A significant proportion of the British public believes that the press have reported ‘too many details’ of the suspects in the Joanna Yeates murder investigation and feels that their actions ‘risk prejudicing a future trial’, our survey has found.
- 46% of Brits feel that the press have reported too many details of the police suspects
- 28% conversely believe that ‘there is a legitimate public interest in who killed Jo Yeates’ and that ‘the press have rightly published’ the suspects’ details
- 11% said neither of the above while a sizeable 15% said they didn’t know.
‘Wrongful arrest?’
Landscape architect Joanna Yeates from Clifton, Bristol, was found dead on Christmas Day 2010, ten days after she disappeared following Friday evening drinks with colleagues.
The police originally arrested her landlord, Chris Jefferies (pictured), for questioning but later released him on bail. The attorney general Dominic Grieve has warned newspaper editors of the dangers of prejudicing future trials after a frenzy of media speculation over Mr Jefferies' appearance, character, hobbies and teaching career.
