Luke Mitchell: I would rather stay in jail than admit my guilt for murder of Jodi Jones

JODI Jones killer Luke Mitchell has spoken from his prison cell for the first time and claims that he would rather stay behind bars than plea guilty to murder.

In an interview with the Sunday Herald, the convicted murderer said he would rather stay behind bars than admit his guilt.

Mitchell, who killed his girlfriend in June 2003 when they were both just 14-years-old, is now 30.

The violent murder took place in Dalkeith.

Luke Mitchell at an appeal at the High Court in Edinburgh in 2008.

Speaking in an interview with The Herald, he said: “When the jury visited the crime scene, I was told ‘stay flat and don’t react’- which probably didn’t help in their eyes.”

When he was convicted, Mitchell claims an order was given by the judge, to not show emotion upon the verdict: “I was in shock. The only reason I didn’t fall over was because I was gripping onto the railing in the dock so tightly.

“The public perception is that there is concrete evidence. There is this block in people’s brains. I want them to see that there’s no forensic evidence - nothing.

“Well, there is forensic evidence - just not linked to me. I thought the jury would see through it because there was no DNA evidence that related to me.

“I thought, my statements are consistent throughout, the jurors will see that.”

“It’s the story of my life really. I was always bullied as a kid - by my teachers, other schoolkids.

“I was always taught never throw the first punch. I’ve always been blamed for things I didn’t do. This situation is an escalated version of that.”

Mitchell has remained consistent with his claim that his German Shepherd Mia - a dog partially taught to track by a professional trainer - led him to the body of his girlfriend.

At the time of discovery, he was with three members of Jodi’s family; her grandmother, sister, and the sister’s boyfriend.

All three statements of the family search party, corroborated with Mitchell’s claim that the dog had led him to Jodi, however, according to an investigation, all three statements were changed to deny this one month later.

He hopes to take the police force to court upon his release.

He said: “I never did trust the police before. I was always wary. I didn’t think that they’d do what they did to a child. I quickly realised that it didn’t matter what I said. I was in shock at the time.

“They strip searched me and put all my clothes in a bag. Then one turns to the other and says, “wait, shouldn’t we be wearing gloves?” So, they took my clothes out the bag, then put gloves on, and then put them back into the bag.”

At the start they tried to be nicey-nicey, but then they began to push harder. They did a good cop, bad cop routine. I was looking at the social worker to intervene. One was slamming his fists on the table then storming out, and the other would ask If I wanted a drink. I was like, “what are you doing?

“The court system and the police, they’re not separate bodies, they’re all part of the state. The justice system isn’t there to protect you, it’s to get the conviction.

“The public don’t have to think about these things. They don’t want to believe that the system they put their faith in is flawed. They would rather feel safe than be safe.”