A Channel 5 documentary will explore the death and disappearance of 15-year-old schoolgirl Danielle Jones.
Reported Missing: The Murder Of Danielle Jones will tell the harrowing story of the schoolgirl who vanished in 2001.
PAStuart Campbell was found guilty for abducting and murdering his niece Danielle Jones[/caption]
Who is Stuart Campbell?
Stuart Campbell was married to Danielle’s dad’s sister, Debbie – making him her uncle through marriage.
Campbell met Debbie when she was 15 and the pair lived together for 13 years before marrying in August 1998.
Danielle, then 12, was one of their bridesmaids.
What crimes did Stuart commit?
PA:Press AssociationDanielle Jones vanished while walking towards a bus stop near her home in East Tilbury[/caption]
In June 2001, Danielle left to catch a bus to school in Tilbury, Essex.
Tragically, her family never saw the teenager again.
Danielle’s mother, Linda, later received a phone call at 2.30pm, to say her daughter had not turned up for her lessons.
Recalling that time in her life, Linda said: ”It was so out of character for Danielle. She’d never dream of bunking off.”
After a couple of hours, Linda called the police, while her husband Tony went to his sister and Campbell’s house to see if they’d heard anything from Danielle.
However, he couldn’t get an answer.
That night, and for the next week, family and friends of the teen trawled the East Tilbury area in search of Danielle.
They also waited at the train station in case she turned up.
Everyone was out looking, except for her uncle.
Campbell’s lack of interest aroused suspicion among the family and the investigating officers who decided to run a background check on him.
I never thought I’d be in a situation where I had to tell my sons their sister was dead and their uncle was responsible.’
Linda Jones
While his alibi said he was at a DIY shop half an hour away at the time Danielle disappeared, police discovered a previous conviction of abducting a 14-year-old girl a year earlier.
He had just received a suspended prison sentence, telling his wife that he had been cleared, and he managed to keep it hidden from the family.
The incident wasn’t a one-off – he had posed as a glamour photographer to lure young girls to his house, where he had then take inappropriate pictures of them.
Campbell had also been jailed for four years aged 18 for robbing a teenage girl.
Five days following Danielle’s disappearance, Campbell was arrested, leaving Linda ”absolutely shocked”.
However, he was later released on bail due to a lack of evidence.
Police then began building a strong case against him.
As they built their case against Campbell, officers discovered hand written notes to his “Princess” found in Danielle’s pencil case, a sex bag of lingerie, handcuffs and – crucially – a pair of blood stained white, hold-ups that contained traces of Danielle’s DNA.
Phone records also disproved Campbell’s alibi and in August 2001, he was arrested for the kidnap and murder of Danielle.
Linda said: ”I never thought I’d be in a situation where I had to tell my sons their sister was dead and their uncle was responsible.”
Killer Campbell has never revealed where he hid the schoolgirl’s body after murdering his niece in 2001.
More than 1,500 locations have been searched for Danielle, who has not been seen since June 18, 2001.
A force spokesman from the Essex police told the BBC in 2017: “Sadly we have been unable to end the pain Danielle’s family have continued to experience and we are no closer to knowing where Danielle is.”
Nick Obank – The SunPolice searched garages near where Campbell lived for Danielle’s body[/caption]
Where is Stuart Campbell now?
In 2002, Stuart Campbell was convicted by a majority verdict and jailed for life for killing the teenager.
At the time he was told he would serve at least 20 years.
In 2019, Danielle’s mother, Linda said she did not want him to be released if he still hadn’t revealed where her body was, citing Helen’s Law.
In January 2023, after serving 20 years Campbell became eligible for parole.
However he was refused release by the Parole Board and he is still serving out a life sentence in prison.
The Parole Board told the BBC:”We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Stuart Campbell following a paper review.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care.
“Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
What is Helen’s Law?
Helen’s Law refers to The Prisoner’s (Disclosure of Information) Act that came into force in January 2021.
The law means that criminals, who do not disclose the location of the remains of their victims or the identity of victims of child abuse, cannot be granted parole for their offences.
It is named after the murder of Helen McCourt by Ian Simms in 1988.
Simms was released from prison despite not disclosing the location of McCourt’s remains.
Her mother Marie McCourt campaigned for a change in the law, which passed through parliament in 2020 and came into effect the following year.