“I next visited the office of Stapleton and Co. solicitors. Mr Stapleton had allegedly countersigned the hand written wills but when informed, he denied that he had ever been involved. His signature was obtained. This was checked and again it did not match the one purporting to be his on the documents, and was therefore a forgery. Mr Stapleton will attend any court as and when required to confirm this.”
“When I visited London it was in fact upon a mission to check on the sales of the land in these cases. I visited the offices of Huston and Co who handled the deals between the various purchasers and the sellers represented by Mr Rochester. They confirmed to me and I have it in writing that it was in fact nearly £500,000 that was paid for each plot of land. This sum was paid directly into the client account of Mr Rochester. Clearly this varies greatly from the letter Mr Rochester sent to each of the deceased persons and seen by their relatives wherein he stated that he had received in the region of £200,000 for each plot of land.”
“I next visited the head office of Mr Rochester`s private bank, which is also located in London. Under the authority of the high court warrant I was shown Mr. Rochester’s account. The entries relating to several sums of £280,000 were recorded, the entries matched the dates of the land transactions. I also saw that this money had been transferred from this account to one in the Cayman Islands, a tax free place. The account into which it was transferred was to the account of a Mr and Mrs Black, I obtained the account number in the Cayman Islands. The court will be aware from what has taken place here that Mr Rochester visits this place and indeed is anxious to return there now.”
“This evil and devious man, a solicitor, an officer of the court was able to do all these things for he held power of attorney he could do what he liked.”
“I have since made further enquiries. Knowing Mr Rochester was away I obtained the services of a locksmith and with Constable Turner I searched his house, again under the authority of the warrant. I discovered his black overcoat which he always used for work in his practice. I seized this and sent it for forensic examination. A check of the garment revealed traces of the Gramoxone poison and in addition fibres from each of the scenes of murder. Mr Rochester has told the court he did not need to get close to the clients or the weedkiller when he visited them at their homes.”
“I also discovered remnants of drugs and syringes plus tablet bottles which matched the missing items in these cases, they were hidden under some floorboards. From my enquiries it is apparent that whilst visiting the deceased victims Rochester had stolen these drugs he had found lying around and thus had given them to his clients, his and their DNA were found on the items.”
“In addition concealed under the same floorboards in his study I discovered documents in the name of Black. I have researched these and discovered that the maiden name of Mrs Rochester was Black. Clearly, having family papers the couple have obtained false documents such as a passport in the name Black. Identity fraud in other words, but of her own ancestors, thus they were unlikely to be reported for doing so as those family members are dead.”
“With regard to the documents, the original handwritten wills of the deceased persons. My Lord, within the house of Rochester, I discovered the original handwritten wills made by the deceased victims, The signatures have been checked and proved genuine. I will produce these and it will be noted that no reference is made to leaving any money to either of the accused, Nurse and Mr. Ron Gittins. You will also note there is no counter signature from the witnessing solicitor.”
“ I believe Mr Rochester took these wills and retained them at home. He then made out false handwritten documents for submission to the Probate office, and further typed out other false copies to present to the relatives and the police.”
“Some short while ago I was in Delwright’s Pantry simultaneously to a visit by Mr and Mrs Rochester. I overheard Mrs Rochester say that their legal practice had been sold and they were moving to the Cayman Islands. I realised there was no extradition treaty between the UK and these islands and thus once there it would not be possible to get Mr Rochester back to this country. I therefore needed to act quickly and decisively. I took the occasion and seized a cup from the pantry that I had seen Mr Jordan Rochester drinking from. I sent this to the forensic science laboratory. Professor Bolister obtained a DNA sample of Mr Rochester from the cup. As a result his DNA was now found on the pillow used in the murders.”
“Finally My Lord, although criticised at the time, I took my wife for a few days to the Cayman Islands. By coincidence the Police Commissioner there, one Alfred Johnson, a once assistant chief constable here in the UK. I knew him from the time I lectured at the police college when he was attending a course.”
“I contacted him and thus arranged to meet him. He was of great assistance. We visited the bank of Mr and Mrs Black and checked the account. The monies had arrived from the UK and were recorded. There had been withdrawals and recently, the commissioner went one further. He obtained security video footage of Mr and Mrs. Black making withdrawals. May I please ask the Usher to bring the equipment forward?”
The Usher did as requested and the film was played. Mr and Mrs. Black could clearly be seen and all in court recognised the couple as Jordan Rochester and his wife.
“It is clear to me My Lord that Rochester, to use a police phrase, planned to set up Ron and Kyle Gittins so that if and when it was discovered the deceased people had been murdered they would be the automatic suspects. Initially they appeared to be perfect crimes but on the last occasion, that of Mrs Iris Carter the locum doctor refusing to sign the death certificate, resulting in a postmortem caused the murder to be discovered. It follows the police would then discover the other murders and thus as Rochester had planned these two innocent people were arrested and appear here before this jury and you My Lord.”
“That is my evidence My Lord.”
There were no questions, the court was silent when Judge Stevens asked.
“Miss Honeysuckle Watts do you wish to sum up on behalf of the prosecution?”
She stood and said, “there is nothing to say Me Ludd.”
The Judge turning to Hayes asked the same question, he replied, “I think Mr Richards has said it all Me Ludd.”
The Judge agreed and merely said to the jury that they should retire to consider their verdicts, they turned to each other than the foreman stood.
“My Lord we have reached a verdict upon which we are all agreed.”
The Clerk of the court then stood and said, “Mr Foreman how say you, do you find the defendants Kyle and Ron Gittins, guilty or not guilty?”
“Not guilty on all charges My Lord.”
The Judge finally said, “Mr and Mrs Gittins you are free to go, I will however recall you later to say more.”
The court broke up, Kinsella said nothing and in a moment she had disappeared, presumably she would now have to back track on the information she had given on her Senior Command Course.
The Chief Constable looked for Jack to congratulate him but he had put his hat back on and disappeared through a side door and home.
With luck there would now be no public enquiry into the police nor the medical services, which would please the government. If there was to be an inquiry at all it would be into the working of legal practices but of course this would never happen, they were after all, lawyers, officers of the court, honest and truthful.
EPILOGUE
Four weeks later the Crown Court assembled once again. Jordan Rochester and his wife had been charged with murder and perverting the course of justice. They had pleaded guilty so only the brief facts were laid out before Judge Stevens. The room was packed of course.
The accused both stood and so Stevens commenced.
“Mr Jordan Rochester, Now, let me explain this to you. We are British. We have seen men like you before. As human beings, we reach out for justice. You are not a respectful lawyer but a vile wicked criminal.”
We do not concede to criminals, we rely on g
ood men like Jack Richards to hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big you are species of criminal that is guilty of multiple murders of the innocent.”
“I have read that these murders were the Judas Murders committed by a Judas, I think this is correct. They were committed by someone in a position of trust upon the weak and vulnerable.”
“In a very real sense, Inspector Striker had it right when you first were taken into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: You are not big news.”
“I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know. It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our love and family way of life and our freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose.”
“Here, in this Society, the very wind carries freedom. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this courtroom, so that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely.”
“We British are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Rochester, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bear any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well.”
“The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across the United Kingdom people will gather to see that justice, individual justice is in fact being done. See that badge above my head, indicating justice and freedom under the law, Mr Rochester? That badge will remain there long after this is all forgotten. That badge stands for freedom and justice, and it always will.”
“Mr Rochester, yes this was the case of the Judas murders but not committed by the innocent Mr and Mrs Gittins, people with impeccable characters.”
“Nurse Gittins a trained nurse showing valour you could never comprehend.”
“Mr Gittins, a loyal serving police officer for thirty years.”
“You deliberately planned to set them up to receive the punishment rightly due to you. You ruined their lives in addition to prematurely ending the lives of those innocent men and women.”
“Mrs Rochester you were well aware of the circumstances of these murders and went along with it for financial gain.”
“Mr Rochester, hearken now to the sentence that this Court imposes upon you.”
“The Court sentences you to life in prison, you will serve not less than forty years. This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and righteous sentence. I cannot foresee any Home Secretary would authorise your release.”
“Mrs Eunice Rochester, you are convicted on the lesser offence of conspiracy and will go to prison for seven years.”
Officers please take them down.”
This completed Judge Stevens had called Ron and Kyle Gittins to appear before him, in addition he called The Editor and Bessie Bromley of the Chester Herald and of course Jack Richards.
“Mr Richards you have once again made a thorough investigation and I wish to put on record that the court recognises your efforts in the interests of justice. I therefore yet again commend you. Mr and Mrs. Gittins owe you a debt of gratitude.”
“Mr and Mrs. Gittins I have called you here today to inform you officially in public and before the media that you have been found not guilty on all the charges and quite rightly so. You leave this court with your records unblemished. You were the victims of crime as much as the deceased persons and in addition to other trauma you have been left mutilated. A clear example of people taking the law into their own hands and the dreadful consequences of doing do. I would wish to put on record that despite the atrocious reports in the local media, and atrocious is what they were, I believe you have lost your home through fire, again by the ignorant and wicked amongst us. The money you have received was not left to you this will have to be repaid. You appear therefore to have been left mutilated, penniless, homeless and why?”
“I refer to reports in the media that you Mr Gittins had numerous complaints made against you whilst serving in the police. I have checked your record and found these allegations to be completely false. Your conduct whilst serving was noted when you retired, it said your conduct was exemplary without erasure indicating that you had no spent matters of misconduct. You had indeed an excellent record serving the public.”
“As for you Mrs Gittins, a trained nurse you were also seriously and atrociously defamed by the local media. I recall reading one item of your apparent misconduct that whilst a nurse in the Royal army Medical Corp. These allegations were also completely without foundation. I note, and this is not widely known but I feel it should be. Whilst serving overseas your medical station came under fire. You are recorded as going to and fro despite enemy attack then remaining with those casualties who could not be moved even though you were ordered to evacuate. You are directly responsible for rescuing and saving the lives of numerous wounded patients. As a result you were awarded the Victoria Cross, the first woman to be so awarded. This attack upon your good name and the total disregard for your kind work as a nurse is beyond belief and description.”
“Mr Hayes, as the legal representative of Mr and Mrs Gittins I presume you will be vigorously pursuing legal action against the media for their conduct in this case. The court hopes the figures will not only reflect the trauma and losses of these two innocent victims but will permit them to live the remainder of their lives in comfort and tranquility."
Hayes nodded in conformation.
The Judge continued, “To the editor of the Chester Herald I now give you an opportunity to stand here in open court and make a full apology to this couple for the hurt, pain and injustice your newspaper has inflicted upon them.”
The Editor stood, “On behalf of the Chester Herald I offer mine and their humble apology to you Nurse Kyle Gittins and to You Mr Ron Gittins. I assure you both, a full front page apology will appear in the next edition. In addition I can confirm that arrangements have already been put in hand to fully compensate you. Our solicitors will be in communication with Mr Hayes.”
He sat down, head bowed,
The Judge turned to reporter Bessie Bromley, “Miss Bromley, I have read the reports you have published in this case. The contents bear little resemblance to the truth. In addition you have pre-empted the evidence to be produced making it difficult to find an independent jury. In short madam you systematically ran a series of lies which from reports I have received have affected the smooth running of this trial. I will not however ask you to apologise, rather I find you guilty of contempt of this court. I sentence you to imprisonment for six months.”
The case was concluded.
Ron and Kyle were eventually told by the families they could keep the money left to them. They were awarded a very substantial sum of money in compensation and thus moved overseas to the pleasant island of Madeira where Kyle runs a rest home for wounded ex servicemen, at her own expense.
Superintendent Kinsella was successful on her course and is currently an Assistant Chief Constable in a force far away from Chester. Now serving in a rank in which she would not have to investigate any crime.
Doris continued to work as a detective much the wiser paying closer attention to detail in her future cases.
There was no public enquiry into either the police or nursing services the matter was not raised in Parliament again.
Jack Richards returned to a life of retirement. He returned the cup he had taken from Delwright’s pantry. Mrs Delwright had taken it from him without a thank you.
The following New Year he was notified that the Home Secretary had recommended him for an award in the New Years honours list. He wrote back to the Palace thanking her Majest
y but saying he was forced to decline the honour as he only performed duty in the interest of justice not for any reward. He was on a police pension and only claimed those actual expenses he had incurred.
Rumour has it the Queen smiled when she read the note given to her by her lady in waiting and said, “Hear, hear.”
Jordan and Eunice Rochester did not gain from their crimes for the bank in the Cayman Islands returned the money deposited with them to those for whom it was intended, though this went against protocol, after a request from the local police chief.
Mrs Rochester served her time, two years, after remission, and now lives in a council flat in a rough area of Chester.
Jordan Rochester found life too hectic in prison and thus he was found hanged in his cell a year into his sentence.
The Judas Murders Page 28