WHEN Kimberley Thomson took the oath at the trial of her former boyfriend, the uncanny resemblance between the witness and the murder victim was immediately clear.
Both had long, brown hair;
both had a lip-ring, glasses and a grungy wardrobe; and both believed they had the trust and commitment of Luke Mitchell.
Robert Thomson, Kimberley's father, told The Herald that it had crossed his mind that the victim could have been his own daughter.
He said: "They were so alike - it could have been her or Jodi."
Kimberley told the court she knew nothing about Jodi until she saw a report about her death.
The 15-year-old said she was upset at the discovery Mitchell had been cheating on her.
According to her brother and father, Kimberley had suffered harassment at school because of her connection with Mitchell.
Mr Thomson, 37, said his daughter was also particularly conscious of her likeness to Jodi.
Her brother, also Robert, said it was a shock to discover that Luke had another girlfriend almost identical to Kimberley.
He said: "I thought the resemblance was really scary. It was uncanny. Every time you look at Jodi you see her there.
"I don't know how he managed to have two girlfriends that looked the same."
He repeated the thought that has been on all the family's minds: "That could have been my sister. It's something I don't want to think about.
When he was staying, there were plenty of times that Kimberley and him were on their own together."
Mitchell met Kimberley while on holiday near her home in Kenmore, Perthshire, in the summer of 2003. She was 13. It was Kimberley's brother, then 14, who first befriended the boy riding his BMX.
They exchanged phone numbers and, on the last day of holiday, Mitchell and Kimberley started dating. In the following months, he visited Kimberley on two or three occasions, staying at her house for one or two weeks at a time.
Kimberley stayed at the Mitchell home in Dalkeith twice.
When she finally found out about Jodi, Kimberley sent a text message to Mitchell, whom she called her boyfriend, warning him he "had a lot of explaining to do".
After yesterday's verdict, Mr Thomson said: "He was a cocky wee shit." He added: "It is worrying to think you just don't know who your kids are going out with."
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