Time for town to recover

Published on Sunday 23 January 2005 00:41

IT WAS during the height of the school summer holidays of 2003 that the neighbouring villages of Easthouses and Newtongrange were struck by a killer. The inhabitants of the once thriving Midlothian mining villages were left reeling by the death of Jodi Jones.

The barbarity of the 14-year-old’s murder left residents reluctant to let their children play outside, such was their fear of the unknown killer. Midlothian Council issued 6,000 safety information leaflets to all high school pupils at six secondaries in the area, and to children in primary five, six and seven at 36 primary schools.

The murder shattered normal living patterns - and the shadow of the killing was slow to lift. Yesterday, following the conviction of Luke Mitchell, playgrounds across the Dalkeith area that stood empty in the days after Jodi’s death were filled with youngsters and parents in the sunshine.

Michelle Tod, 29, from Mayfield, said: "I would not let my daughter out to play unless I was with her after what happened. This verdict has put a lot of people’s minds at rest. Now I feel better about letting my daughter out to play in the street. Around where I live, even in the last two days, there have been more children out playing."

But the image of Jodi’s killer remained present. Many people in Dalkeith’s busy town centre carried newspapers recounting the graphic details of the local teenager’s murder. Many remain uncomfortable even mentioning the word ‘murder’. But so badly has Jodi’s death shaken the community, some spoke of their grief.

"I just feel so terrible for the girl’s family," Margaret Forsyth, 68, said. "At least they have found someone guilty of doing it. It is a relief as the whole place has been on tenterhooks waiting for what was going to happen. Most people feel their lives will return to normal now."

But normality was absent from one home, in Newbattle Abbey Crescent, yesterday. At number 203 the curtains remained shut. A Christmas wreath remained on the door. Only the occasional sound of it slamming, and the bark of the family dog, confirmed that Luke Mitchell’s mother, Corinne, was home. Yards away, some residents washed their cars. Others walked their dogs or left to enjoy their weekend. One neighbour, who asked not to be named, recalled with disbelief the events that unfolded on the path known as Roan’s Dyke on June 30, 2003.

"I just cannot believe that a murder like that could be committed by a 14-year-old boy," said the neighbour, whose house overlooks the Mitchells’ back garden on the quiet suburban street near Dalkeith.

The man, who was interviewed seven times by the police during the murder inquiry, described Mitchell as a neat, respectful and pleasant boy when he first met him three years ago. It is a character portrait few will identify with now.

The Mitchells were also seen as good neighbours. "Corinne was very chatty and she gave me a lift several times when she saw me walking home."

However, another neighbour said her belief in Mitchell’s innocence began to fade when she saw him with another girl within days of Jodi’s funeral. "That affronted people. He seemed too laid back," she said.

But Mitchell kept up the act. "At social events where we saw Corinne through mutual friends we spoke to some of Luke’s female friends from school who were absolutely convinced of his innocence," the woman recalled.

Mitchell’s pretence fooled even his closest friends. "They would get very defensive if Luke’s innocence was questioned," the man said. "Even after he was charged I was struck by how nothing appeared to bother him at all. He just seemed unaffected by it all."

Yesterday was also the first time in 19 months that Jodi’s mother, Judy, woke up without having to wonder if anyone would be held accountable for her daughter’s death. In the morning, as every day since the murder, Jodi’s mother placed fresh sunflowers at her daughter’s grave and at the top of the path where her mutilated body was "found" by her killer.

On the path a few solitary scraps of withered white and blue police tape were a solemn reminder of the crime scene. Aside from some cut grass and broken greenery strimmed away by police search teams, there were no clues left to illustrate the horrific sight that met Mitchell and members of Jodi’s family.

Yesterday, a steady steam of people laid fresh bunches of flowers at the permanent floral memorial to Jodi at both ends of the Roan’s Dyke footpath. Friends of Jodi also visited the path. At the bottom of the path, where a lantern hangs with the flowers, the candle inside had burned out. Messages written by friends and local residents paid tribute to the teenager. One read: "To a sweet girl who’s life was cut short. Justice has finally been done. Rest in peace Jodi."

On the muddy footpath itself is the undergrowth which was hacked down by repeated police searches; only the tail ends of white tape are still tied to trees, marking the spot where one young life was snuffed out by the evil of another.