'Weird, posh,
lewd, creepy...'
By EMILY NASH, RYAN SABEY and GARY O'SHEA JOANNA Yeates murder suspect Chris Jefferies was last night branded a creepy oddball by ex-pupils, a teaching colleague and neighbours.
Weird-looking Jefferies, 65, who was Jo's landlord in Bristol, taught English at the city's exclusive Clifton College for more than 35 years.
Former students claimed yesterday that the blue-rinse, long-haired bachelor, who police arrested yesterday, used to make sleazy comments and invite them to his home.
One recalled: "He was very flamboyant. We were convinced he was gay.
Flat ... Jo and boyfriend Greg
SWNS "You didn't want him to come near you. He was very unkempt and had dirty fingernails. He was weird.
"He was a stickler for discipline and very traditional. He used to get very angry and shout and throw books and pens across the room. He kept repeating words in an odd way."
The student also said of cultured Jefferies: "He loved old English poetry. The way he talked, the way he walked and the way he acted - it was all very strange."
A second student said: "He was fascinated by making lewd sexual remarks. It was really disturbing."
A third added: "It was commonly assumed that he was gay. It was treated as an open secret. All sorts of rumours used to fly around about him."
Another student told how groups of up to ten pupils were invited to Jefferies' home.
The mum of two, who was a 16-year-old boarder at £28,000-a-year Clifton in the 1980s, recalled: "The evenings would take place towards the end of the week, normally a Friday.
"My parents didn't know I went. The conversation didn't exactly stick to the curriculum. He was very eccentric, odd and could be described as a loner. We all thought it odd that a man his age didn't have a wife and had blue-rinse hair."
Former history teacher Richard Bland, 74, who worked with Chris Jefferies at Clifton College for 30 years, also called him an eccentric loner.
Investigation ... building where tenant Jo Yeates and landlord Jefferies lived in flats one above the other
SWNS Mr Bland, who lives near Jefferies, said: "He was dedicated, strongly academic and deeply involved. He was respected at the school and his students used to get good results.
"But he was a very strange character, a bit of a loner and a very private individual.
"He was notorious for his odd hairstyle. It was often poetically long and definitely had a blue tinge.
"Mr Jefferies was also famous for his utter dislike of sports. At boarding schools, teachers often referee rugby or football matches - but not him. He made it perfectly clear from the start that that was not his scene."
Mr Bland said Jefferies took charge of the school's theatre instead.
After leaving Clifton College in 2001, Jefferies was a part-time lecturer at the University of West England.
He is joint co-ordinator of the Clifton Neighbourhood Watch scheme and is in the English Speaking Union as well as being a keen conservationist and a Lib Dem activist.
Wendy Nicholls, a former tenant of Jefferies in the basement flat where Joanna lived, said: "He was a very meticulous landlord.
Examination ... Jefferies' silver car is removed
SWNS "He was eagle-eyed and always knew exactly what was going on and what comings or goings there were."
Wendy, 34, added: "I was the same age as Joanna when I lived there, so the murder is very spooky. But I can say Chris Jefferies never behaved improperly towards me during my time there."
A female neighbour, who would not be named, said: "He was a creepy bloke. We used to laugh about how he did his hair with the parting so low and would dye it blue.
"Everyone thought he was gay. He spoke nicely and he always appeared totally harmless."
Another neighbour described Jefferies as "forceful" and "a dominant character". He said: "He was unusual in that his hair was all over the place. He was very posh, a solitary figure and very cultured. I wouldn't use the word popular to describe him." Family friends of only child Jefferies last night described him as "effeminate" as a youngster.
Retired teachers Patrick and Isabel Jeffers, of Sandbach, Cheshire, were neighbours of his late parents Kathleen and Edward.
Evidence ... forensics officers carry parcels
Isabel, 72, said: "I got the impression he was a boy born to elderly parents and had a strict upbringing. His parents always referred to him by his full name Christopher. He was a very quiet and withdrawn boy, perhaps a bit effeminate in his appearance."
Jefferies bought a flat in the block where 25-year-old Jo lived from a paedophile who was jailed for enticing a young boy there for sex, it emerged last night.
Fellow teacher Stephen Johnston used the ground-floor flat to groom the pupil for three years. Jefferies bought it in 1999.
The day before his arrest, Jefferies, who lived above Jo, appeared outside the property to deny reports that he told cops he saw her leaving with two people.
The suspect's former headmaster at Clifton defended him last night.
Old school ... Clifton College and current head Mark Moore
SWNS Stuart Andrews, 78, said he would be "astonished" if he had anything to do with Jo's murder. Mr Andrews, of Wells, Somerset, added: "He was a bachelor schoolmaster, slightly eccentric with ungovernable hair, which the pupils used to have a laugh about.
"He was an utterly upright, multi-talented teacher. I cannot imagine he'd be involved in this."
And former colleague Anthony Williams, said: "I thought he was a gentleman. I'm gobsmacked to learn he has been arrested."
Current head Mark Moore revealed there were no disciplinary issues recorded against Jefferies. He added: "I think it is important to recognise no one has been charged with anything yet."
