The family of murdered teen Jodi Jones have slammed campaigners who want police to test DNA samples found on her body which they claim were “never tested”.
Luke Mitchell’s legal team have alleged at least 10 samples of body fluids were removed from 14-year-old Jodi’s body and sent for forensic tests that were never carried out.
They claim the DNA tests could exonerate Mitchell, 34, who is serving a life sentence for her murder.
Jodi was brutally killed in woodland in Dalkeith, Midlothian, in June 2003.
Mitchell has continued to protest his innocence despite several appeals to overturn his conviction being rejected.
Jodi’s family, who have suffered abuse and false accusations on social media, have called supporters “deluded” and urged them to remember that a “young girl lost her life and a family devastated”.
Support for Mitchell, who is eligible for parole in 2025, has grown since Channel 5 documentary Murder in A Small Town claimed to offer evidence he was innocent.
His “legal” team, who include an ex-convict who has a law degree but is not a practising solicitor, claim they have found “new” evidence of police mistakes.
But family members of Jodi have hit out after a prominent TV criminologist claimed last week Mitchell’s conviction is “unsafe”.
The relative, who doesn’t want to be named for fear of a backlash, said: “These supporters are dangerously deluded. The family has always been of the view the police have the correct person for Jodi’s murder.
“Why won’t they let her rest in peace? It would be ridiculous to assume he is innocent from watching a TV show which was incredibly one-sided. Lately they’ve said DNA samples found on Jodi have been destroyed by police. Why would police keep evidence 20 years down the line when a man is already in prison?
“We have been assured everything was tested to the satisfaction of the investigating team and no stone was left unturned in the murder investigation.
“His team are just muddying the waters and confusing people with no knowledge of the legal system and how it works.
“The social media attacks have been awful for the family to endure. I’m sure all of the people who say things wouldn’t be so cocky if it was their family member.
“I’m sure not one of them was present at the trial but suddenly everyone is an expert because a man with a criminal record and a documentary says so? It’s soul destroying.”
Police Scotland and the Crown Office insist there was no miscarriage of justice.
Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Livingstone said: “Extensive forensic analysis was carried out along with door-to-door inquiries and other investigative techniques and a full report was submitted to the COPFS. As a result, Luke Mitchell was charged with Jodi’s murder, before being convicted and sentenced in 2005.”
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