Barrymore arrested again...

[surreal]

Looks like the case is back on:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,70131-1270525,00.html

Barrymore Arrested Over Pool Death

Updated: 11:15, Thursday June 14, 2007

Game show host Michael Barrymore is one of three men arrested by police investigating the murder of Stuart Lubbock, sources say.

Mr Lubbock, from Harlow, was found dead in Mr Barrymore's swimming pool home near the Essex town in March 2001.  Essex police said the three suspects - aged 32, 37 and 55 - were also being questioned about allegations of sexual assault.

Mr Lubbock, a butcher, died after after going to a late night party with Mr Barrymore and some friends. Post-mortem tests showed that he had suffered severe internal injuries, which suggested sexual assault.  Alcohol, ecstasy and cocaine were found in his bloodstream.

A lengthy investigation was carried out by police but no one was charged with any offence and a coroner recorded an open verdict following an inquest in September 2002.  Mr Barrymore accepted a police caution for drugs offences following the inquiry.

In December 2006, police began a new inquiry into Mr Lubbock's death, while in January, a police watchdog announced an investigation into detectives' handling of the original inquiry.

More to follow...

[George Oscar Bluth II]

Let's hope they, er, get to the bottom of it.

[chand]

Woo, several more years of tedious Barrymore bumming gags.

[Artemis]

It's not been announced by the police of course - all anyone's doing is hedging their bets that the 55 year old man is Barrymore (who's 55). He was so unstable on CBB that I'd imagine if he gets charged for this it'll finish him off, certainly in the world of showbiz, guilty or not.

[surreal]

It's not been announced by the police of course - all anyone's doing is hedging their bets that the 55 year old man is Barrymore (who's 55). He was so unstable on CBB that I'd imagine if he gets charged for this it'll finish him off, certainly in the world of showbiz, guilty or not.

Maybe they'll add him to a new politically-correct version of Cluedo:

"It was Barrymore, in the pool, with a fist"

[Make me smile]

Maybe they'll add him to a new politically-correct version of Cluedo:

"It was Barrymore, in the pool, with a fist"

[Alberon]

The BBC are reporting it as well, though they're probably relying on exactly the same source as Sky News.

A 55-year-old man from London and two men, aged 37 and 32, had been arrested on suspicion of serious sexual assault and murder, Essex Police said.

Press Association sources said Mr Barrymore, who is aged 55, was one of the men arrested.

A police spokesman said the 37-year-old man had been arrested in Lancashire and the 32-year-old man was taken into custody in Staffordshire.

I'm a little surprised they've arrested Barrymore over this. I'd be exceptionally surprised if they charge him with either sexual assault or murder. Is there any offence he could be charged with simply because the murder happened at a party at his house?

[SetToStun]

The BBC are reporting it as well, though they're probably relying on exactly the same source as Sky News.

I'm a little surprised they've arrested Barrymore over this. I'd be exceptionally surprised if they charge him with either sexual assault or murder. Is there any offence he could be charged with simply because the murder happened at a party at his house?

Hmm. Earlier today the BBC article studiously avoided naming Barrymore - I can only assume someone in the plod has "unofficially" informed reporters.

I've no idea what they think they can charge him with, given their failure to charge him last time out. Perhaps someone's blabbed or something. Whatever, I'd hope they had some sort of good evidence before pressing charges. If it all falls through again it won't exactly do Lubbock's family any good - it must have been bad enough at the time, let alone dragged up again.

[gazzyk1ns]

Nah they'll love it, they desperately want someone, preferably Barrymore, charged with murdering him. That was their son was "murdered", as opposed to "went to a gay drugs party and had an accident". Well maybe that's doing them a massive disservice, but whenever I've heard Lubbock's dad in particular ranting about it, that's what I've inferred.

[SetToStun]

Nah they'll love it, they desperately want someone, preferably Barrymore, charged with murdering him. That was their son was "murdered", as opposed to "went to a gay drugs party and had an accident". Well maybe that's doing them a massive disservice, but whenever I've heard Lubbock's dad in particular ranting about it, that's what I've inferred.

Oh, no doubt they want someone charged and convicted; and equally no doubt that "our son was murdered by evil bummers" is easier to bear than "our son was a closet bummer who met a grisly death while being voluntarily fisted at a gay drugs orgy". But that's only if something comes of it this time. To have it all dragged up and in the news again must be utterly dreadful if, once again, the end result is no prosecution. That would be akin to facing up to the second statement all over again.

Still, with Barrymore still being a celebrity of sorts and the media hoo-ha this case is bound to generate, I would imagine they have something concrete to talk to the three detainees about this time. Well, I say "imagine", what I actually mean is "hope".

[Al Tha Funkee Homosapien]

Can you actually be fisted to death? Genuine question.

[Blumf]

We could find out

[Small Man Big Horse]

Can you actually be fisted to death? Genuine question.

Presumably it could cause a massive prolapase, which if not dealt with properly could lead to the individual bleeding to death.

[MojoJojo]

Can you actually be fisted to death? Genuine question.

It depends on whether the fister remembers to put his gardening trowel down first.

[Dusty Gozongas]

Presumably it could cause a massive prolapase, which if not dealt with properly could lead to the individual bleeding to death.

In a swimming pool. In clean undies. Allegedly.

I hope his family can gain closure this time although they're probably not going to like what they hear about the dead man's habits...

[Steve Lampkins]

I'm not being funny, but how do they know it was sexual assault, as in non-consensual...? Sorry for any stereotyping.

[sproggy]

...gain closure...

Blaeugh!

So, is He in for questioning or has he been arrested?  Why has it taken 6 years?  How can pleasure be derived from sticking your arm up someone's bum?

[Catalogue Trousers]

Ask Christopher Timothy.

[sproggy]

I already did, he said he derived no pleaseure from the act whatsover, but the Cow sends him a cheeky christmas card every year.

[gazzyk1ns]

There's some really suspicious evidence surrounding the coroner (or other mortuary staff, I can't remember) in this case, too; apparently he/she was previously involved with a body which mysteriously developed terrible anal injuries too, so some suspect something along those lines went on after his death in this case. That almost sounds like I'm joking, I'm not, in a thread here years ago there was loads of stuff posted about that. In fact I think Sheepy might have posted some of it, I don't know how dodgy my memory is though. It certainly seems like a very complex case which is unlikely to be resolved to everyone's satisfaction (well, heh, I suppose that applies to most court cases doesn't it, but you know what I mean).

[Dusty Gozongas]

Blaeugh!

Yeah, they should just get over it and to hell with the jargon. Eh?

[Artemis]

Wasn't there some nurse last time this was in the news, who went on record saying that Lubbock's injuries and subsequent death could have been caused by taking a rectal temperature precisely fourteen times?

I remember it because it struck me as the single most absurd thing I've heard anyone say ever.

[sminkypinkybangbang]

Cluedo pic

Class!

Does anyone have the Pools and Corpses picture?

[Make me smile]

Class!

Does anyone have the Pools and Corpses picture?

The Pools and Corpses one is in the Vision Mong Memorial Thread. I should also point out that the Cluedo one is not my work.

[Ambient Sheep]

There's some really suspicious evidence surrounding the coroner (or other mortuary staff, I can't remember) in this case, too; apparently he/she was previously involved with a body which mysteriously developed terrible anal injuries too, so some suspect something along those lines went on after his death in this case. That almost sounds like I'm joking, I'm not, in a thread here years ago there was loads of stuff posted about that. In fact I think Sheepy might have posted some of it, I don't know how dodgy my memory is though.

Indeed...I've mentioned this a few times now.  :-)  In a nutshell, the theory behind the "massive anal injuries" were that they were caused by a temp worker at Princess Alexandra's morturary who was later discovered to have predeliction for sexually abusing dead bodies.  Which still doesn't explain how Stuart Lubbock died, but means it's much more likely to have been a simple drowning than being massively anal raped to death with a blunt instrument.

This old forum page contains several posts about this theory; but here's the core part of it (taken from an online article by an investigative journalist) - read the bold bits if nothing else; I do realise it's a bit on the long side:

IF YOU'RE GOING to drown in a celebrity swimming pool, choose carefully. Not all celebrity swimming pools are equal. In March last year Daniel Williams a 23-year-old fireman drowned in another male celebrity's pool. But while Lubbock, a butcher by trade, became a household name, Williams became yesterday's news.

As with the events surrounding Lubbock's death, there was a party, Williams amused himself in the pool at the London house, while the other guests drifted indoors. No one saw him drown. He was found submerged dead, or dying, in the early hours of the morning. The toxicologist's report showed that Williams had consumed the same quantities of alcohol (nine pints), ecstasy (four or five tablets) and cocaine (a line or two) as Lubbock. Likewise, there was no forensic or witness evidence of any struggle.

Unlike the Lubbock case, the press didn't find Williams's death mysterious or even particularly interesting. They accepted the results of the police inquiry (which, as with Lubbock, ultimately produced no charges) and the Home Office pathologist's conclusion was that he had died by drowning. They didn't splash each day's (carefully selected) inquest "highlights" across their front pages, printing speculation as scientific fact, or constantly interview Williams's family and friends. Nor did they lynch his host's career from the lamppost of public indignation. Instead they treated the death for what it was, a terrible accident.

Why? What was the difference? Was it in part that Williams drowned, accidentally, in a swimming pool belonging to a married film celebrity - the actor Art Malik - instead of a very famously gay and off-the-rails television celebrity called Michael Barrymore?
::
::
For example, the papers, tabloid and broadsheet, told us repeatedly how Lubbock was found floating face down in Barrymore's pool. Untrue. All the witness statements agree that Lubbock was found at the bottom of the pool face up. Apparently, the image of a "handsome", "heterosexual father-of-two" floating dead, face down, and arse up - literally drowning in passivity – in the pool of Britain's most famous 'arse-bandit' was just too seductive for the press to resist.
::
::
In fact, the pathologists were divided as to how the injuries were caused. It was not even established that the injuries were caused by sexual activity. Indeed, DNA testing showed that Lubbock had not had sexual contact in the hours before he died.
::
::
How many of the guests were actually gay? "None. Just me and my boyfriend," says Barrymore.
::
::
(A senior editor on a liberal broadsheet, explaining shortly after the inquest why no, he definitely would not be running an article anatomising the press' distortions, told me in no uncertain terms that Barrymore was 'low life'.)
::
::
...the summing up of the coroner, Caroline Beasley-Murray, seemed to assume, despite evidence to the contrary, that Lubbock's injuries must have occurred at Barrymore's house, and appeared to criticise the partygoers and the host for not being able to explain them. This and the open verdict – itself not uncommon in inquests – provided the press with enough rope with which to hang Barrymore again and again.

"If his injuries occurred here," asks Barrymore, "why was there no blood on his boxer shorts? Why is there no blood in the house? Or in the pool?"

It's a vital question. Lubbock's anal injuries, lacerations as well as bruising and dilation, would have involved a substantial amount of bleeding and even small bloodstains are notoriously difficult to eradicate. Moreover, since the inquest, Stuart Nairn, one of the A&E nurses who worked without success to resuscitate Lubbock for over two-hours, has provided a detailed sworn statement to Barrymore's solicitor which has sparked the new investigation by Essex police and thrown the coroner's presumption about where the injuries took place into even more doubt.

Nairn's assigned task for the entire two-hours was repeatedly taking Lubbock's temperature rectally with a small, thin, thermal probe. Nairn performed this operation 16 times, pulling apart Lubbock's buttocks and opening his sphincter each time. His statement makes clear that he saw no evidence of the injuries described at the coroner's inquiry. Indeed he noticed no dilation or significant bruising (according to the pathologists' report, even if Nairn's small temperature probe were actually quite large, he would not have needed to open Lubbock's sphincter muscle at all). "I am sure that I would have noticed this," says Nairn. "Moreover, I would have reported this to the doctor." He also mentions that aside from a small smear of blood on the probe towards the latter stages, which was not unusual given the number of insertions, there was no evidence of bleeding.
::
::
Nairn was due to appear as a witness at the inquest but the police say they lost contact with him. A similar statement by Nairn was read out at the inquest, but it was dismissed by Professor Crane, one of the pathologists, who claimed that someone in A&E would not have had time to notice such injuries, and would have been preoccupied with other things anyway. Nairn's second statement makes it clear that he would have noticed. In fact, he probably spent more time observing Lubbock's anus than any pathologist.

If, as now seems likely, the injuries to Lubbock occurred after he was finally pronounced dead at Harlow General Hospital and Nairn's treatment ended, then they must have occurred in the seven hours between this time and the body's examination by the Home Office pathologist, who was the first person to record them. Essex police are unable to confirm that the body was guarded during this time. Instead they can only say that this matter, and the issue of who had access to the body during this time, is "part of the current investigation".

Does Barrymore have any idea how the injuries occurred? "Well, I have my ideas about it, but it would be wrong for me to speculate," he declares. "That's for the police to investigate. I'm not about to point fingers at anyone."

The article that directly claimed it was the mortuary worker was in Private Eye, sadly I haven't got it to hand (and wouldn't have the time to rake through dozens of copies anyway), but it said something about him having been quietly "let go" from another hospital for sexually abusing the dead, and he did happen to be on duty when Stuart Lubbock was brought down to the morgue.

Given all that, it seems odd they've re-arrested Barrymore and the other two guys.  So either the conspiracy theory is bollocks, or the police are incompetent vindictive bastards.  A difficult choice to make, there.

[chocky909]

Thanks for that Sheepy.

Anyone entertain the theory the body was deliberately damaged to get Barrymore into trouble?

[Ambient Sheep]

Thanks for that Sheepy.

Anyone entertain the theory the body was deliberately damaged to get Barrymore into trouble?

I would do, if I could think of a motive.  But I can't.

[chocky909]

Just being gay is motive enough for me. Call me paranoid but there are some real haters out there.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Just being gay is motive enough for me

I wouldn't be so open about that, if I were you.

[Ambient Sheep]

Just being gay is motive enough for me. Call me paranoid but there are some real haters out there.

<nods sadly> Yeah, I suppose I'm just hoping that life isn't really like that, when I know damn well that it can be.

By the way, to save anyone following a chain of links, the URL of the article that I heavily condensed back there is http://www.marksimpson.com/pages/journalism/journo_barrymoreint.html - originally written for the Independent on Sunday, apparently; I hadn't realised that (he seems to have revamped the page a bit since I originally saw it, adding the IoS credit and a link to the Guardian blog that I also mentioned in my post on the CBB thread).