Sandra Lean states
“It's not difficult to see why the police were instantly suspicious of Luke.
In Judith's first statement, she told police Luke had told her he was "coming up the path on his bike" and that statement wasn't corrected until almost a month later when Judith told police she'd made a mistake - Luke hadn't said that at all, he'd said he was coming up the path "with his dog."
I suspect the police were suspicious full-stop. And also and by the sounds of it, especially for those officers directly involved in locating Jodi’s body, in shock by the findings.
Sandra Lean doesn’t say what time Judith Jones first statement was taken nor does she mention Luke Mitchell’s first statement and the time it was taken.
The police took Luke Mitchell to the police station to question him as a witness not long after finding the body. What was said about the “bike?” Did the police ask him where his bike was? Didn’t the police take Mia the dog in a police vehicle to the station? (Corrine Mitchell mentions something about this during her interview with James English)
Without the times of when the police interviewed Luke Mitchell, the search party and all other main witnesses; including Judith Jones, Sandra Lean is - as usual - giving a bias account of events.
More importantly without seeing the disclosure material in full Sandra Lean can continue cherry picking parts of the evidence to fit with a version of events until the cows come home. However it still won’t make what she says factual.
Sandra Lean:
“One police officer noted, after taking the missing person details, that Jodi had left her home at tea time "with her boyfriend." Who was this police officer? Where was s/he when they took the missing person details? Who gave the missing person details to the police? Judith Jones? Alan Ovens? What time were these details given? What did the search party tell police when they met them? What time was a Senior police officer told about the finding of a body and what did they say about the evidence gathered by this point?
Both officers on the ground and the 999 operator were of the impression that Luke, and Luke alone, was (a) out looking for Jodi and (b) somewhere behind Newbattle High School on a path. What about the missing person report? What did that say? Was the 999 operator a police officer? Who mentioned Newbattle High School on a path for Sandra Lean to suggest this is what the police thought?
Then the officers on the ground get a shout - the boyfriend's found a body.
So think about it from their perspective - Jodi left home with her boyfriend at teatime, but now he's saying he hasn't seen her all evening. He's going up a path in darkness on a bike and randomly stops to climb over a wall where he "finds" a body. Suspicious, yes? What police officer said this and when?
How did the police officers on the ground get on the ground in the first place? What info did they have before setting off and heading to the location? Who were they liasing with?
How was the contents of Judith Jones first witness statement being given to the officers on the ground?
Sandra Lean:
“In Judith's first statement, she told police Luke had told her he was "coming up the path on his bike" and that statement wasn't corrected until almost a month later when Judith told police she'd made a mistake - Luke hadn't said that at all, he'd said he was coming up the path "with his dog."
How does Sandra Lean come to the conclusion it took the police until a month later when Judith told police she’d made a mistake Luke Mitchell was “coming up the path on his bike?”
Doesn’t she think the police figured out it was a dog and not a bike fairly early on?