Had he been at home at 16:54 when he made the call to the speaking clock one would have thought he would have been able to check the time by other means inside the house. The fact that a call was made suggests he was outside the house on his way to a rendez-vous with Jodie and he wished to ensure he was on time.
But he had his own mobile? If he had it with him he could obtain the correct time from this? Whenever I called the speaking clock I was always at home.
Anyway Scottish Courts and Tribunals hearing (SCT) gives different accounts of the timings, texts and arrangments:
[10] The deceased's freedom to go out of an evening was restricted by her mother in the weeks prior to her death, but she was released from that restriction on the afternoon of the murder. She arrived home at around 1605 hours. At 1635 she used her mother's mobile phone to send a text message to the appellant. The appellant responded at 1636. A further text was sent by the deceased to him at 1638. The terms of these text messages were not preserved. The deceased left her house at about 1650, informing her mother that she was going to meet the appellant and would be "mucking about up here". At 1654 a call was made from the appellant's mobile telephone to the speaking clock.[11] The appellant telephoned the deceased's house at 1732, but received no reply. At 1740 he called again, and spoke to Alan Ovens, asking if the deceased was in. He was informed that she had left to meet him. He replied, "OK, cool".
Defence case[27] He saw the deceased at lunchtime on the day of the murder. She had taken the school bus home after school and he had walked. He had not seen her alive after that point. He had returned home at around 1600 or 1605 and the deceased had texted him at 1620, asking if he was coming out. He had replied that he would do so later on, as he had to make dinner. Arrangements were made for the deceased to come down to the Newbattle area but no time was arranged for the meeting.
[28] The last text was sent at about 1640. The appellant's position was that, thereafter, he had listened to music while cooking dinner. His mother arrived home at 1715. The witness Shane Mitchell was not in the house at this time. He waited at the house for the deceased. He left at around 1730 or 1740, as she had not arrived. He waited at the entrance to the estate on Newbattle Road, moving between that point and a track at Barndale Cottages, closer to the west end of the path. He had walked further along the road at one point to see if he could see the deceased. As he was standing at Barndale Cottages he had seen boys whom he knew from school. He had waited for around 45 minutes. Thereafter, he had wandered into Newbattle Abbey walking up and down a path, wasting time. He then contacted David High and made arrangements to meet him.
[29] The appellant thought that something must have happened which meant that the deceased was not coming out, such as that she had forgotten, changed her mind, been grounded, or met somebody. He had spoken to the witness Ovens around 25 minutes after he had been waiting outside, and was told that the deceased had left. David High had appeared around 25 minutes after the appellant had phoned him. After spending some time at the Abbey, the appellant went home, arriving between 2105 to 2110. He watched a video until he received the text from the deceased's mother at 2241.
