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and Jessica Chapman - Documents |
18/11/03 - Soham Trial Transcript
Tuesday, 18 November 2003
SKY News
Richard Latham is the chief prosecutor; his colleague
on the prosecution team is Karim Khalil QC. Stephen
Coward QC is Ian Huntley's defence barrrister.Michael
Hubbard QC is Maxine Carr's defence lawyer. Mr Justice
Moses is the judge. Other witnesses and lawyers are introduced
as they appear.
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MR LATHAM
Constable Cooper, please, Full name, rank and station
please, Mr Cooper?
CLIVE COOPER
PC 616, Clive George Cooper, Cambridgeshire Constabulary,
stationed at Ely.
MR LATHAM
Mr Cooper, you were part of the Barker, Iddenten, Tee,
Windsor hall group that went to Soham Village College
in the early evening of Tuesday, 6th August, I think?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct .
MR LATHAM
the intention was you would start a fairly detailed search
of the site?
CLIVE COOPER
Correct.
MR LATHAM
in fact you were only in the site about an hour before
you were called back to Ely police station?
CLIVE COOPER
correct.
MR LATHAM
can I just deal with one or two things that happened before
you were summoned back to Ely? I think when you set off
to go to the school you had some fairly small and not
very detailed plans of the school site, is that right?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
had you ever been on that school site before in your life?
CLIVE COOPER
no.
MR LATHAM
we had all been there, it is a pretty large site and there
are some big buildings with many, many rooms?
CLIVE COOPER
that's right.
MR LATHAM
you met the caretaker, I think, shortly after you got
there, Mr Huntley didn't you?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
and was it apparent to you that the plans that you had
got weren't going to be adequate for the task?
CLIVE COOPER
we needed bigger plans.
MR LATHAM
did you speak- either you or one of your fellow officers,
speak to Mr Huntley about it?
CLIVE COOPER
I think Sergeant Barker asked him officially to get bigger
plans.
MR LATHAM
was he able to do that?
CLIVE COOPER
Yes, he came away for about 10 minutes and came back with
a larger sheet.
MR LATHAM
had he photocopied some plans?
CLIVE COOPER
that's right.
MR LATHAM
were they much more detailed plans of the school?
CLIVE COOPER
they were a lot larger and you could easily read them,
yes.
MR LATHAM
indeed, was that helpful to you?
CLIVE COOPER
very helpful.
MR LATHAM
and did Mr Huntley say anything about when he came back
with the plans, about the progress you might make?
CLIVE COOPER
as we left to start the search, he basically said "I
hope you find the girls."
MR LATHAM
"I hope you find the
girls". Mr Cooper I think you went back the next
day and continued your search around the site during daylight
hours didn't you?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
having worked on the site during Tuesday and Wednesday,
were you then one of those, one of many, involved in a
different type of search during September?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
your task in August had been what?
CLIVE COOPER
basically looking for the children (inaudible).
MR LATHAM
of course by September the bodies of the two children
had been found so it is rather a different task?
CLIVE COOPER
yes.
MR LATHAM
were you one of those who worked at the 5 College Close
during September?
CLIVE COOPER
yes.
MR LATHAM
I'm not going to take you through the detail of that search.
were you there on one day or more than one day in fact?
CLIVE COOPER
more than one day.
MR LATHAM
can you just give some idea, so the Jury has a picture
of how you were tasked, how was it working by September
when you were searching the house?
CLIVE COOPER
basically it would be a sort of forensic search, we would
be suited up with double gloves on, have things on our
feet, ie over shoes on our feet, and everything would
be treated as a search, a (inaudible) search.
MR LATHAM
before you entered the house each day were you given a
specific task, as it were?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
during the course of your searching did you in fact, seize
a fairly large number of items?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
as the search progressed, was it a case really of cataloguing
everything that was in the house?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
I think the procedure is that if you pick an item up and
technically seize it, it needs an exhibit label?
CLIVE COOPER
correct.
MR LATHAM
and whose initials go on the label?
CLIVE COOPER
that would be mine.
MR LATHAM
so in your case that would be CGC, I think?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct, sir.
MR LATHAM
and if seized, CGC ten, the 10th time you had- may have
seized. What did you do with it?
CLIVE COOPER
basically the system worked we packaged the item, we would
put a label on it, we would then take it down to an exhibits
officer who is outside the building.
MR LATHAM
the exhibits officer, the designated officer for that
task on that day, does he have any sort of document or
does he create a document?
CLIVE COOPER
he would have an exhibits book.
MR LATHAM
you would not be the only officer searching in the house
on the day you seize CGC 10?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
other officers seizing items with their initial and their
number would need to do what with their items?
CLIVE COOPER
exactly the same as we would do, in the sense he would
put his initials on and take it out.
MR LATHAM
the exhibit officer I think has a book, didn't he, he
is filling?
CLIVE COOPER
that's correct.
MR LATHAM
that book does what, in relation to the single item you
have taken down?
CLIVE COOPER
time the item in, see what it is, but also put who actually
found it and where it was found.
MR LATHAM
that information would be given to the exhibits officer
by?
CLIVE COOPER
by me.
MR LATHAM
thereafter, do you have anything further to do with the
exhibit, you have bagged it, labelled it, handed it to
him, who is in charge of it at that point?
CLIVE COOPER
I release my charge of it to the exhibits officer.
MR LATHAM
I am grateful my Lord , I understand there is going to
be no difficulty about having admissions in relation to
exhibits and I have already said to the Jury that there
will be many, many exhibits seized, only a few are relevant,
mainly items of clothing. Mr Cooper, would you wait there,
please.
MR COWARD
I have no questions.
MR HUBBARD
nor I.
MR LATHAM
thank you very much
(the witness withdrew).
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