Disgraceful, disgusting & despicable
Family of murdered teen Jodi Jones hit out at controversial TV documentary that questions conviction of killer Mitchell
THE family of slain teenager Jodi Jones have hit out after a documentary questioned the conviction of her killer Luke Mitchell.
The Channel 5 show, Murder in a Small Town, examined whether Mitchell was the real killer and then claimed he was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Mitchell has been in jail for 17 years after being convicted of the brutal murder of 14-year-old Jodi near her home in Easthouses, Midlothian, in
2003. He was also aged just 14 and was snared following a 10-month investigation by police.
With supporters calling for a fresh appeal bid by Mitchell, Jodi’s family have hit out at the programme makers after it was implied on the show members of Jodi’s own family were involved in a cover-up.
Ex-detectives John Sallens and Michael Neill carried out their own investigation into the murder and suggested another five suspects could have been responsible.
But Jodi’s family, who have never spoken about the youngster’s death, told the Record: “We were shocked at people on social media openly criticising the family of a murder victim, suggesting they were involved.
“A disgusting allegation and despicable position to put them in when their suffering continues.” Jodi’s body was found in woods in Dalkeith, Midlothian, in 2003. Her boyfriend Mitchell was jailed for a minimum of 20 years in 2005 for her murder and has lost several appeals to overturn his conviction.
Sallens and Neill queried a lack of forensic evidence linking Mitchell to the crime and said they’d identified a suspect they could not name for legal reasons.
But their investigation was blasted by former Deputy Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police Tom Wood, who was second in command of the force when Jodi died.
He said: “This girl has had her grave trampled on time and again. The C5 programme was unbalanced and selective – a disgraceful piece of television.”
Channel 5 was approached for comment.
THE red list system for quarantining international arrivals is “inadequate”, Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has said following the arrival of the Brazillian Covid-19 variant in the UK. Six UK cases of the concerning P1 variant, first detected in the Brazilian city of Manaus, have been identified – three in England and three in Scotland. The three Scottish cases were found in asymptomatic passengers who flew into Aberdeen on the BA1312 flight from London Heathrow last Friday. They tested positive while self-isolating and contact tracing of other passengers on the flight is currently ongoing.
Freeman said there is no reason to believe the Brazilian strain of Covid-19 is in circulation in Scotland but efforts to “identify and break any possible chains of transmission” are ongoing.
She told yesterday’s Scottish Government’s daily Covid-19 briefing: “If you were on that flight and have not yet been contacted, you will be contacted shortly, so please wait for that. I want to