Chameleon's Shadow

METROPOLITAN

POLICE

WITNESS STATEMENT Witness: Benjamin Russell (16) Interviewing officers: DI Beale, DC Khan Present: Mr H. Pearson, Mrs B. Sykes, Dr J. Jackson Date: 16.08.07 Incident: Assault on Walter Tutting on 10.08.07

I, Benjamin Russell, agree that the following is a true record of statements made by me during an interview today with DI Beale and DC Khan.

I’ve known Walter Tutting a few months. We got friendly because I used to hang out around the pub he uses. Some girls I know have a dealer close by. Walter was pretty lonely and he liked me because I was the same age as his grandson. He told me he hadn’t seen the boy since his wife died.

At first I thought it was me Walter was keen on, but when I told him I wasn’t into that kind of thing, he said it was the girls he liked. He wanted to know if any of them would be willing to spend time with him. He told me he was making calls to a sex chat line for a bit of company but it wasn’t the same as having a woman to cuddle.

Walter was pretty old, so it took a bit of persuading to get one of the girls to go. None of them fancied the idea much. The girl who went said he didn’t do anything, just wanted a chat, and gave her thirty quid at the end. After that, they were all up for it. I went a few times myself. When one of the girls volunteered to wank him off one night, he gave her a hundred quid.

He was always a bit twitched about anyone seeing us go in. He said his daughter wouldn’t like it if she found out. We used to sneak down an alley behind his terrace and get in through the back. He was always pleased to see us, even told me his PIN on his card so that I could get cash out at night-time if he was short. We were good mates so I never took more than he said. I used to buy fags and booze for him as well.

Everything changed about a month ago. Walter started locking his back door and telling us to go away. The girls were upset because they were fond of Walter. They asked me to wait for him in Gainsborough Road one day to see if I could find out what was wrong. We had a bit of a row because he said we’d been stealing off him. I told him it wasn’t true. He said his daughter had found out about it and was going to put him in a nursing home. I think his brain had gone a bit. He said he wasn’t allowed to let anyone in any more. After that we left him alone.

When I woke up on Friday, 10 August, I was feeling really sick. I hadn’t been well for a few days but I thought it was flu. I’d spent the night down by the river and I knew there was a drop-in centre in Gainsborough Road. I decided to go there and ask for a doctor. One of the girls said she’d come with me. We had to go down Harris Road to get to the centre.

The time was about eleven o’clock and there was no one around. We saw a woman come out of an apartment block and stand at the edge of the pavement. She looked as if she was waiting for a lift. She was about five foot eight and thin but we couldn’t see her face. She was wearing a baseball cap and had her head down. I think she was blonde. She was carrying a duffel bag and I snatched it off her and ran down the road. The girl with me pushed the woman over to stop her following us.

I know it’s wrong to steal off people but we’d done that kind of stuff before. It’s easy when there’s no one else around. I tucked the bag under my jacket and turned down West Street. The girl split off in the opposite direction. I don’t know if the woman screamed. The running made me sick so I wasn’t concentrating on anything else.

I was stupid to go anywhere near Walter’s house, but he lives in a cul-de-sac off Gainsborough Road. I thought it would be a good place to check what was in the bag before I went to the drop-in centre. The only thing worth taking was a Nokia mobile. I put it in my rucksack and left the rest in the duffel bag. I needed somewhere to ditch it and Walter has a couple of flower tubs outside his door. I thought I’d squeeze the bag in behind one of them.

He came back just as I started. I was kneeling on the ground and he hit me round the head with a carrier bag he was holding. I grabbed it off him and we had a bit of a scuffle. I told him he was senile and that made him more angry. He put his key in the door and said he was going to call the police.

I was feeling very sick by then and I don’t remember exactly what happened next. I think it may have been me who turned the key and pushed him into the hall. We were both angry. Walter hit me with a walking stick so I swung the duffel bag at him. I was holding it by the strap. I know I missed the first time but I think I hit him twice afterwards.

I was shocked when he fell over. I never intended to hurt Walter Tutting. I wouldn’t have tried to defend myself if he hadn’t hit me first. I believe most of my actions on Friday, 10 August, happened because I am suffering from type one diabetes. I remember leaving Walter’s house with my rucksack, the carrier bag and the duffel bag, but I don’t remember anything that happened afterwards.

I confirm that the bag shown to me by the police was the one I stole in Harris Road and subsequently took to Walter Tutting’s house. I confirm that the carrier bag in Walter Tutting’s possession was a Londis bag.

I do not know the real names of any of the prostitutes who took money from Walter Tutting. I do not know the name of the girl who was with me when I stole the duffel bag.

I do not know the name of the woman in Harris Road and cannot give a more accurate description of her. I would not be able to recognize her if I saw her again.

Signed,

Benjamin Russell