Killer's 'getaway' also used by tomb violators

TEENAGE killer Luke Mitchell used to hang out with the same gang of teenagers as the tomb-raiders who broke into a mausoleum in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

The historic kirkyard was one of Mitchell’s favourite "getaway" spots where he smoked cannabis with Jodi and other friends.

Sonny Devlin, now 17, and a 15-year-old friend hacked the head off a corpse in the graveyard on the day Jodi was murdered.

The pair, who were both part of the regular kirkyard crowd, broke into the tomb of the infamous 17th century general Sir George "Bloody" Mackenzie, who

got his nickname from his harsh treatment of the city’s Convenanters.

One former classmate of Mitchell’s, who also made the trip into Edinburgh to join the graveyard crowd, said:

"He mainly went there to smoke dope. He knew Sonny and his mate who broke into the tomb. They all used to hang out in the kirkyard.

"I saw him there with Jodi two days before she was killed. They were smoking cannabis together."

Devlin and his young accomplice, who can’t be named for legal reasons, became the first people in more than 100 years to be found guilty of violating a grave and a corpse.