Jersey care home murder claims discredited

JERSEY police have said they have ruled out suggestions that murders were committed at a former children’s care home at the centre of a massive abuse inquiry.

Yesterday the chief officer of Jersey Police was suspended pending an investigation into his role in the inquiry.

At a news conference, detectives said information put out by police about finds at the home which indicated that children might have been killed and then buried at the Haut de la Garenne home were inaccurate.

“We regret this,” said Jersey’s deputy police chief David Warcup.

“At this point in time, our assessment is that the forensic recoveries do not indicate that there have been murders of children or other persons at Haut de la Garenne.

“Nor do we believe the evidence indicates that bodies have been destroyed buried or hidden.”

Many of the bones which detectives said suggested they were dealing with a possible murder inquiry had been found to be either not human or dating from as far back as 1470.

Warcup said there were no reports of any missing persons, no allegations of murder and no suspects. However he said the investigation into alleged child abuse would go on.

In their first briefing since taking charge of the investigation, Warcup and Detective Superintendent Michael Gradwell discredited a string of key pieces of evidence.

The shackles and restraints were described as rusty pieces of metal, while a blood-stained bath, it was disclosed, had not been used since the 1920s.

There was also “nothing suspicious” about bones, teeth, pits and cellars at the former children’s home.

Mr Warcup said: “It is very unfortunate and I have much regret that information has been given by police that was not strictly accurate.”

Mr Gradwell went on to say the belief that forensic teams had uncovered secret underground torture chambers was wrong and said they were just cellars.

Hours after the conference, it emerged police chief Graham Power had been suspended.

Mr Power strenuously denied any wrongdoing and said he will rigorously contest any allegations.

Haut de la Garenne closed as a children’s home in 1986. The historical abuse inquiry began in 2006, looking at allegations of offences made by about 100 people dating back to the 1950s.

However, it came to prominence in February this year after police said they had found a child’s body. In May, they said the discovery of human remains such as children’s teeth and bone fragments, could lead to a murder investigation.

So far three people have been charged with sexual offences against young boys and girls as part of the inquiry, which has involved detailed searches of cellars at the home.

The former detective in charge of the probe, Lenny Harper, has criticised Jersey’s legal system and there have been accusations that the island’s judicial authorities were involved in an attempted cover-up.

However, Warcup said such criticisms were both unfounded, unhelpful and could jeopardise future trials.

Harper told the BBC it was unfortunate that the statements would detract from the fact that serious abuse had taken place at the home.

A spokesman for the Jersey Care Leavers’ Association said: “This finding opens the way for a proper accounting of the abuse that many people suffered in the childcare system in Jersey over decades.”

Jersey’s chief minister Frank Walker told a press conference he was concerned about the damage the scandal had done to the island’s reputation.

Walker estimated the cost of the investigation stood at £4.5 million (€5.3m), adding that £1.5m (€1.8m) had been spent solely on digging at the site.

“It would appear there have been certain sums of money that did not need to be spent,” he said.