The prosecution claimed that after having sex John had killed Mrs. Bolshaw on the bed, when her bladder would have emptied. They claimed he had then stripped her of the negligee on which the semen stain was later found, and placed her body in the bath.

Their evidence for this was as follows:-

• A large damp patch, found to be urine, was found on the bottom sheet of the bed.
  
  
• The retired police officer who was the first officer at the scene of crime said the damp patch was revealed when the negligee was moved. It was ‘the shape of damp patch left when someone sits down on the bed’.
  
  
• A negligee taken from the bed was found to have a semen stain on it, later found to have originated from John.

However, the defence pointed out in summing up that this speculation on the part of the Crown was flawed because:-

• There was urine on the bed sheet but not on the negligee – so Mrs. Bolshaw was not wearing the negligee when she was killed.
  
  
• The position of the semen on the negligee was consistent with John’s account that Mrs. Bolshaw had put the negligee on after having consensual sexual intercourse with him. (i.e. semen had drained onto the garment when she had been sitting down.)

• Therefore she must have been killed some time later after taking the negligee off.

This aspect of the prosecution’s case provided no real evidence against John and tended to corroborate his account of events.