The mother of murdered teenager Danielle Jones has said she does not want the schoolgirl’s killer to be released from prison in two years’ time if he does not reveal where her body is.
The 15-year-old was last seen on Monday June 18 2001 at around 8am, when she left her home in East Tilbury to catch the bus to school.
Her uncle, Stuart Campbell, was convicted of murder in December 2002 and jailed for life – but her body has never been found.
Danielle’s mother, Linda Jones, said she backs Helen’s Law, named after murdered Helen McCourt, which aims to prevent parole for killers who refuse to reveal the location of their victim’s body.
Jones told the BBC: “It is up to him (Campbell) really, a big part of us thinks we will never know.
“But (Helen’s Law) gives us a chance, possibly, knowing the sort of character he is a big part of me realised he wouldn’t, but it is like dangling a carrot.”
She said: “That’s the one thing that still disturbs me quite a bit, not knowing where she is.
“I may never know where my daughter is.”
McCourt, 22, was murdered in Merseyside in 1988, and her killer refused to disclose where her body is for more than 30 years.
MPs voted in favour of the law in 2016 but it has yet to progress further.
In 2017, officers from Essex Police dug up garages near the home where Danielle’s killer once lived, believing her body may have been buried there.
But after a five-day search no trace of her was found.
The force said at the time: “Sadly we have been unable to end the pain they (Danielle’s family) have continued to experience and we are no closer to knowing where Danielle is.”