Despite creating the image of being the "best uncle ever" to Danielle, Stuart Campbell did not help search for the missing teenager for days after she disappeared, a court heard.
On the third day of the trial at Chelmsford Crown Court, the jury were told how Danielle's disappearance caused friends and family to increasingly worry and then frantically search through the night and into the next day.
However, her uncle, 44-year-old Stuart Campbell, did nothing more than point out text messages to her mother Linda, and her schoolfriends on June 18 and 19 - messages he claimed came from the missing 15-year-old.
The first Linda Jones knew of her daughter's disappearance was when she received a phone call from St Clere's school at 2.47pm saying she had not attended that day. Linda called her husband Tony at work to inform him.
At 3.10pm she received another call from Danielle's school confirming she had not been at school and inquiring whether she was at home.
Prosecutor Orlando Pownall said Campbell left his neighbour's house where he was building decking at around 3.30pm.
Tony left work soon after 5pm and drove home via Campbell's house in Meadow Road, Grays. There he saw both the blue van and Debbie's car - a silver Nissan Primera.
Although there were two vehicles in the drive, no-one answered the door when Tony knocked. He looked through the front room window and inside saw a camera tripod and what looked like boxes of photographic film strewn over the floor.
Mr Pownall asked the jury who the defendant could have intended to take photographs of that day, considering he was supposed to be working next door.
By 6pm Linda and Tony could wait no longer and contacted the police to report Danielle missing.
Dozens of Danielle's friends, relatives and neighbours had all begun to rally round the distraught parents and many went out searching nearby locations where the St Clere's schoolgirl would frequent.
Campbell had four telephone conversations with Linda about Danielle's disappearance on June 18. On his very first call, at 4.24pm, he immediately stated he had heard Danielle had not been to school. Linda later said she had not told him and didn't know who had informed him of this news.
Campbell went to work the next day at his neighbour's hour from 9.10am to 2.50pm. He returned at 6.10pm saying he had been called away. Two of Danielle's friends recall being confronted by Campbell at around 3.50pm on that day in Coronation Avenue, East Tilbury.
They asked him about the text message he had received from Danielle which he showed them. He did not show the second message he had received at 2.41pm from Danielle's mobile phone.
The jury heard how another friend who was aware of the second message informed one of these two girls who confronted Campbell at the Jones's house.
Campbell claimed he had deliberately not mentioned the second message as he thought they knew more than they were prepared to say about her whereabouts.
The girl then accused Campbell of sending Danielle a message which read "Hi sexy legs". Campbell denied it, despite the friend saying Danielle had shown it to her, along with other messages he had sent.
At around 5.15pm Tony went to his mother's home, but found Campbell there. Tony mentioned the police were looking a using "triangulation" in respect of Danielle's phone to identify where it was.
From this moment, Danielle's phone was never turned on again.
On June 20 PC Alison Quinn called a Campbell's home to enquire about the text messages.
Campbell told her Danielle "hated her father as he paid more attention to the boys".
He was also "concerned about her upbringing and tried to replace some of the attention that her father failed to provide."
He also claimed "Danielle did not have many friends".
Late on June 20, Tony went to Campbell's house believing his mother was there. Campbell answered the door saying: "I thought you were the boys in blue".
Mr Pownall said Campbell seemed: "nervous and incapable of looking Tony in the eye. He was preoccupied about the triangulation of Danielle's phone and enquired about the results.
"It is suggested he was understandably concerned. Whatever the correct terminology, the telephone evidence serves to undermine his alibi and demonstrates his guilt".
Stuart Campbell, 44, of Meadow Road, Grays, denies the abduction and murder of Danielle Jones, of Hayle, East Tilbury. The case continues
Follow the case day by day in the Evening Echo
Published Friday October 11, 2002
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