8 clues which nailed Danielle Jones’ uncle Stuart Campbell as her killer – as body still not found 22 YEARS after murder
THE chilling clues that helped cops catch murdered schoolgirl Danielle Jones’ killer have been revealed in a new documentary.
Reported Missing: The Murder Of Danielle Jones tells the harrowing story of the teen, whose body has still not been found since her death in 2001.
On the morning of June 18 2001, the 15-year-old left for school but never arrived because she was abducted on her way to the bus stop in Essex – by her 43-year-old uncle, Stuart Campbell.
Campbell, who was married to Danielle’s dad’s sister, Debbie, was eventually convicted of the teenager’s murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2002.
He has never revealed where Danielle’s body is and police had to solve her disappearance and murder with other evidence.
BLUE TRANSIT VAN
One of the clues police used to piece together what happened to her involved the house-to-house inquiries near her home.
They found that neighbours had seen a blue transit van around the estate described as near “pinch points where Danielle was travelling to school”.
One source said they had seen somebody fitting Danielle’s description talking to the driver of a blue van.
The only person Danielle’s mother, Linda, knew who owned a blue van at the time was her uncle.
She said he even used to pick the teen up from the bus stop in the van.
CAMPBELL’S STRANGE BEHAVIOUR
The relationship between Campbell and his niece is described by one of the detectives in the documentary as “grossly inappropriate”.
He had carved a role in Danielle’s teen life as mediator between her and her parents, frequently spending time with her.
Her own friends later raised concerns about the “friendship and closeness” between them.
Linda said that after Danielle disappeared her husband Tony called in on Campbell, but noticed something was off.
He came home and told her “something’s not quite right”.
When Tony looked through Campbell’s window her saw camera equipment splayed over the carpet, later telling Linda he believed Campbell was home and chose not to answer the door.
“When we eventually got hold of him, his behaviour just wasn’t that of a concerned uncle,” she said, despite his apparent closeness to the teen.
Another detective from the case described a second vehicle Campbell used, a small silver family car.
Cops saw him behaving strangely when he would stop suddenly on the street, get out and take photographs of other cars similar to his own in shape, style and colour.
“He was not acting as a concerned uncle should be and our suspicions just got stronger.”
Some chilling notes were also discovered in Danielle’s pencil case, signed by her uncle.
One read: “Hi Princess. Hope you had a lovely holiday. Text me when you get back. Love, Stuart. x”
Another said: “Hi Princess, in case you missed my last note I just thought I’d pop in another to let you know that I do miss your smile xx”.
POLICE INTERVIEW
One Essex cop described Campbell’s bizarre and disturbing behaviour during the police interview.
“I vividly remember Stuart Campbell sitting opposite me.
“He couldn’t maintain any form of eye contact. He wasn’t having any form of conversation.
“He was so noncommittal and nonplussed around the whole event he just didn’t care.
“He said ‘No comment’ at least 50 times during a 20 minute interview.
“At no time did Stuart Campbell display the feelings of a concerned uncle. He displayed the feelings of self-preservation.
“His lack of cooperation meant that we honed in completely.”
PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS
Cops also revealed that Campbell had gotten into trouble with the police on more than one occasion before Danielle’s disappearance.
One detective described a “previous conviction and offence for the abduction of a 14-year-old girl in 1989”, which had culminated in the conviction of a much lesser offence; taking a child without lawful authority.
The family apparently knew that he had previous convictions, but were unaware of the full extent.
When they found out the details of Campbell’s disturbing past, they were horrified.
“He had at least 20 years of serial offending, they were able to go back and identify about 30 victims.
“We had allegations of indecent photography, indecent assault and rape,” one detective revealed.
FAKE ALIBI
CCTV later showed that Campbell’s alleged alibi – that he’d been shopping at a DIY store when Danielle disappeared – was false.
No vehicles matching either the blue transit van or silver family car were seen pulling up to the shop he claimed to be at on footage trawled through by cops.
He also claimed to have rung his wife on his way home, to let her know he was delayed by traffic.
But analysis by a phone expert showed that he was likely speaking from somewhere near his home address, and not en route home from the shop.
HORROR FINDS IN CAMPBELL’S HOUSE
The convicted killer was found to have approached teenage girls with business cards claiming to be a glamour photographer, collecting intimate images of children and storing them in his home.
“The photos didn’t end up anywhere, they weren’t in any publication.
“This was just him, getting his jollies, making out that he was a glamour photographer,” one cop said.
“He absolutely had a type and Danielle was his type.”
During the search of Campbell’s home, cops found what they described as the ‘Danielle diary’.
“It was noting various incidents involving the two of them. there was a lot of detail, almost an obsession.
“When a grown man like that starts writing a diary about his 15-year-old niece, all the interactions, its beyond weird.
“It is creepy, it is unsettling, its disturbing.”
A green hold-all was also discovered in his home, with lingerie, handcuffs and condoms.
Police believed he had used some of it to dress up young girls and sent it off for DNA testing.
‘MARKS’ ON DANIELLE’S NECK
One of the entries in his diary mentioned a day that police asked Danielle’s parents about.
Linda remembered Campbell dropping Danielle home after she had been at his house, as she ran straight upstairs to her room.
He told Linda that Danielle had taken a “funny turn”, passed out and wet herself.
Linda later saw some marks on her neck, assuming they were from the chain she wore.
Danielle apparently assumed she had passed out, and was upset and embarrassed when her mum spoke to her.
One of the detectives said police believe Campbell had attempted to incapacitate and assault her that day, after finding notes about chloroform in his diary and a statement from a neighbour.
The neighbour apparently heard a disagreement between him and a young girl, who they believed to be Danielle, where he effectively told her she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to.
WITNESS SIGHTING
One witness, who lived in the area, told police that she saw something disturbing on the morning of June 18.
She saw a girl fitting Danielle’s description arguing with a man they believed fit the description of Campbell.
Danielle then apparently said: “No, leave me alone, go away you pervert”.