Luke Mitchell: Jodi killer Mitchell loses appeal

THE mother of murdered schoolgirl Jodi Jones spoke of her relief today after her daughter's killer failed in a bid to have his conviction overturned.

Luke Mitchell, 19, was locked up for life in 2005 for the "truly evil" murder of his 14-year-old girlfriend.

Jodi was stripped, tied up and stabbed to death before her mutilated body was dumped in woods near her home in Dalkeith, Midlothian almost five years ago.

Mitchell's lawyers claimed he did not get a fair trial and was the victim of a miscarriage of justice.

But three senior judges rejected his appeal today.

Jodi's mother Judith covered her mouth with her hands as the judges announced their decision at the Appeal Court in Edinburgh.

As she left court she said she felt "relief, total relief".

Asked her reaction to the ruling, she said: "Brilliant."

But Mitchell's mother Corinne remained defiant. "Luke's innocent – the fight goes on," she said.

Mitchell, wearing a black suit and blue shirt, showed no emotion as he sat in the dock.

Defence lawyers had put forward six grounds of appeal – which were all rejected by the Lord Justice General Lord Hamilton, sitting with Lords Osborne and Kingarth.

Lawyers also argued if no one particular ground of appeal was sufficient to overturn the conviction, they were strong enough when taken together.

But Lord Hamilton said: "While there may be cases where the combined effect of a series of unsatisfactory features in a trial may result in a miscarriage of justice, we are not persuaded that this is such a case."

Jodi was murdered on June 30, 2003.

A hole had been cut in her windpipe and the main artery in her neck was severed virtually all the way through.

The schoolgirl had multiple injuries to her head and wounds to her face, breast and arms.

The case was one of the biggest investigations yet conducted by Lothian and Borders Police.

Prosecutors at the high-profile trial said it was "the most gruesome killing of recent years".

Mitchell, of Dalkeith, was convicted in 2005 after the longest single-accused murder trial in Scots history.

The teenager, 14 at the time of the murder, was ordered to spend a minimum of 20 years behind bars.