Luke Mitchell trial transcript/case discussion

There has been much discussion regarding the possibility of Jodi borrowing clothing from her sister. The 'borrowed' T shirt theory as an explanation for the presence of semen from Jodi's sister's boyfriend, seemed to be accepted by the Police, but not by others who question whether this was properly investigated. It has recently been said on social media, that the bra Jodi was wearing on the night of the murder also tested positive for the presence of blood from the same individual - her sister's boyfriend - although I can't find any other sources on this. Innocents Betrayed, pages 106&107 "There is another coincidence concerning the borrowed t-shirt story. On July 16th , Jodi’s aunts made a media appeal for anyone who suspected someone close to them, who may be “in unacceptance” (sic) to come forward. In this appeal, they said, “ Also typical is the fact that she borrowed her sister’s clothes without asking, was untidy and at times liked to tease her...

  Innocents Betrayed page 217/218 "Luke was asked, during the interrogation on July 4th , if the log burner was used on the night of June 30th. (Note, it was not a “stove,” it was a semi-circular brick construction built around a barbecue base around 10” high and 14” in diameter. The brick wind shield was around 30” high). He said he thought his mother and brother had a fire that night. During the August 14th interrogation, Luke was accused of lying, the police claiming he said Corinne and Shane did use the burner, but they were saying they did not. During a heated exchange, Luke pointed out that he had been out that evening, so he could not have said for sure whether or not the burner was in use. The interrogating officers continued to insist Luke had told them, definitely, that his mother and brother had a fire. The suspicion of which SIO Dobbie spoke in this newspaper interview could only, initially, have been based on this discrepancy between Corinne’s definite “no” and Luke’...

  Luke's statements are read out during Corinne's testimony:  4th July 03 interview In regards to Luke having his tea before he left to wait for Jodi: Police: Was that with Shane and your mum? Luke: My mum. Mum you were there, Shane wasn't was he? Corinne: No Corinne explains that she meant Shane was upstairs Further on... Police: Did you see Shane? Luke: He wasn't in so I'd say no Police: So Shane wasn't in at that point?  Corinne: Well did he not give you the torch? Luke: Aye that was when I went out looking for Jodi, not at this point Police: So Shane wasn't in at that point? Luke: Yeah, Shane wasn't in the house when I left, no.  https://lukemitchelltrialtranscripts.blogspot.com/2024/01/blog-post_20.html  (Page 2425 onwards)  14th August 03 interview A discussion about teatime: Luke: He wasn't there when I first left to originally go out and wait for Jodi at the end of the estate Police: Oh right, he wasn't there?  Luke: No, he wasn't hom...

   A comparison is made between the information in the transcripts from Luke Mitchell's trial - and information out there in the public domain - particularly books written about the case such as Innocents Betrayed, by Sandra Lean. The purpose of this is not to argue guilt or innocence but to compare information and highlight misinformation. (IB = Innocents Betrayed by Dr Sandra Lean) Luke's other girlfriend - Page 169 IB "The claim that he was planning to visit her again in July 2003 was based on Corinne’s plan to holiday in the same place – a plan that had since been cancelled. Jodi and Luke were, in fact, planning a sleepover at a friend’s house the following weekend as part of a birthday celebration – the very weekend the prosecution alleged Luke would be going to see (KT). None of the available evidence supported the claim that Luke was seeing another girl" Corinne's Transcript 13/01/2005 pages 2263 and 2264 P2263 :   Right, was he supposed to be visiting K at...

Calls to the speaking clock from Luke's mobile phone as logged in court transcripts "From 1st Jan of 2003 up to and including 30th June 2003": 3rd Jan: 17:03 (Friday) 4th Jan 12:59 (Saturday) 9th Jan: 11:05 and  12:21 (Thursday) 19th Feb: 16:30 (Wednesday) 28th Feb: 08:36 and 16:23 (Friday) 4th March: 20:49 (Tuesday) 10th March: 08:07 (Monday) 14th March: 19:00 (Friday) 2nd May: 12:27  (Friday) 22nd May: 08:45 *Another call is noted at  16:45, the date is not given but it looks as if this may be the same day (Thursday) 30th June: 16:53 (Monday) Link to transcript (page 1769) https://lukemitchelltrialtranscripts.blogspot.com/2024/02/sergeant-thomson-30122004-day-two-of.html

This blog isn't to argue guilt or innocence - I believe that facts are important, and looking at the source of a claim, is imperative. In high profile cases, evidence can often be sensationalized and contorted - if there is any valid argument to be made for the guilt or innocence of an individual, sensationalism should not be required.  A paragraph in the book 'A long walk to justice', by Scott Forbes, claims that John Ferris, one of the 'moped boys' who was in the vicinity of the murder scene around the time Police believe Jodi was killed, cut his hair so as not to look like the 'Stocky man'.  16 days after the murder, the press released an appeal for information on a Stocky man seen following a girl who resembled Jodi Jones at around 5pm. Police believe Jodi was killed at 5.15pm - her then boyfriend Luke Mitchell later was convicted of the murder in 2005. It was never ascertained who the 'stocky man' was - but  the author of A long walk to justice ...

One of the claims being made by campaigners, is that the jury were not made aware of the charges of perverting the course of justice being dropped - see image below:   The jury were made aware - see below for clarification: Page numbers for clarification regarding the jury hearing of Shane Mitchell's charges being dropped; 12/01/05 page 2079 - The jury leave the courtroom In the time between the jury leaving and returning, defence QC Donald Findlay makes an argument that the proceedings against Shane Mitchell for perverting the course of justice, should be dropped. This is eventually agreed after some lengthy discussion. Page 2132 - The jury return to the courtroom https://lukemitchelltrialtranscripts.blogspot.com/2023/11/shane-mitchell-full-transcript-12012005.html 13/01/05 page 2239 - Shane agrees, in front of the jury, that he had been told that there would be no proceedings against him - pages below: https://lukemitchelltrialtranscripts.blogspot.com/2023/11/shane-mitchell-fu...