Jodi Jones murderer: ‘I was framed’
Convicted murderer Luke Mitchell claims he was framed in a new two-part television series investigating the death of Jodi Jones.
Channel 5’s Murder in a Small Town, which starts next Wednesday at 9pm, re-examines the case against Mitchell, the teenager convicted of brutally murdering his girlfriend in 2003.
Two former detectives reopen the case in the documentary and claim to have uncovered details of other male DNA found at the crime scene, and newinformationaboutanother malefromawitnesslivinginthe area at the time.
Mitchell,now32,insistshedid not murder 14-year-old Jodi in woods near Easthouses, Midlothian, 18 years ago.
Mitchell, who at the time was 14, also claims two police officerstriedtobullyhimintoadmitting he killed his girlfriend Jodi by telling him: “Confess you little b ***** d.”
In the documentary he insists he was framed for the murder and would never admit to it.
Tragic Jodi was found in woodland near her home in Easthouses, in 2003. Her hands had been tied behind her back, her throat cut and her body repeatedly slashed.
Mitchell told the Channel 5 documentary: “I can’t be more clear. I absolutely did not kill Jodi and I’ve been locked up for a crime I didn’t commit.
"I will not admit to something I’ve not done. I want to clear my name."
Mitchell was convicted of murderin2005followingatrial at the High Court in Edinburgh andwasorderedtoserveatleast 20 years in prison. He has had four previous attempts to overturn his conviction rejected.
Thedocumentaryalsofollows former police detectives John Sallensandmichaelneilasthey re-examine the case.
The team concludes there is
more evidence pointing to other suspects being responsible. One of the ex-officers claims Mitchell“sufferedaseriousmiscarriage of justice” and was let down by the legal system.
Detective Chief Superintendent
Laura Thomspn said: “Followingthediscoveryofjodi Jones’ body, a thorough investigation was conducted by Lothian and Borders Police.
“As a result, Luke Mitchell, was charged with Jodi’s murder,
before being convicted in 2005. We are satisfied we do notneedtotraceanyotherindividuals in connection with this investigation.”
A well-preserved skeleton which could be more than 4,000 years old has been found by a farmer close to Skara Brae on Orkney.
The human remains were discovered in a stone burial cist at Skaill Farm, around half a mile from the worldfamous Neolithic settlement.
Archaeologists are currently on-site excavating the skeleton, which is lying in a crouched position on its right hand side, with the cist some three-metres wide and covered with a heavy stone slab.
It is too soon to say whether the remains are those of a man or a woman or if anything else was buried with them.
But the robustness of the cist has left the skeleton virtually intact, with small bones – such as toes – surviving thousands of years.
Martin Cook, director of AOC Archaeology, said: “The size and scale of the cist would suggest it is a late Neolithic or early Bronze Age burial.
"We think the skeleton is buried by itself and not part of a cemetery. It is obviously very close to Skara Brae.”
Mr Cook said it was too soon to say whether the burial was linked to Skara Brae, the Neolithic settlement that was occupied from around 3180 BC to 2500 BC.
“This could be a later grave,” Mr Cook added.
Evidence of other unexcavated settlements have recently been found on the coast at Bay of Skaill.
Mr Cook added: "We are currently removing the skeleton and what we are looking for is material goods, things like pottery or animal bones or whether a joint of meat was buried with it.
"The skeleton was laid down in a crouched position and we can see the leg bones, the arms and the toes. Sometimes animals like voles will get in and take the smaller bones but this cist was really well, tightly built. It looks like all the bone is there and well.”
The find was reported to archaeologists after it was discovered during work on the Davidson cattle farm at
Skaill.theexcavationwascarried out by AOC Archaeology on behalf of Historic Environment Scotland.
A spokesperson for Historic
Environment Scotland (HES) said: “We were approached by the local authority archaeologist in Orkney for assistance after a discovery of a cist burial
in the buffer zone of the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site.”