This probably isn't the jolliest topic to talk about on here, and it will probably create some intense feelings among the community but the recent documentary about the Louise Woodward trial has made me cast my mind back to that time. First of all I can't believe it's been almost twenty five years. Like a lot of things, it feels like only yesterday.
I was in my mid twenties at the time so I remember how big this trial was and how we all followed it. You couldn't pick up a newspaper (and yes it was proper newspapers at the time - we didn't go online to read the papers!) without seeing Louise or something about the trial on the front page. I was a nanny at the time so the trial was of real interest to me, and I remember that the whole case raised a lot of questions, not to mention fears, among my peers. Everyone had an opinion on what had happened and everyone - yours truly included I have to say - did play judge and jury. We all felt we knew what had happened even though we were obviously not there! But what I remember so clearly was how the whole of Britain got behind Louise and her family. There was even a campaign to wear a yellow ribbon in order to show support.
What are everyone's thoughts here? Who was following the trial from start to finish?
I was at secondary school when the Louise Woodward case was going on. Being a kid, everything is very black and white and I think a lot of kids of my age group jumped to the conclusion that she was guilty and had hurt baby Matthew in some way. Of course we were going mostly by circumstantial evidence as at the time we probably didn't get all the medical evidence and jargon. It's only as I got older and I still got to hear about the case from time to time, because let's face it, it never really went away, that I understood that the case was not so clear cut. The medical evidence points to Matthew's injuries having occurred before Louise arrived at the house so she couldn't have done that. Then of course there was the language barrier in which things Louise said were taken by the Americans to mean something else entirely and I'm amazed that no one picked up on that at the time.
Not that I'm having a go at the baby's parents but I don't think they understood that there's a difference between an au pair and a nanny. There's a big difference between their duties and level of training and experience. Louise was in America to have fun, make new friends and see a bit of the world before starting university. She didn't really want to be running around after kids all day. And we know that she used to break a lot of the house rules but that's what teenagers do. The parents should have hired an older more qualified person to look after their children. But like I said, they probably didn't understand the difference between a nanny and an au pair and I know for a fact that a lot of people don't.
I'm a mum myself now and I have two small kids. I loved my job and worked very hard in my career but while my kids are so young, I want to be at home with them because I don't feel that other than my mum and mum-in-law, I don't think anyone will care for them the way I will. It's nothing to do with Louise Woodward as even without what happened I'm sure I'll have made the same decision. But what has happened has made me not doubt the decision that I've made and I know it's the right one for me and my family.
I do hope that everyone involved in this tragedy has found a way to move on with their lives even though I know the horror of what happened will never fully go away.
I was only a child when this trial started. Maybe ten or eleven years old. I wasn't too aware of all the facts and what went on exactly, in fact I'm still a little hazy on the details. But of course the trial was huge news at the time. You couldn't miss it. I think at the time, a lot of people seemed to think that Louise had something to do with the baby's death. I know that over the years it is widely accepted that Louise is totally innocent. She was just very unlucky.
The general feeling I get from Americans is that even if she didn't have a direct hand in Matthew's death, they feel she was guilty of something i.e. - neglect (and by the way, that's the opinion of a lot of Americans I've talked to. It's NOT my own personal opinion because the truth is I don't really know enough about this case to have an opinion!) But from what I've seen in the British press, it looks like the British public are behind Louise 100% and feel that she was completely innocent. But I agree with the feelings of the other commentators here in that this case was a real tragedy for all involved.
This was before I moved back to England permanently but we were aware of the trial although I don't think we got the same level of coverage that you got in Britain or America. Louise was only a couple of years older than me so when I heard about the case, it was astounding that someone of that age could be accused of such a serious crime. She was just a teenager like myself! I know there are still people who are convinced that a killer walked free but the medical evidence indicated that she couldn't have.
As I'm now a mother myself, I can't imagine what baby Matthew's parents must have gone through, and neither can I imagine how frightened Louise must have been as, although legally an adult, she was little more than a child herself. It was a very tragic situation but it seems that both Matthew's family and Louise have done their best to put this behind them and move on with their lives as best they can.
We were all aghast for so many reasons. Nothing was particularly clear cut or black and white. But at the time - and I know that this still goes on when anyone ever talks about the Louise Woodward trial - we were all talking about who was or wasn't guilty. Even the baby's parents didn't escape unscathed and there was a lot of blame levied at them. But I do feel that in the midst of all this, justice for a little baby was overlooked as the focus was very much on Louise and the child's family.
I was at uni around this time and I remember the case very well. If I could sum it all up in one word, it would be - horrific. A little baby had died, a family were distraught and a young, naive girl was put in a position that she should never have been in. I wouldn't say that I actively followed the case but then you couldn't escape it. The Louise Woodward trial dominated the news and it seemed to be the number one topic of conversation. Everybody had an opinion about Louise as though they knew her well or a theory about what had happened that fateful day. I'm sure they still do.
It was an unbelievable tragedy and it's sad that this documentary will now bring back some unpleasant memories for the Woodwards and Eappens.