Jodi Jones killer lodges 13 grounds for appeal

Published on Thursday 4 August 2005 12:20

THE teenage killer of schoolgirl Jodi Jones has lodged 13 separate grounds for appeal, claiming he is the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

Luke Mitchell's defence team say police did not have enough evidence to convict the 17-year-old and the case against him should have been thrown out by the judge.

Mitchell was sentenced to life in February after being found guilty of the "truly evil" murder of the 14-year-old schoolgirl.

He murdered her in a frenzied attack on a woodland path between their homes in Dalkeith, slashing her throat up to 20 times. He then slashed her face and stomach.

The judge, Lord Nimmo Smith, described the killing in June 2003, as one of the worst cases he had dealt with and ordered Mitchell to serve a minimum of 20 years.

Mitchell's lawyers - led by Donald Findlay, QC - have put together a 20-page appeal, listing 12 grounds against conviction and one against the length of his sentence.

The appeal centres on the claim that the case against Mitchell was never strong enough and that Lord Nimmo Smith should have dropped charges after hearing the prosecution evidence.

Mitchell's defence also complains that the trial was prejudiced by being held in Edinburgh, where very few people had not heard of the murder .

Part of the appeal also concerns evidence produced in court which, it is alleged, diminished the reputation of Mitchell's mother, Corinne. She claimed her son was at home with her at the time he killed Jodi.

The Crown produced documents which proved that Mrs Mitchell falsified papers so her son could have a devil etched on his arm, even though he was under the legal age for tattoos.

The defence team claims the evidence should never have been heard by the jury because it emerged in the later stages of the trial, with no warning to Mitchell's lawyers.

Mitchell's solicitor, Nigel Beaumont, today declined to comment. However instructing solicitor in the case, Gillian Law, was reported as saying Mitchell was relieved that the appeal was now up and "steadfastly maintained he is innocent".

The legal team reportedly say the principal grounds for the appeal are that there was insufficient evidence in the case, that there has been a miscarriage of justice and that Mitchell was wrongly convicted.

Should the appeal fail, Mitchell's lawyers hope his sentence will be cut and that he will not have to serve the 20-year minimum jail term ordered by Lord Nimmo Smith.

The appeal will be considered in private by judges who can order a retrial, set aside the conviction and sentence or sustain them.

Mitchell's trial heard details of his obsession with satanism and the Black Dahlia murder.

Jodi's injuries bore similarities to the injuries of Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Short - the so-called Black Dahlia, with which Mitchell's hero Marilyn Manson was captivated.

It was originally thought the appeal would include an objection to the Black Dahlia evidence. However, there is no evidence of this in the appeal papers.