13/08/91 - Continuation of statement of Mr John Patrick Shaughnessy
Page 01 02

Continuation of statement of Mr John Patrick Shaughnessy
age of witness ( date of birth ) 29 yrs 071261 dublin
occupation of witness assistant purchasing manager

consisting of 22 pages
dated the 130891
signed john shaughnessy
signature witnessed by andrew gallagher dc

This is a continuation of my statements dated 9th and 120391.

As i said when i started the flower arranging at the clinic i would always do the flowers on a monday night or if it was a bank holiday i would do then on a tuesday. I have always got the flowers from buster edward's stall under waterloo bridge. My routine for doing the flowers has always been the same. Having finished work at 1700 i would get changed and then walk to buster's flower stall.

Choose the flowers and have a chat with buster and his helper who i only know as jim. I would then carry the flowers back to the clinic and begin arranging them. When i lived at 60 lambeth road i used to arrange them in the kitchen at number 60 but since i moved out i have always arranged them on a table outside the smoking room on the ground floor near reception.

I usually try and start arranging the flowers around 1800. Depending on how things went the earliest i have ever finished is about 2000. And the latest i have finished is around 2130. About a year ago just after my wedding. Michelle taylor did the flowers for me while i was still in ireland.

Since then she has helped me most weeks to do the flower arranging. However i should say that there were some mondays that michelle would be doing other things and i would do the flowers on my own. And also occasionally i would have something else planned and michelle would do the flowers for me.

This would mainly have been if myself and alison had gone to ireland and we would take the monday off and not come back until the monday night. From around 000391 onwards michelle began giving me a lift home after we had finished doing the flowers. Prior to this i used to get the train home from waterloo to clapham junction as normal.

Since 000391 when she gave me a lift home. Which was about 75% of the time. She would normally just drop me off outside the house and then she would drive off back to the clinic. She only came into my flat about twice after giving me a lift and on these occasions she would have an orange juice.

Maybe watch a bit of tv and then go again. Alison would always be there and michelle never stayed longer than about an hour. I would say though that it wasn't normal for her to come in. Michelle always took the same route when she took me home. That was lambeth road. Embankment. Vauxhall cross. Wandsworth road. Lavender hill. St john's hill and left into vardens road.

She always approached my house from the junction of st john's hill and vardens road. I would say that the journey time was no more than 15 minutes. When michelle started giving me a lift home she was driving a blue austin metro but in 000491 she changed this for a white ford sierra estate.

I would also say that for the last few months. Michelle would apart from the odd monday. Collect the flowers for me in her car. The way this would work is that michelle would collect them and i would pay for them the next day. I had introduced michelle to buster and jim and told them that michelle would be the person who would collect the flowers if i wasn't about and this arrangement was agreed with buster.

The cost of the flowers varied between £30 to £40 per week. If i had collected the flowers on foot the journey to buster's stall would take me about 10 to 15 minutes. Having got to the stall i would always have a chat to buster and jim for maybe 15 or 20 minutes then the journey back with the flowers would have taken a minute or two longer than the journey there.

For the flower arranging i was paid about £5 or £6 per hour. This money always came in handy for paying small bills and things. Originally this money was paid separate from my wages and was paid to me by cheque. Then it began to be paid to me in cash and since about 000491 this was paid with my wages and appeared on my pay slip.

Around the beginning of 000591 i decided to give up the flower arranging at the clinic so that i could spend more time with alison. I had also thought that as a result it would help me to stop the relationship with michelle. I mentioned my intention to stop the flower arranging to some of the reception staff. I can't remember who.

But i remember telling them that they wouldn't be getting any more free flowers. It was my habit that if there were any flowers left from the previous week that were still in reasonable condition i would give them to any of the staff who wanted them. During the time that michelle helped me with the flowers i used to offer to pay her for her time but she always refused to accept any payment from me.

If there were any occasions when michelle was going to be late or not turn up she would always ring me beforehand and let me know. I have told her on occasions that there was no need for her to put herself out by helping me with the flowers but she used to say it was no trouble and keep coming to help on a monday night.

The main reason she gave me for wanting to help with the flowers was that she started attending a catering course which was run through morley college ( but was not run at the college. It was run somewhere else ). She didn't attend this course for long. I don't think for more than six weeks.

However she did keep up the catering and has done a few parties since. She wanted to be able to arrange flowers for her catering business. In keeping with her desire to start her own catering business. Michelle actually changed her job at the clinic from working in accounts to being a part time domestic. So that she now works on a thursday. Friday. Saturday and sunday from i believe 1500 until 2000 each day.

Around 000590 or thereabouts. Michelle actually took up residence at 62 lambeth road. Se1. This is also accommodation owned by the churchill clinic. Where she had a room on the ground floor. She told me the reason that she moved away from home into the clinic accommodation was that she used to have rows with her father.

Apparently he had a drink problem and used to come home and have rows with his wife. I believe on at least one occasion according to michelle he actually picked up a kitchen knife and threatened his wife but michelle got in between them. From what i have heard he has in the past assaulted both michelle and his wife. This was the reason that michelle moved.

During this time myself and michelle were still secretly seeing each other and making love on average about twice a month. This would mainly have taken place on a monday night after we had finished flower arranging. Either in my room or michelle's room at the clinic accommodation. About eight months to a year ago. I can't remember when exactly.

I became aware that there were rumours going around the clinic to the effect that myself and michelle were having an affair. I was unaware that our relationship was obviously anything more than that we were just good friends. I in fact was spoken to by my boss. Alan tuck on this matter. He just mentioned the fact that the rumours were going about.

And as far as i can remember i just thanked him for letting me know. I mentioned what mr tuck had said to michelle and she said i was passing too much heed on what people think. This was one of the occasions when i spoke to michelle about ending our relationship and she said that not to take any notice as people always had something to talk about at the clinic.

I have been asked what i know of michelle taylor's past and apart from what i have already mentioned i really don't know a great deal. Michelle has one brother and two sisters. Her brother's name is david who no longer lives at home. He seems to move about the country a lot and from what i can gather he also moved away from home due to the fact that he wasn't getting on with the family.

Mainly i think his father. Until michelle moved out. The three girls. That is michelle. Lisa and tracey lived at home. Michelle's mother and the three girls appeared very close and michelle and her mother seemed to spend a lot of time on the phone to each other. Michelle would always confide in her mother or take her problems to her.

I would say that they always stuck up for each other as a family and i believe. Again from what i have been told by michelle that they all seemed to have had problems at school with teachers. From what i remember i believe that it all stemmed from one teacher not liking michelle and this teacher apparently carried this dislike on with lisa and tracey.

This apparently resulted in mrs taylor attending the school on a few occasions and i believe once or twice she even left work to go down there. I believe mrs taylor used to work for a company who built and installed kitchens. Although i don't think she works any more. Michelle father is known as del and he has his own contract cleaning company.

He is assisted in this by lisa and since she changed her job at the clinic. By michelle. Tracey is still at school. In the cleaning business they clean shopping centres such as elephant and castle and the arndale centre and also fire stations. One of these is out croydon way i believe but i can't remember where.

Michelle did mention it at some stage because i remember her telling me that one of the firemen there was quite nice. Michelle and lisa seemed to get on very well and were very close. They were quite often together and michelle talked about lisa a lot. I first saw lisa when she would be around the clinic with michelle and although i never got to know her that well.

At first she seemed quite nice but as time went on and i got to know her a little better i began to dislike her. Her attitude seemed to change and i believe that there was some trouble with her at home. She began to hang about with people who i personally would describe as not the kind of people i would want to associate with.

She also became cheeky and always wanted to contradict and try to be a know all. I didn't really take much heed of lisa. I may have commented on her occasionally to michelle but it never caused any friction between myself and michelle. Early last year ( 1990 ) lisa began work in the accounts department at the clinic but her employment there was brief. Less than two months.

Because i was told she didn't get on with the other girls there and in particular anne marie owens who was her supervisor. I was also told by mr tuck that her work had not been up to standard. I believe however lisa left of her own accord. Lisa was more of an introvert than michelle and would not speak unless she was spoken to. Even if she knew you.

I don't know what it was about her but i always thought that i wouldn't trust her. She was very secretive. I know at some stage alison was introduced to lisa but they didn' t really know each other. Alison knew that i didn't particularly like lisa and the contact between all three of us would just be to say hello socially on the few occasions that we ever met. As regards michelle's sister tracey.

I met her a lot as she was very often with michelle and is a sweet innocent kid but could be moody. I only met del taylor once or twice when i have been at the taylor's house. At michelle's 18th birthday party. And once when myself and alison were invited there for dinner. I didn't really know much about him. He seemed to be very quiet and really seemed to be in a world of his own and didn't pass much heed on anybody.

Mrs taylor comes across as a nice lady who appears to be very caring and protective as regards her family but is also a very hard and tough woman. The type of woman who you really wouldn' t want to upset or get on the wrong side of. This is the impression i forced of her from talking to her.

I have met her on maybe 10 occasions. On the times i was at her house and also when she used to visit michelle at the clinic. I also remember on one occasion i met michelle. Mrs taylor and an aunt of michelle's as i was coming out of the clinic and they invited me to join them for lunch.

I can't remember when this was but i remember her aunt was about to have a baby. We went to petronis for lunch and we each paid for our share of the bill. The other occasion on which i was at the taylor's house was in 000790 or 000890 not long after alison and myself had come back from ireland after our wedding.

Michelle told us that her mother had invited us for dinner. So one sunday michelle took myself and alison up to her house in forest hill in the late afternoon. We had dinner there in the garden where the table had been laid out. That day apart from myself and alison there was michelle. Her sister tracey. Her mother and father. Lisa did pop in briefly but then went back out again.

Lisa did not have dinner with us. She just came in. Said hello. Picked something off the table and went again. She didn't hang around at all. We left the taylor's house again about 1900 or 2000 that same evening and michelle dropped us off again at the clinic. Also working at the churchill clinic is a girl called jeanette tapp or jj as she is known.

She has worked at the clinic about the same length of time as i have. Outside the family. I would say that michelle would have spent more time with jj than anyone else. They seemed to get on well together and although they seemed to be quite close. Michelle would quite often make derogatory remarks about jj.

Jj has always lived in clinic accommodation and has changed rooms quite often whilst living there. She is currently occupying the front first floor roow of 62 lambeth road and has been there now i would say for about 2 years. My own thoughts on jj are that although she was always willing to do a favour if asked.

I could not say i trusted her. Mainly due to the 'shifty' friends she seemed to keep. I would describe her as a liar. An actress who would talk about people behind their backs. I was not keen on her at all but i would still be able to speak with her and pass the time of day with her. I cannot quote any exact circumstances but i know that she has lied about little things in the past and has been caught out.

Her time keeping at work gave the management cause for concern and her sick record is appalling. I have been told that she would inflict slight injuries on herself and then come into work covered with bandages so that she is sent home and gets time off work.

I remember that i mentioned to michelle the fact that jj never seemed to have any money and michelle told me that she was giving jj money and that she was in turn giving money to a coloured guy who used to turn up. As it was none of my business this is the only thing i mentioned on that subject. The relationship between michelle and jj seemed to grow stronger.

Especially in the last 12 months and they are always visiting each others rooms. Around this time i saw very little of lisa around the clinic. Alison seemed to get on well with jj but having said that. Jj's personality seemed to change from day to day. Alison and jj would have met quite frequently at the clinic but they never really had long chats.

They would just say hello and exchange a few words. Around easter of this year ( 1991 ) possibly on a friday night i was supposed to have been seen with alison walking in clapham junction by michelle and jj at the traffic lights. Jj told me they had seen us as they were coming back from catering at a party which was near where we lived.

She said that they had gone up past the granada bingo hall. Which now makes me wonder where they were going as they should have went right if they were going home. I also feel that if michelle had been catering at a party near where i lived she would have mentioned this to me but she didn' t. I had not seen them that night and did not ask anymore questions about it.

As far as hobbies go as regards michelle. I know that in the past she has done ju jitsu and had become quite proficient in it. I know that during this she did some kind of weapon training but i'm not sure what this entailed. Michelle showed me some wooden weapons she had in her room at the clinic. She kept then in a case and they included a long curved wooden sword.

A wooden baton with a small t bar like the american police nightstick. I did not see any other weapons other than those i have described. I also believe that the ju jitsu also involved a lot of physical training. Sometime around 000989 both michelle and i enrolled at the morley college for weight training classes on a tuesday night and aerobics classes on a thursday night.

We used to attend these classes together. Michelle would bring her sports gear to work with her and after work she would change in the toilets beside her office and i would go and get changed in my room. I would then call over for her and we would walk together to the classes. There were times that we would also go there separately and meet at the door.

At no time whilst attending these classes did i even tell anyone or insinuate to anyone that she was my wife. Both these classes were for 1 1/2 hours duration and afterwards i would go back to the clinic and have a shower and michelle would go home. The classes began at 1830. I don't believe i ever made love to michelle after any of these classes as i would either get something to eat.

Or phone or go up to north london to see alison. These classes ran from 000989 until christmas 1989 and michelle and i attended the majority of them. I missed quite a few around christmas time as myself and alison used to go late night shopping.

The classes stopped for mid terms and the christmas period but started again in late 000190 and ran through to 000490. Again we both attended on a regular basis. In 000990 when the classes started up again. Both michelle and i enrolled again for weight.

Page 01 02