An outraged mum has slammed sick ghouls who have turned Jodi Jones’ murder scene into a morbid “tourist attraction”.
One mother - who was out walking with her kids - spotted people having a picnic at the spot where the 14-year-old was butchered in Easthouses, Midlothian, in 2003.
The tragedy has generated renewed interest after the recent true crime doc, Murder in a Small Town.
The news comes days after the Jodi’s sister insisted ‘the truth is incontrovertible’ following a surge in support for convicted murderer Luke Mitchell.
The mum said: “On Sunday March 7, I was out walking with my young daughters in the woods at Roanshead where I bumped into a few friends and began walking through the woods.
“After a few hours spent there, we came out there and there were police cars everywhere. Local have been hitting out on social media about so called fans of Luke Mitchell attracting people to the woods, bringing up the past.
“A lot of people are taking an interest in seeing where Jodi was killed. It is very disturbing to have seen people treat this place like a tourist attraction. We witnessed a young couple having some sort of picnic in the area where Jodi’s body was found.
“It is a little unnerving to say the least. We are a small community that has been left devastated already with one brutal murder. When will this circus end?”
Following the documentary there has been surge in support for Jodi’s boyfriend Luke Mitchell who was jailed after being found guilty of murder in 2005.
But it has dragged up painful memories for the family of Jodi who was murdered in 2003 near her home in Dalkeith.
Speaking to the Record one of Jodi's family members said: “We were shocked at people on social media openly criticising the family of a murder victim, suggesting they were involved. A disgusting allegation and despicable position to put them in when their suffering continues.
“C5 and these ‘investigators’ have made the family’s suffering so amplified from all of the abuse from these armchair sleuths based on a biased and one sided programme. Why can people be so blinkered and forget the family?”
Mitchell, who found Jodi’s body, was quickly accused of her murder and was convicted at the High Court in Edinburgh, aged 16.
His victim was just 14 when her naked and mutilated body was discovered behind a wall in a wooded area near her home.
