushes.’
‘Thank you, Miss Yorton, for the benefit of the jury can I just clarify some details with you? First, the female victim at the scene of the murder is now known to you as Jill Breathnach. Second, the man you and Mr Loppington saw running from the scene and subsequently found in the ravine is the same man, and, the defendant in Court today, that being Mr Joseph Ryebank. Third, there was no other person or persons, in, at, or around the hall at any point from when you arrived until the Police arrived?’
‘Yes, that is all correct.’
‘Thank you again for your testimony today; it will go a long way in getting justice for the victim.’
The Prosecution Barrister turns to the Judge.
‘My Lord, I will not be calling Mr Michael Loppington as his signed statement made to the Police on the day corroborates the version of events exactly and as such, will bring nothing new to the table.’
Then turning back to the jury, the Prosecution Barrister continues.
‘It is the Prosecution's sole purpose to furnish you with the evidence to prove the guilt of the defendant in this case.
To do this we need to prove the means, motive, and opportunity to commit the crime, and, to establish the relationship between the victim and the defendant. To that end I propose a recap, to keep the evidence fresh in your minds, a reminder of where we are at this stage of the case.
The Means. Joseph Ryebank had the murder weapon in his hand, a seven-and-a-half-inch fixed blade hunting knife. The knife that had Joseph Ryebank’s fingerprints on it, and I stress – only Joseph Ryebank’s fingerprints, also proven by forensic Analysis to be the knife that caused the fatal injury to Jill Breathnach. This is absolute proof of the Means.
The Motive. We have conclusively proven that on the day of Jill Breathnach’s murder, the relationship between them had broken down to such an extent that Joseph Ryebank’s behaviour had become destructive and uncontrollable, a pattern seen before in his previous relationship with Lisa Pussett.
The Opportunity. In the last few hours of his stay before returning to the USA, Joseph Ryebank planned to get Jill Breathnach on her own in a remote location in order to commit his crime, alone and with no witnesses, before fleeing the country to evade capture. This was a premeditated act proving that there was a great deal of thought behind it.
Had he not been disturbed, it is the belief of all those connected to the investigation of this case that her body would have been concealed in the rhododendron bushes or, ironically, in the ravine where Joseph Ryebank, himself, was found.
The Relationship. The evidence once again is conclusive. There hadn’t been a seventeen-year break between them as Joseph Ryebank claims. Jill Breathnach had announced to the world that she was pregnant with his baby, a fact that he did not deny. They shared a room and a bed virtually from the moment Joseph Ryebank arrived back in Manchester and they were inseparable. You have heard from a Manager at the hotel where they were staying that they were a couple who looked very much in love; that was until Easter Sunday last year, when something happened, something that unleashed the dark side of Joseph Ryebank, something that ended up with Jill Breathnach being murdered.’
Chapter 22
The Trial – The Prosecution v Joseph Joshua Ryebank
‘Joseph Ryebank, you have been charged with the murder of Jill Breathnach. Please tell the jury how you have pleaded?’
‘Not guilty.’
‘That’s right, not guilty; despite the weight of evidence against you, despite the Police charging you with murder, despite the Crown Prosecution Service committing this case for trial and despite the overwhelming evidence produced in this Court since your plea and you are just going to carry on? You claim in your statement to the Police, prepared by your solicitor, that you are a man of integrity and yet here we are.
So, I will now give you an opportunity to prove yourself as a man of integrity, do you want to change your plea to guilty?’
‘No’
‘No? So be it. Mr Ryebank, you’re quite a Machiavellian character, aren’t you? You project yourself to the world as this courageous, honest, compassionate man whose only goal in life is his relentless pursuit of justice. The problem is, it is just a projection. You use this persona to win people over, to win their trust before subjecting them to perspecticide... brainwashing. We know this, as we have heard evidence in this court about your relationship with your ex-girlfriend, Lisa Pussett, evidence that you are a controlling, abusive man and that you demonstrated all the classic signs of this when you isolated her from her friends and family, you tried to control her finances and were volatile when you didn’t get your own way.
Are you still like that I wonder?
We could ask your current girlfriend, couldn’t we? We could... if she hadn’t disappeared off the face of the earth.
That leaves us with your relationship with Jill Breathnach or should I say your affair with her. As I have outlined to the Court your claim that you hadn’t seen her for seventeen years prior to coming back just before Easter last year, yet it has been proven, conclusively, that you had.
You got her pregnant, let her come home all alone and then when she needed you most, she sent you an email asking you to come back and support her. Now, we’ll never know what was said on that Easter Sunday morning at the hotel, I highly suspect she wanted to end your relationship as you r
eally didn’t show any sort of commitment to your new responsibility. Jill had taken away your control over the situation and that removal of control was enough to trigger a chain of events that ended in her murder.
So, Mr Ryebank are you ready to tell us the truth, are you ready to tell the jury why you murdered Jill Breathnach?’
‘I didn’t.’
‘You didn’t? Tell the jury about the events that immediately preceded her murder; explain to them how you managed to be the only person present but not the killer, explain why you had Jill’s blood on your right arm sleeve and the knife that killed Jill in your left hand. You can start at the point that Jill slapped you whilst you were arguing in the ruins of the hall.’
‘We were having an amicable conversation when something from our childhood came up, it upset Jill so much so that it provoked her into slapping me.’
‘For the benefit of the jury, elaborate what that something was.’
‘It’s not relevant to the trial.’
‘I would say it is critical to the trial.’
‘It really isn’t...’
‘Let it be noted that Mr Ryebank has refused to respond to the question. Please carry on Mr Ryebank.’
‘So, after she slapped me, I placed my hands on her shoulder and tried to reason with her, she shook herself free and we continued our conversation for a few more minutes. In the meantime, a group of hikers who had stopped briefly had moved on. Some time had passed, about five minutes or so, but Jill was still upset; she stormed off in the direction of the entrance doorway. I watched her walk down the steps turn left out of the doorway and disappear. I followed on. As I exited the doorway, I saw Jill, she had dropped to her knees in front of a man, he had a blood-stained knife in his right hand...’
‘Can you describe this man?’
He was about my height, my build, very dark brown or black hair, I’m sure I’ve seen him before but I just can’t place him...’
‘So, basically you’re describing yourself.’
‘No, I’m describing the man who killed Jill.’
‘That’s what I said...carry on Mr Ryebank.’
‘I ran at him, he turned his gaze from Jill to me and lifted the knife as if he was about to attack me, I grabbed his right wrist with my left hand and threw a punch with my right hand. It connected with some force and left him stunned momentarily, I prised the knife from his hand and he turned and ran in the direction of some bushes opposite the front door. By now Jill was face down on the floor. I had the knife in my left hand and I attempted to raise her head with my right hand. What I saw still gives me nightmares.’
‘You don’t need to describe the injury Mr Ryebank, we have the photographs.’
‘I realised the gravity of the situation and proceeded to chase the man down. I ran after him, into the bushes. There were a lot of low branches and raised roots. I hadn’t realised at the time that I was running straight towards a ravine just a few feet in front of me. I soon found out as I tripped, I think on a raised root or a low branch, I can’t be sure. I actually went off the edge head first but on the way down my body twisted and I landed on my back.’
‘That makes for an interesting version of events. I’m sure that is how you see it in your own mind Mr Ryebank. I suggest a different version, a more realistic one.
I suggest that there was no other man. I suggest that you followed Jill as she left through the entrance doorway, then from behind you used your right arm to put her in a stranglehold and using the knife in your left hand, you reached forward and dealt the fatal blow. It would be folly to believe any other scenario could be possible. That explains the blood on your right sleeve and the knife in your left hand. It also explains why two sets of credible witnesses, only minutes apart saw you, and only you, at the scene of the murder.
I will put it to you yet again Mr Ryebank, why did you kill Jill Breathnach?’
‘I didn’t.’
‘So, you want the jury to believe that the murderer appeared from nowhere, stabbed Jill to death then immediately disappeared without a trace... Do you really want to insult our intelligence by suggesting that is what happened, despite all the evidence to the contrary?
There are only so many ways I can try and get you to tell the truth Mr Ryebank, despite this you continue with your denial. Members of the jury, there is nothing else to add...
...or is there?
Mr Ryebank, one last thing.
Do you recall the events in the toilets located in the hotel reception on that Sunday morning?’
‘I do.’
‘Good. Then you will recall saying these words to your father whilst he is lying on the floor with a serious head injury sustained during an altercation between the two of you. You said, and I quote... “today there will be a murder...” Do you remember saying that Mr Ryebank?’
‘I did say that but as ...’
‘Thank you for your honesty Mr Ryebank finally the truth is out. Members of the jury, the final sentence Mr Ryebank uttered after hospitalising his father and leading Jill Breathnach to her death in a remote moorland location, was, “today there will be a murder...” and that indeed turned out to be the case.
Thank you once again members of the jury for your patience. I’m sure you now have an appreciation of the events that happened on the days prior to, and including, that Easter Sunday. I’m also sure that you have found the evidence to be overwhelmingly conclusive that the Defendant Joseph Ryebank is the man responsible for the murder of Jill Breathnach and as such, I conclude the case for the Prosecution.’
The Judge interjects. ‘That concludes the proceedings for today, please be back at nine-thirty in the morning when the Defence will begin their case.’
Chapter 23
The Trial – The Defence of Joseph Joshua Ryebank
My Defence Barrister stands to her feet and delivers her opening statement.
‘Members of the jury, you are about to hear the defence case for Joseph Ryebank.
Today, I will prove to you conclusively, that the evidence presented so far by the Prosecution is a cut and paste character assassination of Mr Ryebank, and worse; a cut and paste version of the events surrounding the murder of Jill Breathnach based on flawed evidence from a flawed investigation.
You may have seen Court cases dramatised on television or in films, where it is depicted the Prosecution and Defence fight each other until one side wins. This is not television, this is not a film, there are no winners and losers. What myself and my learned friend from the Prosecution aim to achieve is justice, justice for Jill Breathnach. Our role, in this case, is to ensure that you have all the facts available for you to decide, one way or the other and beyond all reasonable doubt.
I ask for your patience as I will have to spend more time than I would like to, dealing with the misinformation surrounding Mr Ryebank’s character, that so much of this case has been built on. This is unusual and could be gap filling by the Prosecution due to a lack of credible evidence against Mr Ryebank.
You have heard the same two pieces of evidence regurgitated over and over and over again from the Prosecution, there is a reason for this because the more you hear it the more likely you are to believe it, regardless of whether it is true or not.
Let us examine the two pieces of evidence on which the Prosecution have built their case; one that Mr Ryebank was an abusive, coercive and controlling partner based on what they have extracted from Lisa Pussett’s statement to the Police, second, that he is guilty of the murder as he was the only person seen at the scene.
Members of the jury, first let me bring to your attention the word extracted, I will present to you Lisa Pussett’s full statement and when I do, you will see that Mr Ryebank was far from being an abusive, coercive and controlling partner. Once you have heard the full facts you will be able to dismiss this from the Prosecution’s case, and once you have done this, there is only one further matter for you to consider, the premise that the whole case rests on, that Joseph Ryebank was the on
ly person present at the time of Jill Breathnach’s murder. But was he? How on earth can anyone, either there on the day, or sat in this Court be beyond a reasonable doubt that that is true, especially when Mr Ryebank’s version of events is just as plausible? It is the most tenuous link possible that Mr Ryebank is the person who committed this murder.
The biggest travesty in this case is the Police investigation. I will provide all the evidence that the Police either missed or omitted as they became fixated on proving Mr Ryebank’s guilt.
Furthermore, I need you to focus on the fact that whilst Joseph Ryebank, an innocent man, is here - being tried for a crime he did not commit, there is still a murderer walking our streets.’
The Judge interjects, ‘I ask that in reply to the Prosecution, please make your rebuttal concise with regard to Mr Ryebank’s character, in order for us to concentrate on more relevant evidence.’
‘I will My Lord if I could be granted the same amount of time as the Prosecution that should be sufficient.’
‘You will, now please carry on with the case for the defence.’
‘Thank you, My Lord. Members of the jury, Mr Ryebank has been described by the Prosecution as an abusive, coercive and controlling partner, let me dispel that accusation immediately. The Police have investigated all aspects of Lisa Pussett’s and Joseph Ryebank’s relationship and found nothing, nothing at all to suggest any form of abuse, mental or physical. Far from it, as a couple they enjoyed a healthy, respectful and well-balanced relationship. Lisa Pussett was very much a free spirit, aside from the time they spent socialising as a couple she enjoyed regular nights out with the girls including an all-girl ten-night stay in Ayia Napa, Cyprus for a friend’s eighteenth birthday. She had her own bank account, earned, spent and saved her own money, independent from Mr Ryebank.
She was free to do and say what she pleased, and she did.
The Truth We Chase Page 15