Background
Barri White aged 21years and Rachel Manning aged 18 years, had been seeing each other since August 1999. On the night of the 9th December 2000 Barri’s mother Sharon Shaheed had held a 40th birthday party at a hall in Bradwell. It was a fancy dress party, the theme being the 70’s. The guests therefore were very noticeable by reason of their clothes, including Barri and Rachel. Some of the party goers including Barri and Rachel moved on to Chicago’s nightclub in Milton Keynes.
At the end of the evening, at about 2.15am on the 10th December, Barri White became involved in an altercation outside the nightclub, as a result he and Rachel Manning made off from the scene quickly. It is alleged that at this point Barri and Rachel argued. The argument allegedly was about Barri wanting to go round to Keith Hyatt’s house and Rachel wanting to get a taxi home. Barri and Rachel went their separate ways, Barri went around to Keith Hyatt’s house and Rachel went back to Chicagos to get a taxi.
At 2.43am Rachel made a call from a telephone kiosk on Oldbrook to her housemate. She asked him to come and get her as she was lost. She asked him to dial 1471, retrieve the number of the kiosk and call her back. Unfortunately, as she had reversed the charges, the 1471 service was not available. This was the last time anyone other than the accused ever heard from Rachel.!
