Dec 2004
‘‘MARILYN MANSON’s DVD ‘THE GOLDEN AGE OF GROTESQUE’ was played in court yesterday (December 23) in the trial of a teenager accused of murdering schoolgirl JODI JONES.
The DVD – which shows two girls tied together near a track and struggling as hoods were placed over their heads – was seized by police from the home of Luke Mitchell, 16, who denies murdering Jodi on June 30 last year.
He told detectives he bought the DVD two days after 14-year-old Jodi’s naked and bloodstained body was found in woods near her home in Dalkeith, near Edinburgh.
The High Court in Edinburgh was told that during the police interview on July 4 last year Mitchell also chatted about his musical interests, including Marilyn Manson.
Mitchell, who was then aged 14, told them he had bought Manson’s CD, and bonus DVD, at a supermarket.
https://www.nme.com/news/music/marilyn-manson-133-1357041
He told Detective Constable Stephen Quinn: “It is a weird sort of gothic video.”
Mitchell described the contents as “trancestyle”, with Manson “saying random words and stuff” over film of a car driving down a road in the middle of the night.
Prosecutor Alan Turnbull QC asked for the first 10 minutes of the DVD to be played.
The jury heard repetitive music and lyrics such as “stop rehearsing alcohol and start performing narcotics” and “the only thing that is immortal in this world is money”.
Mr Turnbull asked the detective if the contents did include, as Mitchell had said, a car driving down the road in the middle of the night, and DC Quinn agreed.
“The portion we watched also seemed to include a number of flash images. In some there seemed to be a young girl who is naked.”
The detective replied: “It seemed to be like that, yes.” He also agreed that in some images the girl appeared to be lying on the ground.
Mr Turnbull described how occupants got out of a car after seeing two struggling women wearing corsets, which made them seem to be naked and tied together. Hoods or bags were then put over the women’s heads as they struggled.
“The girls were to some extent molested and carried away,” said Mr Turnbull, and DC Quinn agreed.
The detective also agreed with Donald Findlay QC, defending Mitchell, that the ‘The Golden Age of Grotesque’, had been bought in Sainsbury’s and bore a 15 age restriction certificate.
