Danielle Jones’s mum has warned her killer it is time to reveal where the tragic teenager’s body is – or rot in jail under Helen's Law.
The 15-year-old disappeared on her way to get a bus to school in East Tilbury, Essex, in June 2001.
Depraved uncle Stuart Campbell – who posed as a glamour photographer to take advantage of dozens of young girls – got life for her murder but still refuses to reveal where her remains are.
He is eligible for parole in 2022 but could be the first killer kept locked up under Helen’s Law – which the Mirror campaigned for - named after 1988 murder victim Helen McCourt.
The legislation lets the Parole Board block release until a killer says where their victim’s body is – and Danielle’s mum Linda Jones, 59, hopes it will be in force in time.
In a letter to Campbell, she said: “I am writing in respect of Helen’s Law and the new legislation to be put in place. I am asking if you will now give us the information we need to bring Danielle back to her family.”
Talking to the Mirror of the disappearance, Linda said: “That’s one of the hardest things.
“Knowing that she was just discarded like a piece of rubbish. I never had that knock from police saying my daughter was dead. When someone passes you have a funeral. But we have had 18 years of limbo.”
Linda said learning Campbell – who met her husband’s sister when she was just 15 and he was in his 20s – would soon be eligible for parole “was the second worst feeling since losing Danielle”.
And she said of his sentence: “He got 23 years. That’s all the system valued her at. And he still denies killing her, which makes me furious. He’s the only one who knows where she is and he won’t say.”
The Ministry of Justice said it was hopeful Helen’s Law will be in force by the time Campbell bids for parole.
