"Laughable eyewitness testimony"

[Mr Apples]

Here's a very important point to remember about this case:

Jodi was grounded at that point (on 30.06.03) until 1800. Her grounding began in May 2003 for dogging school. Judith unexpectedly lifted her grounding when she arrived home from school on 30.06.03. Jodi texted LM at 1634 to say she was allowed out before 1800; they were going to be meeting after 1800 that night anyway, so she obviously wanted to meet him before this; is it a coincidence that on the day Jodi wanted to meet with Luke before 1800 a woman uknown to he & Jodi saw a youth she was 'as sure as she could be was him" at 1655 with a girl who fitted Jodi's description, at a place they commonly met up at, especially as we know for a fact from Allen Ovens's testimony that Jodi left her house in Parkhead Place in Easthouses at 1650 to go and meet him and him only ?

[Joe Blogs]

He needed to be seen. After all, he was the one and only person who was meeting with Jodi that night. No one else. Initially, LM said he left his house at 1730 to go and meet with Jodi, who was supposedly coming to Newbattle to meet him (despite Jodi telling her mother, before she left her house at 1650, that they would be "mucking about up here", implying strongly they would be meeting at Easthouses). He deliberately placed himself on the Newbattle Road between 1800-1820 as part of his false alibi (in my opinion). He knew he would be seen on that busy road as it was peak time and the Newbattle Road connects Dalkeith to all surrounding areas (commuters to and from work). He was feigning concern for Jodi, who had died by his hand 45 minutes earlier behind that wall on the RDP behind the V-break (which was nearer the Easthouses end than the Newbattle end).

Well apparently he placed himself on Newbattle road from roughly 5.40 [seen by gate] until at least 6.20 before heading home, Mr Apples!
So you think his plan was to sneak out of RDP around 5.35 and gradually walk home hoping to fool everyone into thinking that he had actually left home 'first' and actually walked to the gate in the 'opposite' direction as it were?
How did he know that no one saw him walking home around 6.30?
Of course the only other alternative is that he went straight home after the murder and then back to the wooden gate before 5.40.Is that even possible?
No, none of the scenarios hold up very well, Mr Apples. Standing on Newbattle road for well over an hour with possibly blood stained clothing seems absurd, the alarm could have been raised at anytime, in fact LM more or less raised the alarm himself by phoning Jodis house at 5.40.
And what about the murder weapon, did he dispose of it on the way home?
Oh and one other thing, why did LM go down as far as the wooden gate and stand there for at least 15 minutes only to deny he had done so to the police, telling them he only went as far as Barondale cottages? Even when he must have known very well that he was seen there by several people? Makes no sense at all, does it?

[Joe Blogs]

Oh, and the V break is nearer to Newbattle rd than it is to Easthouses, Mr Apples!

[Mr Apples]

Well apparently he placed himself on Newbattle road from roughly 5.40 [seen by gate] until at least 6.20 before heading home, Mr Apples!
So you think his plan was to sneak out of RDP around 5.35 and gradually walk home hoping to fool everyone into thinking that he had actually left home 'first' and actually walked to the gate in the 'opposite' direction as it were?
How did he know that no one saw him walking home around 6.30?
Of course the only other alternative is that he went straight home after the murder and then back to the wooden gate before 5.40.Is that even possible?
No, none of the scenarios hold up very well, Mr Apples. Standing on Newbattle road for well over an hour with possibly blood stained clothing seems absurd, the alarm could have been raised at anytime, in fact LM more or less raised the alarm himself by phoning Jodis house at 5.40.
And what about the murder weapon, did he dispose of it on the way home?
Oh and one other thing, why did LM go down as far as the wooden gate and stand there for at least 15 minutes only to deny he had done so to the police, telling them he only went as far as Barondale cottages? Even when he must have known very well that he was seen there by several people? Makes no sense at all, does it?

He had no choice but to be on the NB road. He needed to be seen as part of his false alibi. Everything else -- from AB spotting him at Easthouses at 1655 & those other eyewitnesses spotting him on NB Rd between 1740 - 1820 -- is either here nor there. He progressed down that stretch of woodland after murdering jodi. This woodland was off the beaten path and he knew he wasn't likely to be seen as he walked down it. He had no choice but to get away from the murder scene by whatever means. John [Name removed] & Gordon [Name removed] were in the field to his right hand side, driving that noisy old moped (as per Leonard Kelly's testimony) and he was hardly going to use the Roan's Dyke Path as it was used regularly by joggers,  cyclists & dog walkers; that stretch of woodland offered him cover. What he couldn't bank.on was not being seen by motorists on that very busy Newbattle Road at peak time. However, he had no choice but to be on it. He sure as hell would've been hoping no one would see him on it as he emerged on to it after leaving Jodi's body in that isolated woodland strip. Inevitably, he was seen on it by 2 motorists at just after 1740 at a wooden gate, no doubt cussing under his breath that he'd been seen. If LF & RW hadn't seen LM at that gate at 1740ish, there was every chance he might've literally gotten away with murder.