The Archers Trial Week: The Evidence
As trial for the attempted murder of her husband, , approaches, we review some of the key points of evidence that the court will hear – and some that may not come to light.
Thomas pays the price
Helen gave a fluffy toy rabbit, which he named Thomas after . Boy and bunny became inseparable, but Helen returned from meeting one evening to find that Rob had made Henry throw Thomas in the bin, along with his Easter eggs, as a punishment. His ‘crime’?Sharing his chocolate with "that stupid soft toy you gave him" instead of staying put on the sofa. Henry cried himself to sleep, but Rob wouldn’t let Helen comfort him, saying: "He has to learn to do what he’s told".
"Take the knife. Put it in your hand"
After Rob was stabbed, forensic examination found Helen’s fingerprints in his blood on a kitchen knife and evidence of a short, frantic attack. But forensics didn’t reveal that Rob put the knife in Helen’s hand.
During their furious row, he hit her and goaded her to kill herself, did, as that would be the only way he would let her go. Upset by the noise, Henry came downstairs, and when Rob went to grab him, Helen flew at Rob, the knife still in her hand…
"Please Helen. Take the phone"
Terrified for Helen, Kirsty gave her a pay-as-you-go phone, with £20 credit and the women’s helpline number. She warned her to hide it from Rob, who - it turns out - was monitoring Helen's own mobile. Helen protested she didn’t need it, but she went on to use it to arrange to meet .
She also rang Kirsty on the night of the attack to say she was leaving, but Rob made her end the call. The police found the phone in the kitchen, and checking the call log led Helen’s barrister to identify Jess as a potential witness.
The mobile phone
Terrified for Helen, Kirsty gave her a pay-as-you-go phone.
"Who knew mauve was my colour?"
Guests at Lower Loxley’s New Year’s Eve ball in 2014 were surprised to see Helen with a frumpy new hairstyle and wearing a matronly, mauve dress. It didn’t suit her – but it suited Rob, who had taken her shopping and rejected all of her choices. This pattern of him controlling what she wore escalated to the point where he made her send back some maternity tops she’d ordered because they were ‘too low-cut’. She bought an extra-large shirt – and another mauve dress – from a charity shop instead.
Tuna bake and mind games for afters
Helen made Rob a tuna bake on the night she planned to leave him. Kirsty had also brought round an apple pie, but Helen told Rob that had sent it, as Kirsty was banned. Helen apologised for the tuna, which Rob hated, explaining she hadn’t been shopping.
Ordering her to make fresh custard rather than ‘shop-bought muck’, Rob went upstairs and found Helen’s half-packed bag, but appeared to accept her lie that it was ready for hospital. They ate the tuna and he said it was delicious. But he became angry when Helen said this was typical of his mind games.
The tuna bake
Helen made Rob a tuna bake on the night she planned to leave him.
"You made me do it"
When Helen dared to admit she felt stifled by meddling ways, Rob was furious and said she should blame herself for Henry’s unsettled behaviour: ‘You’re a wreck! It’s amazing you were ever allowed to bring Henry into the world.’
Distraught, Helen tried to hit him, but Rob hit her hard across the face and said she made him do it. Confiding in Kirsty later, she described it as ‘just a slap. I attacked him. It was only in self-defence.’
"The night I gave you our son"
Helen has confided to a women’s helpline that Rob had ‘forced her’ more than once to have sex, but has not admitted this to anyone in her defence.
The first time, Rob set the scene for seduction, but he became insistent, after she said she wasn’t ready for a baby. The next day, Rob told Helen she had been ‘Little Miss Giggly’ the night before and that she had drunk too much and ‘got carried away’. The encounter led to baby Jack’s conception.
Rob forced himself on Helen again a few days after he had hit her, saying she was reluctant because she 'felt guilty about hitting him'.
"I swear, I will kill him!"
At a tea party at Bridge Farm, Henry told his mother that Daddy and Grandma Ursula were going to send him away to school. Enraged by the deception, Helen yelled: "It’s Rob, it’s always Rob… If he tries to take Henry away… I swear, I will kill him!"
After the stabbing, Ursula reported this to the police and said Rob was only showing concern for his pregnant wife, who was too fragile to cope with two children. Helen admitted making the comment but said she didn’t mean it.
What only The Archers listeners know…
Rob: hero of the flood 鈥� or villain?
Rob was hailed as a hero for rescuing , in the flood. But weeks later, at a clandestine meeting with and , Berrow Farm worker Stefan revealed that earlier that fateful night he had seen what he thought was Rob stuffing black plastic into a culvert to deliberately block it, diverting water away from Berrow Farm and causing massive damage in the village. When manager tried to pursue the matter, Rob told him he had let Stefan go back to Poland for a family crisis, where he could not be contacted.
What Shula did: 鈥業 need to be punished鈥�
Helen’s arrest stirred up disturbing memories for of . At the time Rob had bullied her to keep quiet and Shula had lied to PC Burns to protect the hunt’s reputation. But with the trial approaching, she felt compelled to speak up.
Ignoring warnings from husband Alistair and friend Caroline Sterling, Shula confessed to Anna Tregorran. She was mortified to hear that because she had lied to the police once, she was an unreliable witness and her evidence would be inadmissible.
Read:
Ian and Adam: "I envy your open relationship"
Rob resented ’s friendship with Helen and destroyed it on Ian’s stag night by telling him that Helen had seen kissing . He implied he had also learned about Adam’s earlier fling with fruit picker Pawel from Helen. Feeling betrayed, Ian snubbed Helen on his wedding day and brusquely refused to be her new baby’s godfather. But he missed her, and was surprised and delighted when Anna Tregorran asked him to be a character witness for Helen. He agreed to speak at her trial, and sent Helen an affectionate letter. Rob was furious when he discovered that, despite his best efforts, Ian and Helen had made amends.
Jess: "The law will not protect me from him"
had assumed Helen would reveal that she knew Rob had abused Jess too. She was surprised to hear from Anna that Helen wouldn’t talk about their meeting, and agreed to meet. But Rob got there first, and told Jess it was wise for her and her baby Ethan to draw a line under the past. When Anna arrived, Jess reluctantly confirmed she had begged Helen to get away from Rob before he crushed her completely. She initially refused to give evidence, fearing the law would not protect her.
