Jodi murder police rule out ritual killing

They dismissed reports suggesting she had been the victim of a ritual killing and quashed local rumours that she had been disembowelled during a savage knife attack.

Murder squad officers broke their silence today to end speculation.

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We have found no link between Jodi’s death and anything connected with Satanism or black magic. It is not an avenue of inquiry we are following."

Jodi was brutally killed as she walked to meet her boyfriend Luke Mitchell last Monday. Her bloody and mutilated body was found just before midnight on a wooded pathway known locally as the Roman Dyke.

Meanwhile, tributes were paid to the tragic teenager at church services across Midlothian yesterday. Religious leaders at more than a dozen churches in the area led prayers for the 14-year-old’s distraught family yesterday.

And detectives also revealed that two boys spotted playing on a moped near the pathway on Monday night have now been eliminated from their inquiries.

Tonight police will retrace Jodi’s last known steps - exactly one week after she met her death - in a bid to jog people’s memories.

A policewoman dressed in identical clothing to Jodi will take the place of the 14-year-old because police believe it would be too distressing for a girl of that age to undergo the reconstruction.

She will wear baggy dark casual trousers, a large black hooded sweat top with a Deftones emblem on it and blue DC casual trainers.

The officer is of a similar description to Jodi, who was described as being 5ft 7, slim, with a fresh complexion and light brown shoulder length wavy hair. She will also be wearing glasses.

The reconstruction of the teenager’s last movements could prove vital as police have still received no confirmed sightings of Jodi after she left her home at around 5pm a week ago, despite around 500 calls from members of the public.

Detective Inspector Tom Martin said today: "There may be somebody who might have seen Jodi that afternoon and for whatever reason hasn’t come forward or thinks we have already been given the vital pieces of information.

"We have had no confirmed sightings of Jodi after she left her home even though the walk is only a few hundred yards before the start of the path.

"We hope this reconstruction might give us another piece in the jigsaw of trying to trace Jodi’s killer."

Jodi’s mother Judith Jones left 14 sunflowers as a tribute to her murdered daughter yesterday. Referring to Jodi by her family nickname of "Toad" in the message, her mum called her "my baby" before saying she left the flowers for every year of sunshine Jodi gave her.

Jodi’s family, who are church-going Catholics, have been sent a letter of support from their archbishop Keith O’Brien expressing his sympathy.

At St Luke’s Church in Mayfield yesterday, more than 200 churchgoers attended a service in which Father John McInnes led prayers for the teenager’s family. The priest was visibly upset during the morning worship and was seen wiping a tear from his eye.

As the congregation sang God of Mercy, he slumped on a chair and held his head in his hands. He asked the assembled congregation to pray for the teenager’s devastated family.

And he said: "Let us not forget that in the midst of our happiness there are others facing tragedy and dismay.

"People want to know how we feel, as if we are somehow savages - or do we have a sense of outrage about someone murdered in our community? We will continue to bless and support Jodi’s family today and over the weeks and months to come."

At nearby St David’s Church in Dalkeith, dozens of locals filed into the pews to pray at a special candlelit mass.

A visiting priest from Nigeria urged worshippers to pray for the family of popular Jodi - a hard-working third-year pupil at St David’s RC High School.

Father David Adjan said: "We pray for Jodi Jones and her family who are nourishing a tragic loss. Please also remember bravely the community of St David’s High School and pray for all our young people."

And at Mayfield and Easthouses Church, Reverend Ian Davidson prayed for Jodi, her family and the wider community.

He said: "We come here with concern for those on our doorstep who desperately need comfort, help and reassurance. We are not here to give or hear any explanation of why God Who is Love could allow Jodi Jones to die so young and so cruelly.

"We are here to pray that the bereft family may be comforted, that the perpetrator may be apprehended and that our young folk may be kept safe."

Parishioners also packed St John’s Church, Dalkeith, to pray for the family. Speaking after the service, Reverend Keith Mack said: "We started the service with a time of silence and then offered up prayers focused on Jodi’s family.

"I commended the family to God and asked him to grant them comfort and that they see some light in the midst of darkness.

"People wanted to show their compassion and they look to the church and to ministers and priests to articulate their feelings at a sad time like this.

"There were certainly a few faces there today who hadn’t been to church for a while. Many people have been affected by tragedy in the community and because it is so close to home people can’t switch off to it like they could if it was only something on they were watching on their televisions."

Reverend Joseph McMullan, of Our Lady of Loretto and St Michael in Musselburgh, said he had been praying for the family of the murdered teenager.

"All the masses have been praying for the repose of her soul and for her mother and family. We have also been praying in particular for the young in the community who are most affected by this.

"They are comforted by the knowledge we are thinking of them at this time."

Jodi’s boyfriend Luke Mitchell was questioned by officers at Dalkeith Police Station for eight hours on Friday to go over his witness statements but no-one has yet been charged over Jodi’s murder.

The Mitchells’ home in Newbattle has also been searched by a police forensic team.

The officer in charge of the inquiry, Detective Superintendent Craig Dobbie described Jodi’s death as the most violent he had seen in nearly three decades.

Jodi was a big fan of music and her favourite bands included Nirvana, Korn and Queens of the Stone Age.

The 14-year-old changed her hairstyle frequently from straight to curly and wore it in braids. She also dyed it different colours and wore a lip ring for around a year.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact the incident room at Dalkeith Police Station on 0131-654 5576.