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Thread: Jodi Jones

  1. #1
    Northern Lights Guest

    Jodi Jones

    Family discovers battered body of schoolgirl, 14, on country path
    Published Date: 02 July 2003 By PAUL GALLAGHER

    THE body of a teenage schoolgirl bludgeoned and stabbed to death was discovered on a quiet woodland footpath by members of her own family.
    Relatives launched a search for Jodi Jones, 14, after she went missing on the way to meet her boyfriend. The search ended with the discovery of her body in woodland close to her home in Easthouses, near Dalkeith, Midlothian.

    Detective Superintendent Craig Dobbie, of Lothian and Borders Police, said Jodiâ??s murder was "one of the most violent crimes I have experienced in my 28 years as a police officer".

    Police said there was evidence that Jodi had put up "quite a struggle" with her attacker before she was overpowered.

    As a squad of more than 20 detectives began the search for her killer, parents in the Dalkeith area were urged to be vigilant, with their children preparing to start the school summer holidays.

    Jodi, a pupil at St Davidâ??s RC High School in the town, was last seen leaving her home at 5:30pm on Monday. She was planning to visit her boyfriend, Luke Mitchell, who lives just over a mile from her home in Easthouses.

    She never arrived at his house and when she failed to return home by 10pm, her mother, Judith, 43, called the police to report her daughter missing.

    Mrs Jonesâ?? son, Joseph, 20, along with other male members of Jodiâ??s extended family who live in the area and her boyfriend, decided to carry out their own search for the missing schoolgirl.

    Just over an hour later, they found her battered body close to a woodland path known as Romanâ??s Dyke, which is a direct shortcut on the route to her boyfriendâ??s home.

    Police have refused officially to confirm the nature of the murdered teenagerâ??s injuries other than to say she suffered a "high level of violence". It is understood that she was severely battered and had her throat cut.

    Mr Dobbie said detectives were working on the assumption that she was attacked at the spot where her body was found and have appealed for witnesses who were in the area to come forward. The footpath, which runs between a wall bordering Newbattle Abbey and a barley field, is popular with dogwalkers, joggers and children.

    Jodi, who was 5ft 7ins tall and had shoulder-length brown hair and wore glasses, was last seen wearing jeans, blue trainers and a dark sweatshirt.

    Mr Dobbie said the police were pursuing a number of lines of inquiry and added that it was possible the killer would have been heavily bloodstained as a result of the attack.

    News of the murder shocked residents in Easthouses, a small, 1950s housing scheme about a mile outside Dalkeith, where Jodi and her family moved five years ago following the death of her father, James. They had previously lived in Mayfield, the larger, adjacent housing estate.

    At St Davidâ??s school, where Jodi was known as a bright pupil particularly fond of music, children and staff were offered counselling to help come to terms with her death. Jodiâ??s elder brother and sister are both former pupils at the school.

    Marion Docherty, the headteacher, said: "Jodi was a cherished member of her extended family and of the school, and weâ??re all praying for the family at this difficult time."

    Two separate services are planned at the school today and a full remembrance mass will be organised after the summer holidays.

    http://news.scotsman.com/jodijonesmu...-of.2440366.jp

    A huge newsarchive about the case
    http://news.scotsman.com/newsfront.a...ID=8031&Page=1

  2. #2
    Northern Lights Guest
    How the case against Luke Mitchell unfolded
    Published Date:16 May 2008

    Timeline of events that led to today's appeal being thrown out.

    â?¢ June 30, 2003

    Jodi Jones is reported missing by her mother at around 10.40pm. Her mutilated body is found shortly afterwards on a path.

    â?¢ July 1
    Lothian and Borders Police launches a murder investigation.

    â?¢ July 3
    School summer holidays start, and Jodi's killer is still at large. Among the tributes near the path where her body was found is a bouquet of roses from her boyfriend, Luke Mitchell.

    â?¢ July 4
    Mitchell is interviewed by police. Forensic officers search Mitchell's home and take away a number of items.

    â?¢ August 14
    Mitchell is detained by police investigating Jodi's death, but later released without charge.

    â?¢ August 20
    Jodi's classmates return to school, but Mitchell is banned from attending the first days of the term because of fears for his safety.

    â?¢ September 3
    On the day of Jodi's funeral, Mitchell gives his first media interview. Asked if he had killed his girlfriend, Mitchell replies: "No. I never, I wouldn't."

    â?¢ November 21
    Police submit a report to the procurator fiscal which names Mitchell as the prime suspect for the murder.

    â?¢ April 14 2004
    Mitchell is arrested and charged.

    â?¢ November 11
    The murder trial opens at the High Court in Edinburgh.

    â?¢ January 21, 2005
    Mitchell is found guilty of the murder of Jodi Jones.

    â?¢ February 11
    Mitchell sentenced to serve at least 20 years.

    â?¢ August 2005
    Mitchell's appeal is lodged.

    â?¢ February 5, 2008
    Mitchell's appeal begins in Edinburgh.

    http://news.scotsman.com/jodijonesmu...uke.4092874.jp

  3. #3
    Guest Guest
    Thanks NL. I thought I hadn't heard of this case, but reading about it brought back the memory!
    It was a sad and terribly shocking murder by her scumbag boyfriend! She was a pretty little lady. I hope he is rotting and having a hard time!

  4. #4
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    That's so crazy, one of the reports said he was attempting to re-create the Black Dahlia's murder, with many of the wounds inflicted being similar!

    Hope the sack of shit rots...

  5. #5
    DexterKitty Guest
    I'm glad we have a thread on this one too. Thanks for starting both threads NL. It's been awhile since I followed this case. Brutal murder. Not convinced Luke Mitchel did it though. I have to get off for tonight but tomorrow night I'll explain why.

  6. #6
    Hobbes12 Guest

  7. #7
    Northern Lights Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by DexterKitty View Post
    Thanks for starting both threads NL.
    You're welcome!

  8. #8
    Northern Lights Guest
    Jodi Jones


  9. #9
    Northern Lights Guest
    Jodi Jones death 'similar to Hollywood killing'
    By Auslan Cramb, Scotland Correspondent
    Published: 12:01AM GMT 07 Jan 2005

    The jury in the Jodi Jones trial was told yesterday of similarities between her death and an unsolved murder in Hollywood more than 50 years ago that became an obsession of the rock star Marilyn Manson.

    Photographs of Jodi's naked body and the naked, mutilated body of a would-be actress were shown at the High Court in Edinburgh.

    The victim of the so-called Black Dahlia murder in America in 1947 was Elizabeth Short, whose body was cut in two. The court was also shown watercolour paintings by Manson showing Short with a range of injuries.

    Luke Mitchell, 16, denies murdering 14-year-old Jodi on June 30, 2003.
    The court was told that a Marilyn Manson CD and DVD were found at his home in Newbattle, Dalkeith.

    Prof Anthony Busuttil, a pathologist at Edinburgh University, said his post-mortem examination of Jodi showed that some of her wounds had been inflicted after her death.

    She had been partly strangled, and was perhaps unconscious, before her throat was slashed. At some point a knife had been pushed into her mouth. She also had "defensive wounds" on her arms. The jury was shown photographs of slashes to Jodi's cheek, neck and abdomen and heard that her left breast had been slashed.

    Alan Turnbull QC, prosecuting, asked Prof Busuttil to look at the paintings by Manson and the mortuary photographs of Elizabeth Short. He asked: "Just as an observation, did you detect any form of similarity?" The professor replied: "They are in approximately the same place as those found on Jodi and of the same variety - cutting, slashing-type injuries."

    Donald Findlay QC, defending, asked if Jodi's injuries suggested she had "fought literally to the death". Prof Busuttil said: "Indeed so, yes." Mr Findlay pointed out that when a doctor examined Mitchell, "not a bump, scratch, bruise or abrasion" was found which could be linked to the time Jodi died. "That is so," agreed the professor.
    Mr Findlay said the body in the Hollywood case was white because the blood had been drained from the victim.

    He added: "If what this is all about is to try to draw some comparison of a sort with Jodi Jones, the first thing one would want to note is that the body of Elizabeth Short is completely bisected."

    The trial continues.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...d-killing.html

  10. #10
    Orleans Guest
    hmm...where's the evidence of his guilt? I'm not saying he didn't do it, and keeping bottles of his own (or anybody's!) urine under the bed is nasty and freaky, but I don't see any evidence.

    So he owned a morbid Marilyn Manson CD & DVD. So he was fascinated by The Black Dahlia murder. Well slap some cuffs on me, too! Did I miss something?

    (I think he probably did it, but I like making things difficult. )

  11. #11
    Northern Lights Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Orleans View Post
    (I think he probably did it, but I like making things difficult. )

  12. #12
    Northern Lights Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Orleans View Post
    So he owned a morbid Marilyn Manson CD & DVD. So he was fascinated by The Black Dahlia murder. Well slap some cuffs on me, too! Did I miss something?
    I don't understand that Manson thing, either. Manson has been actually almost blamed (at least by a press) in so many cases (I think first one was Columbine), that he sounds worse than John Wayne Gacy That is just so stupid. And I like Manson. And if someone is fascinated by the murders and that means that you are potential killer, I'm obviously very close to becoming one!

  13. #13
    Northern Lights Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by DexterKitty View Post
    Not convinced Luke Mitchel did it though. I have to get off for tonight but tomorrow night I'll explain why.
    Might be possible, who knows...

    New suspect claim in Jodi Jones murder case
    Published Date: 09 December 2006

    SOLICITORS acting for Jodi Jones' killer Luke Mitchell are investigating reports that a new suspect has been identified.
    A Dalkeith resident is understood to have contacted police with evidence of the man's behaviour around the time of Jodi's death.

    The former drug user, who was on a course for recovering drug users near where Jodi's body was found in 2003, reportedly handed in an essay titled Killing a Female in The Woods to his course tutor three weeks before the murder.

    It is reported he was also a regular visitor to the woods where Jodi was killed, and on the day after the murder he had scratches on his face and arms but could not remember how he got them.

    Mitchell was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years behind bars in January after a jury found him guilty of killing the 14-year-old.

    His lawyers have lodged an appeal but no date has yet been fixed for a hearing.

    It is understood mystery DNA was found on Jodi's body which belongs neither to Mitchell nor his victim.

    His lawyers are now thought to have asked for a DNA swab from the new suspect to see if it matches this mystery DNA. Gillian Law, of Beaumont and Co, Mitchell's solicitors, was reported as saying: "We are now aware of this statement. It has come to our attention and raises very serious issues.

    "We have taken the terms of this statement very seriously and are now liasing with the Crown regarding further enquiries being made of all the potential new witnesses."

    http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/jo...odi.2833685.jp

  14. #14
    Guest Guest
    When I see Jodi's pics, it sadly reminds me of the gothic girl who was kicked to death!!

  15. #15
    darlingdawn Guest
    I didn't see where they had any real evidence that he did it. And one CD doesn't make him obsessed with Msrilyn Manson nor does it make him a killer. I don't see a motive for this either. The eye witnesses to the body being found changed their stories and offered no explanation. I have doubts whether he did it.

  16. #16
    Orleans Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by darlingdawn View Post
    I didn't see where they had any real evidence that he did it. And one CD doesn't make him obsessed with Msrilyn Manson nor does it make him a killer. I don't see a motive for this either. The eye witnesses to the body being found changed their stories and offered no explanation. I have doubts whether he did it.
    Me, too, Dawn. There really is nothing directly connecting him to her murder. Maybe he killed her but was extremely careful...or maybe he didn't do it, but was enough of a strange bird that the jury jumped to a guilty verdict. Don't know, but either I'm blind to the details or the "convincing evidence" wasn't publicly made known...OR it doesn't exist and a terrible mistake has been made.

    I need to make a note to follow this case.

  17. #17
    Long Gone Day Guest
    I would not have felt comfortable convicting him if I was on that jury with that little of circumstantial evidence. Do they have DNA? And did they test the other guy with the scratches on his face and an essay on killing a girl in the woods? That's awful coincidental..

  18. #18
    Northern Lights Guest
    Mitchell faces DNA setback in appeal over Jodi murder

    Published Date:26 January 2008
    By JOHN ROBERTSON

    AN ATTEMPT by Luke Mitchell to blame two other men for the murder of his girlfriend, Jodi Jones, appeared to suffer a major setback yesterday.

    Lawyers for the teenager had claimed the evidence against the pair was as compelling as the case against Mitchell at his trial.

    But the Crown revealed both the new "suspects" had provided DNA samples, and neither had been linked to the murder scene.

    Appeal judges agreed to give Mitchell's defence team more time before ruling whether the issue of the other men should form part of his appeal, which is to begin the week after next.

    As has become customary at preliminary hearings in the case, Mitchell's mother, Corinne, and Jodi's mother, Judy, attended the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh, and sat well apart in the public benches.

    Mitchell, 19, is serving a minimum of 20 years under a life sentence for murdering Jodi, 14, in June 2003. He was then also 14 and the pair had become lovers.

    Her body was found in woods at Roan's Dyke path, a short cut between her home in Easthouses, Dalkeith, Midlothian, and Mitchell's house in Newbattle. Her throat had been slit and the body was mutilated.

    The injuries bore some resemblance to those depicted in paintings by the rock star Marilyn Manson of Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia, a Hollywood starlet murdered in 1947. Mitchell was a fan of Marilyn Manson.

    In his appeal, Mitchell has put forward a number of grounds on which he claims to have suffered a miscarriage of justice. Those include arguments that the trial should have been moved from Edinburgh, and that there had been insufficient evidence, particularly a lack of any forensic evidence linking him to the murder, to entitle the jury to return a guilty verdict.

    Last month, it was announced he wanted to introduce an additional ground of appeal â?? permission has to be given by the court â?? based on fresh evidence about two men. The first was an habitual drug user who studied at Newbattle Abbey College. He was said to have had a particular fascination for gouged-out eyes â?? Jodi's injuries included cuts to the eyelids, and piercings and slashings around the eyes â?? and to have had pictures of the Black Dahlia murder. After Jodi's death, he changed his appearance and had injuries to his face.

    The second man had not come forward during the murder investigation as having been in the area. At that time, a condom was found 50 metres from the scene, but DNA could not be matched to anyone on the DNA database. Last year, a sample taken from the man produced a match. He was questioned, and aspects of his statement proved false.

    According to Mitchell's lawyers, the new evidence was "as compelling a circumstantial case against the individuals as the evidence relied on by the Crown against (Mitchell]".

    The advocate-depute, John Beckett, QC, said there had been "significant developments" and mentioned a police interview with a lecturer at the college who had undermined the information about the student.

    Meanwhile, the other man had provided an innocent explanation about the condom.

    "Both gentlemen gave samples to the police and DNA profiles were obtained which were compared to crime-scene samples, and there is no match whatsoever," he told the court.

    Three judges deferred a ruling on whether to allow the extra ground for appeal until the full hearing on 5 February.

    The appeal is expected to last at least two weeks.

    FOCUS OF THE APPEAL

    FOR all that attention has focused recently on possible new suspects and evidence not heard at Luke Mitchell's trial, it is an examination of testimony put before the jury that is likely to dominate the appeal hearing.

    Transcripts of evidence from the trial, running to around 25 volumes, have been prepared for the appeal judges to study in advance of the hearing, and the defence will try to convince the court that Mitchell should never have been convicted of murdering Jodi Jones in June 2003, when both were aged 14, in woods at Roan's Dyke path in Dalkeith, Midlothian.

    The simple assertion by Mitchell's lawyers in one of seven grounds of appeal submitted is that, yes, the evidence showed he could have committed the crime, but it was not enough to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

    http://news.scotsman.com/jodijonesmu...ack.3714068.jp

  19. #19
    Lea22 Guest
    I lived near the area at the time but didn't know about the doubt cast over Luke Mitchell's guilt.

    I kick myself for missing that trial though

  20. #20
    darlingdawn Guest
    "a condom was found 50 metres from the scene, but DNA could not be matched to anyone on the DNA database. He was questioned, and aspects of his statement proved false. He provided an innocent explanation about the condom."

    What innocent explanation did he have? Did this condom have Jodi's DNA on it too? I am confused by this article.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by darlingdawn View Post
    "a condom was found 50 metres from the scene, but DNA could not be matched to anyone on the DNA database. He was questioned, and aspects of his statement proved false. He provided an innocent explanation about the condom."

    What innocent explanation did he have? Did this condom have Jodi's DNA on it too? I am confused by this article.

    Very strange. In his defense lots of teenagers in my neighborhood go up to the woods to have sex. Who knows where that condom came from.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

    "I will be buried in a spring loaded casket filled with confetti, and a future archaeologist will have one awesome day at work."

  22. #22
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    We lived near the area at the time as well and it was odd going through and seeing all of the missing person fliers.

  23. #23
    DexterKitty Guest
    There is too much reasonable doubt here. Just because the guy was a little strange doesn't mean he's a killer. People act like anybody that is a fan of MM has got to be a murderer in the making. The Black Dahlia angle is interesting but if somebody has the balls to stab somebody why wouldn't they play around with the body after the fact. Maybe, the killer was a Black Dahlia case fan and not a MM fan? Too many holes in this case.

  24. #24
    Sandra Guest
    I just discovered this site today. The DNA found in the condom was a full DNA profile match to one of the two men referred to in the appeal process. The claim that there was no DNA linked to them was an outright lie - at least in the case of this guy. His "innocent" explanation for his semen filled condom being discarded within yards of the body, and within hours of the murder, was that he had to masturbate outside because he shared a room with his brother. His story would also involve him having had to step over the body twice, without noticing it.

    You can read the facts of the case here: http://caseblog.wronglyaccusedperson...l-is-innocent/ - there's also a discussion forum on the same site.

  25. #25
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    Something isn't adding up here. I have no idea if Mitchell is guilty or innocent, but judging from the evidence presented, this is a very weak case. It's a sad day in our justice system when the law is so eager to close a case, and the public is so eager to have the crime solved, that we are willing to convict ANYONE to assuage our fears. I hope they'll do the right thing and re-open this case...

  26. #26
    Neko! Guest
    Interested as to anyones views really on this. Not just this video as I know lie detectors can be faked and I think the "fan of Marilyn Manson" was also struck off at some point (since when was being a fan of crap music a crime? Oh yeah...long story).
    http://local.stv.tv/edinburgh/209689...detector-test/

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