Yes,again very good,I see where your coming from Parky,I get your arguments for guilt,although the 4 inch knife was not capable of inflicting the wounds.
But again,no credible time line I'm afraid.Luke simply hasn't got time to get home through the woods,go home,dump the jacket and walk to the end of his street within 10 minutes,maybe 15.
Really, it is 7mins the normal way at a normal pace. That is from the actual path to house. Back onto Newbattle road a shorter distance still, from where he was seen. One is not going at any normal pace, however, allowing for any brief clean, not traipsing anything on his feet. We are working around 10 -15mins max here. 3-4 mins time distance home, couple of minutes that brief clean, probably plonking the coat at this point? Home for another jacket etc. and back out to the road via the woodland? Taking into consideration, what was vital, he needed changed and he needed to be seen to be waiting ASAP?
This, without being seen - That's just it, he wasn't seen. Not from 5:30pm until touching 6pm where he was supposed to have been. Not from 6:20pm until 7pm on that road. Nothing until actually with the boys well after 7pm. Yet we see, that when he actually was around the entrance of the estate, he was seen and several times.
In his story, not seen leaving home, not seen walking through the estate to the entrance. He actually said he was home just after 9pm, his mother said he was home at that time, he left the boys around that time. We see that this was actually false, he was seen arriving home alone, no dog, around 10pm. Not seen by SM at home and not seen by SM when he exited the estate some time shortly after 6:20pm.
Whatever was being burnt in the Mitchell garden was enough for it to be denied? Not rocket science - 6 houses, Mitchell centre with one over the back. 5 of them were not having a fire that evening, only one of them was, smoke, seen alight, strange smell. Little clues, he said the call to his mother around 7pm was asking if Jodi had been to the house, that she was in the garden and may have not heard her?
Ok, so she could not have gotten past him, but how did he know his mother was in the garden at that time? He was supposed to have been away from home from 5:30pm? No concern with her, knowing her son had been away that length of time, around 90mins later and tells her to tell Jodi he would be in the Abbey if she arrived? Claims to be home around 9pm just after, the same again, nothing. But he wasn't home anyway?