Dahlia case. A knife pouch was found in Mitchell's home on which he had marked "JJ 1989 – 2003" and "The finest day I ever had was when tomorrow never came". The prosecution said it would be unlikely for anyone but the killer to remember someone killed with a knife in this way. The missing knife was never recovered. According to the prosecution, Mitchell's clothes were destroyed in an diameter garden log burner later that night. His mother Corrinne bought him a new coat and denied the existence of his previous one. Defence arguments No genetic material from Mitchell, which could not be "innocently explained", was found on her body. Jodi's DNA was found on Mitchell's trousers but this could have occurred through an "innocent transfer". One hundred and twenty-two items taken from the murder scene from which attempts to obtain DNA profiles proved unsuccessful. No forensic evidence was recovered from the incinerator. Mitchell was the subject of intense press coverage before his trial. In response to the prosecution accusation that only prior knowledge could have explained the way Mitchell was able to discover the body lying in an area behind a wall, lawyers for Mitchell said he had been aided by his dog. To allow the jury to explore the plausibility of these claims, a mock-up wall was erected in the Laigh Hall, below Parliament Hall within Parliament House, where the trial was being heard. A visit by the jury to the murder scene was also arranged. Verdict and sentence On 20 January 2005, the jury began their deliberations; these deliberations concluded the following day. On 21 January, the jury found Mitchell guilty by a majority verdict of Jones's murder after a total of five hours of deliberation. He was also found guilty of supplying cannabis. The trial had taken 42 days, a record at the time for a single person upon trial in Scotland. Upon receipt of the jury's verdict, Judge Lord Nimmo Smith informed Mitchell: "It lies beyond any skill of mine to look into the black depths of your mind; I can only look at what you have done. You have been convicted of a truly evil murder—one of the most appalling crimes that any of us can remember—and you will rightly be regarded as wicked." Mitchell's sentencing was delayed in order for the minimum term he should serve before being considered for release could be