The Green shirt and the parka anomaly (excerpts from 02/12/04 transcript)

Innocents Betrayed page 222: Where did the dozens of witnesses who saw Luke in a German army shirt go? Their statements were never released to the defence and they were never called to give evidence.

 Innocents Betrayed (By Dr Sandra Lean) page 127: Just before six o’clock, Luke was identified by people who knew him, sitting on a wall at the end of his street, 400 – 500 metres further along the Newbattle Road, wearing completely different clothes (baggy jeans, green bomber jacket with orange lining and distinctive, light coloured snowboarding boots). 

02/12/04 transcript 

AH, one of the three boys who saw Luke at around 6pm at the entrance to Newbattle Abbey crescent on Monday June 30th 2003, describes the clothing he believes Luke was wearing:

In his first statement to Police he described:

"Dark blue baggy jeans and a dark green shirt...it was definitely a shirt, not a jacket. I think it was buttoned-up and I couldn't see anything underneath it. It was down to the waist of his jeans, and baggy."

Asked if he remembers this statement, he replies "Yeah"

During cross examination by Mr Findlay, he is asked: So when you were first asked about this you had no doubt in your mind - which may be right or wrong - but you seemed to be quite clear that the picture you had in your mind was of Luke wearing a shirt. Yeah?

- Yeah

Questioned by the Advocate Depute (transcript pages 594 & 595) the witness is asked to examine picture number 9 and the upper two images on the page. 

Do you know or have you heard people talk about a bomber jacket? - Yeah

Yeah. Is this what you would call a bomber jacket or not (referring to the image in front of him)? - Yes

It is, alright. Now d'you remember what you said to the Police when they asked you to look at this jacket and think about whether it could have been the one worn by Luke Mitchell? - (incomprehensible)

You don't remember, alright. Well let's read on then in your statement: "I've been asked to examine picture 9 and asked if this could be similar to the one Luke Mitchell was wearing". Are you with me so far? - Yeah

(Seemingly referring to the image of a bomber jacket): "The jacket is definitely not the jacket he was wearing, it is nothing like it. It is too short, it is the wrong style and the wrong material". Have I read that accurately? - Yes

And that is what you thought when you were asked to look at that jacket? - Yes

Page 589 - The witness is reminded of a statement where he says "and I seem to remember a German flag on one of the shoulders, but I'm not sure".

Page 590 - The witness is read back a statement which is believed to be his very first statement from 9th July 2003:

"Luke was wearing dark blue baggy jeans and a dark green shirt". 

It continues...

"It was definitely, definitely a shirt, not a jacket". 

Page 591 - "I think it was buttoned-up but I couldn't see anything underneath it"

"It was about down to the waist of his jeans and baggy"

"I might have seen a shirt like in the window of Flip, it's a boardy punk shop up the bridges".

Innocents Betrayed page 207 also states: 

By August 14th, the police appeared to be convinced that Luke had “disposed of” a German army shirt which, they said, “several witnesses” had described seeing him wearing the evening of the murder. That particular line of reasoning was dropped when it was pointed out that the “missing” shirt was actually in police possession. 

Then goes on to say:

A more credible explanation, based on all of the available evidence, is that there was no parka, German army shirt or fishing clothes belonging to Luke on June 30th and that he was wearing the bomber jacket the whole day and evening, up to the point that Jodi’s body was found.

But there's more...

Luke's mum posted this on a forum on 28/07/2010:

Corinne explains that Luke did have a German army shirt that the Police took, and that he got another one for his birthday (July 24th) - "the Police took that too". It's implied here that the second one was bought AFTER the first one was taken, although it doesn't state that it was a replacement. If the first one was taken before July 24th 2003, that seems to suggest that he did own a German army shirt at the time of Jodi's murder. The first raid on Luke's home was July 4th 2003, was the first shirt taken then?

Dr Sandra Lean states that the shirt was in Police possession, but at no point does she tells us when the shirt was taken. She doesn't tell us that there were two shirts, like Corinne said there were. She also seems to want us to believe that the boys on the bike saw Luke wearing a green bomber jacket - when in fact, Andrew Holburn seems certain that it was a green shirt. 

But, the mystery deepens...

Luke himself said during the August 14th 2003 interview, that he didn't own a German army shirt at the time of Jodi's murder.

Taken from page 222 of IB:

"DC1: Right, you’ve told us what you were wearing the day Jodi died. We have people saying you weren’t wearing that, you were wearing your Murder Dolls t-shirt. We also have people telling us that you were wearing your German army shirt. 

Luke: I didn’t have a German army shirt at that time. 

DC1: People are telling us you did. And not only that, people are telling us you were wearing it the day Jodi Jones died. 

DC1: The obvious question is, where is that German army shirt now? Luke: I only bought the German army shirt on the Wednesday, a week after it happened.  (*This would have been after the 4th July search)

DC1: What I’m telling you, you owned one and you were wearing one prior to Jodi’s death."

Page 222/3 also says: "Unfortunately for them, the German army shirt was actually in police possession at the time of this interrogation (*14th August 2003) and at the same time as the interrogation was taking place, FLO Michelle Lindsay was asking for and being provided with the receipt for the Parka and other clothing bought on 9th July."

This statement clearly refers to two different clothing items: A Parka and the German army shirt. It tells us that 'other' clothing was also bought on July 9th, in addition to the Parka.

Luke's version doesn't seem to correlate with his mum's story - unless the witness was wrong about the shirt on June 30th, and Luke bought the first shirt on Wednesday 9th July and this was the first shirt to be taken from him, before another one was given to him on July 24th for his birthday - which was subsequently also taken. Was it just a coincidence that Luke happened to buy a green shirt on the same day that a witness made a statement about seeing him wearing one on the day of the murder? Is it just a coincidence that he also bought a long green jacket after witnesses believed he had been seen wearing one?

The first search of his house was July 4th, although items were also taken from Luke's on the 15th July. 

Andrew Holburn said he wasn't sure about the German army badge, but he was certain that it was a green shirt, in his first statement on July 9th. According to Sandra Lean and Luke; Luke wasn't wearing a green shirt on June 30th, just a bomber jacket the entire day. According to Luke's mum - there were two German army shirts.

Was there a missing green shirt? Did the Police take one or two shirts? Is it a coincidence that in the days after the murder, Luke bought not just one - but two items of clothing similar to clothing witnesses believed they saw him wearing on June 30th?

Full transcript: https://lukemitchelltrialtranscripts.blogspot.com/2023/12/andrew-holburn-one-of-three-witnesses.html