Mitchell appeal witnesses sought

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Lawyers for teenage killer Luke Mitchell are still trying to find witnesses to help overturn his murder conviction, a court has been told.

Mitchell, 19, was found guilty of killing 14-year-old Jodi Jones in 2005.

He is appealing that conviction, and at a hearing last month his legal team said they hoped to bring forward new evidence in the case.

Mitchell was attending a procedural hearing at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.

Jane Farquharson QC told the court: "At this stage we are still trying to gather various information and witnesses."

However, she added: "We have approached some individuals who have refused to co-operate and there has been the other difficulty of trying to track down the relevant parties.

"We want to be able to present the best fresh evidence and at the moment I don't believe we have got the best available evidence to present to your lordships."

Legal history

Mitchell appeared in court dressed in a dark suit and blue shirt with his long hair tied back in a ponytail.

His mother Corinne was also present and sat in the courtroom's public benches.

The teenager was ordered to serve at least 20 years behind bars after being convicted of murdering Jodi in Dalkeith, Midlothian.

The schoolgirl had been stripped, tied up and stabbed to death in woods near her home on 30 June, 2003.

The trial, held at the High Court in Edinburgh, was the longest single accused murder trial in Scots legal history.

At the end of today's hearing the three judges, Lord Hamilton, Lord Osborne and Lord Kingarth, continued the case until the start of the appeal hearing on 5 February.