Vincent Tabak strangled Joanna Yeates after she invited him in for a drink - Telegraph

Quote:

William Clegg QC opened the defence case by saying "Joanna went limp" after Tabak put his hand to her throat when she protested when he made a pass at her. ''It was pure chance that they ever met,'' the barrister said. Both Miss Yeates and Tabak were at ''loose ends'' on the night of her death. ''She was bored and lonely. It was the Saturday before Christmas and her partner was away.'' Her boyfriend Greg Reardon held back tears as Mr Clegg outlined his client's case. ''Their meeting that night and what followed was unplanned and pure chance,'' Mr Clegg said. Tabak was invited in after Miss Yeates smiled at him as he walked past her kitchen window while setting off for Asda, the court heard. ''She offered him a drink. He declined as he was driving later,'' Mr Clegg said. ''She said that her boyfriend was away and she was alone. He said that her girlfriend was away and he was alone. ''As the two of them talked... Vincent Tabak completely misread the situation that he had walked into.'' He made a move towards her as if he was going to kiss her on the lips. Mr Clegg said it was "frankly disgusting" that Tabak had tried to hide the body and "did everything he could to cover his tracks". But the barrister said Tabak had panicked and "never meant to kill Joanna at all". He told the jury: "She screamed, it was a loud piercing scream, he panicked, he put his hand over her mouth to stifle the scream and said to her 'stop screaming'." Tabak then put one hand around her throat. Mr Clegg said: "Joanna went limp. "If Joanna Yeates had stayed for one more drink in the Ram pub, she'd be alive today. "If Vincent Tabak had left half an hour earlier to go to Asda, as was his intention, he wouldn't be standing in the dock now. "Tragically, Joanna didn't stay for a last drink and went home, arriving around 8.30pm. "Joanna went into her flat. She took off her coat, she took off her green fleece that she was wearing under her coat and put it on a chair, she took off her boots and she went into the kitchen. "She opened one of the two bottles of cider she had bought at Bargain Booze and maybe had a drink from it. "She was bored and lonely." "It was the Friday before Christmas and her partner was away. "She told Rebecca from Swansea, who gave evidence the other day, that she was bored and explored the possibility of travelling to Swansea to see her. The weather ruled it out. "She texted three other friends, all in an effort to have some company. "So she said she was bored to Rebecca and she was looking for company, as those text messages so clearly tell us. "It was the Friday before Christmas, lots of people were out, it was the end of term and she was home alone." Mr Clegg said that Miss Yeates and Tabak were virtual strangers, despite living next door to each other. "In the next flat adjoining hers, with the front door just around the corner, was Vincent Tabak, her neighbour," Mr Clegg told jurors. "They had never really met before, other than a nod as they would pass in a passage outside their house, a sort of acknowledgement one might give to a neighbour that you recognised but had never really spoken to. "Indeed, her cat had had more contact with her neighbours than she had. "Vincent Tabak was also home alone and bored. His partner was away and he was, like she was, at a loose end. "He decided to go to Asda, not because of any real burning need for anything but as much to fill in time as anything else. "And their meeting, like that night, like what followed was unplanned and it was pure chance. "Vincent left his flat and he was walking towards his car, intending to drive to Asda, when he passed Joanna's kitchen window. "Her blind was up - it always was. It was broken, her boyfriend confirmed. "The light in the kitchen was on. Joanna was in there. She looked up and saw Vincent, her neighbour. He noticed her. "There was a nod and acknowledgment between the two and she indicated or beckoned for him to retrace his steps and to come in. "Joanna opened her front door and invited him in." Mr Clegg told the jury that the invitation marked an "unfortunate starting point for the defence case". "All the evidence confirms that he must have been invited in as there is no question of any forced entry," Mr Clegg said. "He went into her flat because she had opened the door and invited him in. "He took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack that was in her hall and she offered him a drink. "He declined because he was driving later. They then introduced themselves to each other and chatted, as neighbours would. "She said that her boyfriend was away and she was alone and he said that his girlfriend was away and he was alone. "And as the two of them talked inside that flat, Vincent Tabak completely mis-read the situation that he had walked into. "Joanna was only being sociable, as many neighbours would be, particularly as it was Christmas. "He mis-read her friendliness towards him and made a move towards her as if he was about to kiss her on the lips. "He put one hand behind her back, in the middle of her back, to pull her closer to him.

It's like a murder in a whodunnit, isn't it?

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While the setup isn;t totally implausible, the immediate assumption that your neighbour is horny and wants to seduce you, especially when you both have partners, and that this should happen right away rather than after an evening chatting and drinking wine and discovering a shared love for Roy Orbison, or something, and that the immediate response is to choke her to death rather than be embarrassed and awkward, AND THEN to cold-bloodedly dispose of the body rather than making a tearful call to 999.... doesn't really ring true.

Yeah, I think I'd hide the body (I'd do a proper job of it too, chucking it into the Irish sea or something), but that in itself is suspicious. I'd expect Mr. Average to panic. But then maybe hiding the body in a half-arsed way is a form of panic?

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Sure, doesn't exhibit the same sort of premeditation seen in properly planned murders. But it still looks to me like some sort of harm was meant, and perhaps it went further than originally intended, but his scenario makes little sense.

Quote:

The verdict comes despite prosecutors being blocked from telling jurors about Tabak's sex secrets. He strangled Miss Yeates after becoming obsessed with violent sex and pornography, it can now be revealed. The 33-year-old Dutch engineer was convicted following a three-week trial at Bristol Crown Court. The jury of six men and six women returned their 10-2 majority verdict on their fourth day of deliberation. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years. Tabak had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but had denied murdering the 25-year-old whose frozen snow covered body was discovered in a remote country lane by dog walkers on Christmas morning last year. During the trial Tabak, who lived in the adjoining flat to Miss Yeates in Canynge Road, Clifton, claimed her death had been an accident. He told the court Miss Yeates, whose boyfriend Greg Reardon was away for the weekend visiting relatives, had invited him in after spotting him passing her kitchen window on the evening of December 17 last year. He told jurors she had made a “flirty” comment and he had misread the situation thinking she wanted him to kiss her. Tabak claimed Miss Yeates had screamed when he had made a pass at her and he had put his hand around her neck in an attempt to calm her down and stop her screaming. The 6ft 4in Dutchman said he had held her for less than 20 seconds using only moderate force, but after a short time she went limp and fell to the ground. But the jury rejected his version of events after hearing that Miss Yeates had 43 separate injuries when she was killed including numerous abrasions and bruises. It can now also be reported that when police seized Tabak's work and home computers they discovered a chilling collection of pornographic films, featuring women being choked. Detectives fear he may have graduated from “observer to perpetrator” after watching the films and strangled Miss Yeates for his own sexual gratification. He also stored images on his computer of a woman who bore a striking similarity to Miss Yeates exposing her breasts. In the photograph the woman was also wearing a pink t-shirt similar to the one Miss Yeates was wearing on the night she was killed. The information was kept from the jury during the trial, but can now be reported after the judge, Mr Justice Field, lifted an order banning publication. It can also be revealed that far from being in a monogamous relationship as he claimed in court, Tabak sought out the company of prostitutes while on business trips to Newcastle and Los Angeles. Tabak looked down at his feet but showed no sign of emotion as the verdict was delivered. He immediately sat down and put his head in his hands. Mr Justice Field began sentencing by telling the jury: "I think there was a sexual element to this killing." The judge told Tabak he had committed "a dreadful, evil act on a vulnerable young woman". Tabak intended to go "much further" after attempting to kiss her, the judge added, saying that Miss Yeates died "in pain and fear" and her disappearance left her family suffering "seven days of agonising uncertainty" Tabak denied that there had been a struggle but the prosecution accused him of deliberately killing Miss Yeates in a sexually motivated attack. Nigel Lickley QC, prosecuting described Tabak as “calculating, dishonest and manipulative”. One of the most shocking aspects of the case to emerge came when it was revealed that after killing Miss Yeates, Tabak had placed her body in the boot of his car before driving to a supermarket where he went shopping for beer and crisps. While there he had even sent a text message to his girlfriend Tanja Morson, telling her he was bored. Tabak had claimed he was in state of panic at the time and did not know what he was doing. But the jury rejected that suggestion after being shown CCTV footage of him calmly strolling round the aisles. He later drove to Longwood Lane in Failand around three miles from Clifton where he attempted to drop her body into a quarry. But after failing to lift her, Tabak left Miss Yeates’s body on the grass verge covering her with leaves. Heavy snow later that night concealed the body for another eight days until she was finally discovered on Christmas morning. Joanna Yeates's boyfriend maintained his composure as the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Greg Reardon, 28, had been perched on the edge of his seat in the front row of the public gallery looking at the jury of six men and six women. Miss Yeates's parents, David and Teresa, have attended almost every day of the trial but decided not to come to court today. Other members of the Yeates family were in court to hear the verdict but showed little emotion. Mr Reardon, wearing a black suit with a grey shirt and tie, was supported by his brother as they listened to the foreman speak in a slow, clear voice when he answered the clerk's questions. The jury had been deliberating its verdict for 13 hours and 36 minutes before returning to Court One at Bristol Crown Court. There was complete silence as the foreman, wearing glasses and a grey jumper, replied: "Guilty." Flanked by six dock officers, the bespectacled 33-year-old Dutchman stood behind the glass-fronted dock and looked down at his feet but showed no sign of emotion as the verdict was delivered. He immediately sat down and put his head in his hands.

Vincent Tabak found guilty of Joanna Yeates murder - Telegraph

And you know the weirdest thing in the whole case? He still has a less fucked up view of sex than the judge. "A dreadful, evil act on a vulnerable young woman"... So, ah, tell me, your honour, just what exactly made her vulnerable? Could it be because her owner... ah, sorry, we call them boyfriends now, don't we... was away? Creep.

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Meanwhile, Torygraph displays unusual conception of cause and effect:

Quote:

Vincent Tabak 'developed sexual fetish after watching violent porn films'

Vincent Tabak 'developed sexual fetish after watching violent porn films' - Telegraph

Tell me about it. I've been a raging poofter ever since I watched an episode of Queer as Folk one night a few years ago when I got in from the pub.

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Oh this is just ridiculous. Joanna Yeates murder: legislation needed on incitement to gender hatred | Julie Bindel | Comment is free | The Guardian

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(Sounds like she's been hanging out on Genki Genki too, dirty girl.)

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Seems entirely sane to me.

Which one - Tabak, the judge or Julie Bindel? Frankly they all seem a little of their rockers to me.

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