This article was published after Billie-Jo's aunt produced a list of potential links between Imiela and Billie-Jo:
- Imiela lived just 20 miles from Billie-Jo when she died
- He had friends in Hastings (Billie-Jo's hometown)
- Imiela was a known violent sex offender
- He carried out his crimes in isolated spots - Billie-Jo's garden (where she was found) was overgrown
- Imiela was obsessed with girls around Billie-Jo's age.
This post is designed to address these points and suggest that, perhaps, there is more being made about these points that necessary. Let's take each point in the order they are presented above:
- Hastings, in 1997, had a population of around 85,000. This means that there is a large number of other people who lived in the area at that time who could also be associated with the murder of Billie-Jo. In addition, in crimes such as this, it is likely that the offender would act within his comfort zone. Imiela's crimes (between the years of 1987 and 2002) took place primarily in the London area.
- Living so close to Hastings, it is likely that Imiela, like many people in the East Sussex area, knew several people who lived in the town.
- Imiela was indeed a violent sex offender. His crimes were predatory and sadistic. However, there was no sign of sexual assault in the case of Billie-Jo's murder. Switching between rape (in his first known offence in 1987), to the murder of Billie-Jo, then back to rape (for his known offences between 2001 and 2002) is extremely unlikely, and a marked variation in offending that is symptomatic of separate offenders.
- Although the Jenkins' garden was overgrown, providing some privacy, Imiela carried out the majority of his crimes on the commons of London or land around the M25 motorway. These locations allowed him to carry out his crimes in secure environments, where he was sure he could take his time with his victims without the chance of being caught. Billie-Jo was allegedly murdered during the time that her step-father visited a DIY store. This length of time would not afford Imiela sufficient time to carry out his preferred acts.
- Whilst it is true that Imiela raped girls as young as 10, it would be an exaggeration to suggest that he was obsessed with girls around Billie-Jo's age. His victims spanned the ages of 10-52 years, and less than half of his rape victims were aged under the age of 18.
There are, however, some links between Billie-Jo's murder and Imiela:
- His then girlfriend lived approximately 2 miles from Billie-Jo's home.
- Imiela used improvised weapons during his crimes, similar to that used against Billie-Jo (she was murdered with an 18-inch tent spike.
- Parts of a bin liner were found in Billie-Jo's nostril. Imelia had placed bin liners over the heads of his rape victims.
Whilst it is possible that these could be significant links, I would suggest they are coincidental. A disorganised offender would have used any available weapon, and could have tried to use any available method of murder. This could include suffocation using a bin liner (which would have been easily accessible in a garden). The fact that Imiela's girlfriend lived so close to the Jenkins' home could merely be a coincidence.
Whilst any murder investigation, particularly one where the victim was so young, should never be fully closed, I personally feel that this story is borne out of the desire to see somebody punished for this crime. Imiela, on paper, is an ideal candidate for prosecution. He is already in prison and has no real prospects for release - so why not pin this one on him too?
That is not the way that justice works. And whilst this line of inquiry is pursued, precious resources would be wasted when the real perpetrator is potentially still at large in the community. Taking a criminal profiling stance, the chances of Imiela actually being the person who killed Billie-Jo Jenkins is very slim indeed, and so it is suggested that resources are targeted at more promising lines of inquiry.
Let's not forget that, although now acquitted, no jury has ever conclusively found a previous suspect to be innocent. That is not to suggest that this individual committed the murder of Billie-Jo, but the media were implicated in leading the prosecution's case in the original trial. This must not happen again, and, as such, care must be taken in considering the story published today.
So what do you think?
Get in touch in the usual ways. You can follow me on Twitter, email on craig.harper90@msn.com, and comment on this blog to air your views. I particularly encourage you to comment below. This is an emotive and debatable topic, and so different viewpoints are needed and welcome.
All the best,
Craig
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