ITV crime drama White House Farm is based on the chilling true story of killer Jeremy Bamber, who was jailed for life for murdering his family at an Essex farm back in 1985.
The gripping series follows the manhunt for the suspect, centred around investigators DCI Taff Jones and DS Stan Jones and their conflicting views. But who were the detectives behind the real life case?
DCI Thomas ‘Taff’ Jones was the senior investigating officer in the White House Farm murders.
Played by Stephen Graham in the ITV series, Taff was convinced that the horrific incident was a case of murder-suicide, accusing Jeremy’s sister Shelia of killing her four family members before taking her own life.
Taff used evidence at the scene to support his claim, including the house being locked from the inside and no signs of forced entry, plus Shelia was found upstairs with the gun up against her body.
Despite this evidence, further examination began to suggest that Jeremy Bamber was the one responsible for the deaths and he was charged a month after the fateful incident.
DS Stan Jones, portrayed by actor Mark Addy in the TV show was somewhat sidelined by his seniors and told to look after the family following the murders and to keep out of the way of the investigation.
Seeing as it was deemed the case was a murder-suicide, it meant police officers didn’t feel there was a crime scene to protect, but Stan believed otherwise.
In an interview with ITV about the series, Mark Addy revealed: “It meant people were literally traipsing through the house at White House Farm, through pools of blood, with footsteps all over the place. This was in the days when forensics was a relatively new tool for the police.
“Stan was the guy who said, ‘Wait. Hang on a minute. We shouldn’t be doing this. There should be a proper forensic investigation. Stop moving the bodies around. The crime scene is being compromised.’
“There are scenes where we see evidence being discarded and burned by police – evidence going up in smoke that today would be crucial.
“That rankles with Stan who believes there is more to this story than his boss thinks, but he was up against his superior. That’s always a tricky negotiation to say, ‘I think you’re wrong, boss’.”
Shockingly before the case went to trial, Taff died in an accident at his home, reportedly falling off a ladder, in October 1986.
The Mirror reported that he was actually removed from the case due to “operational reasons” and his original documents have never been released to Bamber’s defence team.
Stan Jones died in 2014 – actor Mark Addy described the man behind the character he was playing: “I’ve tried to give a life to what it was about him that made him stick to his guns and go against his bosses in the police.
“There is something about him that is honourable and wants to see justice done. To see the right decision take place.”
