I loved Matthew.”I know that his family is unable to understand or believe me, because they are so convinced that I killed him, or at least contributed to his death.”I pray that further investigation into the scientific evidence convinces the Eappen family that I did their son no harm.”The statement concluded: “I have heard rumours that I have sold my story, or rights to my story, to the news media.”I want to set the record straight. This has proven difficult because of the enormous number of requests for my views and feelings about what has happened.”I am not yet prepared to make an extensive statement, nor be interviewed, concerning the events of the past year, and I will not be prepared to do so until legal proceedings have come to a conclusion.”However, I have asked my attorneys to release this statement now, on my behalf, in an effort to respond in a limited fashion.”I am enormously relieved that Judge Zobel has seen fit to give me back my liberty.”I am confident that the future direction of this case, including the on-going efforts by my lawyers to investigate further the science underlying the case, will further justify Judge Zobel’s decision.”My relief at being freed does not reduce my desire to obtain total vindication in a case where, as I have said under oath, I committed no crime whatsoever.”I did not harm, much less kill, Matthew Eappen. However, Louise did make a statement last night which is reproduced in full below:
“My family and I have been trying to re-adjust to life together in the wake of my release. The two producers act like bodyguards, shielding the Woodwards from photographers, and another documentary is expected soon.American journalists are also frustrated because the deep pockets of the Daily Mail, Hello! magazine or The Sun are likely to buy up access to the family.. Louise Woodward and her parents, Gary and Susan, were locked away in the Hyatt hotel at Boston’s Logan Airport last night. The lawyers for Woodward had initially ordered the family to say nothing while appeals were pending.

He confirmed that no deals had been done with newspapers or television companies.The restraint over revelations from the family and the fact that the British media is making the running on the story have left American journalists frustrated.Louise’s parents, Gary and Sue, spent much of the trial with two producers from Carlton Television’s The Big Story which ran a sympathetic documentary about Louise before the case started. Steve Collins, a family friend who has been looking after Louise’s younger sister throughout the trial, said the 18 year old is “distraught” and needs some privacy.She will continue her studies but will stay at the family home until her parents and Louise return, said Mr Collins. The Rev Ken Davey, vicar of Ince and Elton, was at pains to point out that the cheers that greeted Louise’s sentencing in Boston were not triumphant but “a shout of relief”.”Matthew was placed on our All Souls’ Day list and we will continue to think of him and pray for him and his family as we have done since February,” he said.Louise’s sister, Vicky, who has remained at home to study psychology at Liverpool University in Chester, also went to ground. No one thinks badly of the Eappens, no one thinks badly of Louise, it is just a terrible thing that has happened.

Last night, with the proceeds exceeding pounds 300,000, it seemed there would be plenty left over.”I would truly like to see some good come out of this tragedy,” she said. “When I said that there are no winners in this case, there haven’t been. Perhaps with the help of the money there could be.”There has been a lot of pain and hurt on both sides. Jean Jones, the family friend who started a campaign fund with just pounds 22, said she would like any surplus to finance a children’s charity in Matthew’s name. With a sense of anger mounting in America over Judge Zobel’s decision came the realisation in Britain that cheers and smiles suddenly felt inappropriate.
In Elton, Cheshire, supporters limited their comments to expressions of sympathy for the Eappen family.