Sorry, but can someone explain this to me. Pat obviously reported Laura's death, the police come round and take her statement, which, as at this time she wasn't thinking about setting Janine up, she surely said that she came back from the club, Laura was alive, then she went to see Janine and when she came back Laura was dead. She had no reason to lie at that time. However, a few hours later, when she's made her decision to drop Janine in it, it appears she must of lied in her original statement, because it would have already confirmed what Janine had said. How could she suddenly state she hadn't seen Janine? Have I completely missed something?

Hmmm.........I don`t think she gave them a detailed statement. As far as I can remember she told them she left the club about an hour after Laura and then went to see Janine to see if she could get her to stop all the bickering. When she went back to the flat she then found Laura dead.

I don`t think she mentioned she`d returned to the flat to find Laura upset and had then decided to visit Janine.

it seems pretty strange to me that she wouldn't have mentioned it, as I said, there was no plan at that stage to lead the police to Janine. Also, if they're investigating properly (and yes, I know soap police never do ) then Pat's got a gap in time between leaving the club, it would have been witnessed by various people, and the time she discovered Laura - what the hell was she meant to have been doing? Doesn't that leave her with some explaining to do?

Apparently Pat had planned on painting that door the very next day, but Laura was dead against it! Hehehe.

Seriously though. When Pam came back, she had trouble opening the door because Laura was upside down against it on the other side. Surely she would have reported how she found Laura like this to the police at least. In that case, how could anyone have killed Laura, gotten out of the house and ensure that the body was still blocking the door from the inside? It wouldn't take Sherlock homes to workout that she had fallen accidentally, especially given the wheeled toys at the top of the stairs (and probably one at the bottom). The evidence could only show that Janine and Laura hated each other (Ian hated her too) but that an accident had happened.

I suppose the police will note that Janine's husband had recently died from an unusual fall, and suggest that she got rid of Laura the same way. However, as Ian has admitted going over there around the time of her death, and she was looking at Bobby's birth certificate (with his name on it), and writing Ian loads of scrunched up letters, they could also easily assume that he went in, was told of his son and shoved her down the stairs. Then of course, left saying there was no answer when he rang.

His story, and the apparent evidence against him, will be the most damning, and his fingerprints will be the last on the doorbell too. The police have checked for this haven't they? As they should in any suspicious death.

Rudi

Another (minor but still annoying) point. Absolutely everyone referred to Janine as Evans. Yes, I know that is officailly her name but she was only married to Barry for 5 minutes and most people would still refer to her as Butcher.
I know people who've been married for several years and we still call them by their single names.

Is it me, or do there seem to be more deaths than muggings in Albert Square?

And as for the police. What are they thinking. I thought my local police were crap?!

Despite other possible assailants (ref birth certificate, phone call to Ian etc) there will be DNA evidence. Remember those scratches on Janine's face? Laura will have Janine's skin under her fingernails. Janine denied they 'fought', saying they just argued. That will be an obvious lie.

Well until the forensic evidence was discovered it wasn't treated as suspicious so Pat wouldn't have been expected to account for her movements, especially as she was upset at the time of going to the police. It was only after Janine's skin and hair were found on Laura and the fight was mentioned by other people that the police thought it was suspicious.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found that annoying then.

Any sudden death is automatically treated as suspicious by police, even if at first view it seems straightforward. This goes from cot deaths to elderly persons deaths. It would certainly include someone falling down the stairs.

Who cares, lets just enjoy watching janine go down. I guess that in reality, Barry's death would be re-investigated too?

Also, Janine dropped a till receipt on the landing when she had the tussle with Laura.

That's torn it.

well shes going down anyway.

I don't think Pat was required to have a detailed statement, she called the police, they set to work and Pat went to the B&B. Pat gave a statement but didn't mention she had come back from Angie's Den, seen Janine leave the flat, found Laura hysterical but very much alive, then she (Pat) went for a rather long winded row with Janine. Pat came back and found Laura dead at the bottom of the stairs. Pat pushed the door only slightly to force her way in, Laura was barely touching it. Pat's earlier statement didn't include Janine at all so when Janine so confidently says that Pat would vouch for her. Pat could easily say "No I didn't see her" and thats that. It's Pat vs Janine, an with Janine's skin an hair being already on Laura aswell as the scrapes, it looks bad for Janine.

Ian already explained his version of events and the police seemed happy enough with that, as apart from the doorbell, theres no trace of him anywhere near the scene at the time of death.

I think they assume that if they always make the investigating policeman in soaps, bruiser-ish and built like Robbie Coltrane, they'll already have more presence and an air of authority about them, so we'll be taken in and won't notice the inaccuracies that come out of their mouths!

If I was going to give a false alibi I would not give the name of someone who hated me. Pat is Janine's alibi but Janine is also Pat's alibi. If cross examined where would pay say she was and who would back her up ?......Paul ? Natalie? She couldn't say she was at home because that's where Laura was.

So Janine sat through an entire interrogation with the police, under caution, and never once asked for any legal representation?

who cares? ins making great tv watching Janine squirm

Also while Janine was in the police station being grilled by the detectives why at no stage was she offered a solicitor or did she not ask for one? If I was in that situation it would be the first thing I'd do what about you?

Goldilocks

I do, mainly cos I sat throught it thinking "But WHY isn't she asking for a solicitor?" which distracted from the whole thing for me. Surely a call to Marcus the Wonder Brief would have been in order, he can't have much to do at the moment with Phil being away

I think this is a great story line. A good exit for a fine actress. I also think that once this plot is over, Eastenders will have very little left that is worth tuning in for.

I think Janine didn't ask for a solicitor because it hadn't occurred to her that she would actually get the blame, she was assuming Pat would be her alibi - she never thought anyone else could play the lying game as well as she could.

The CPS wouldn't go for this. There is insufficient evidence of murder to go for a "beyond reasonable doubt" conviction. Laura's injuries will be consistent with a fall. A solicitor would make mincemeat out of this case...

Why would Pat need an alibi? She could say she's gone to see Janine and found she wasn't in. She could have been on the Bench of Woe, or the Swings of Misery or out shopping, as she has no need to prove she didn't have a cat fight with Laura on the landing or push Barry off a mountain she has no need for an alibi.
She does need one for wearing that coat however, that must've been one enormous leopard!