Jemma Mitchell, 38, became the first woman in the United Kingdom to be jailed live on television for murdering Mee Kuen Chong, 67, and dumping her headless body more than 200 miles away in wooded areas.
A woman was sentenced to 34 years in prison for murdering and beheading her friend during a dispute about money.
Jemma Mitchell, 38, became the first woman in the United Kingdom to be jailed live on television for murdering Mee Kuen Chong, 67, also known as Deborah, and dumping her decapitated body in a forest more than 200 miles away in Salcombe, Devon.
Friday, when she was sentenced, Judge Richard Marks KC described her as “very devious.”
“You have shown no remorse whatsoever,” he told her at the Old Bailey. “Despite the overwhelming evidence against you, it appears you are in complete denial about your actions.
“The magnitude of your crime is astonishing, especially considering your apparent religious devotion and the fact that Deborah Chong was your good friend and had shown you kindness,” he added.
Mitchell and her mother resided in a home in Willesden, northwest London, and were tricked out of the majority of the £230,000 they paid two contractors to add a story to the home, according to Judge Marks.
He stated, “This proved to be your undoing.”
Mitchell, an alternative therapist, was handed £200,000 by her victim, but she murdered her and forged her will to collect the remainder of Ms. Chong’s wealth.
Mitchell denied any involvement in her death and declined to testify throughout the trial.
The jurors viewed CCTV evidence of Mitchell arriving at Ms. Chong’s home in Wembley, northwest London, on June 11, 2016, carrying a huge blue suitcase.
After more than five hours, she exited the property carrying luggage that appeared to have grown in size and weight.
“That huge bag contained Deborah Chong’s body,” remarked Judge Marks. “I do not doubt that you murdered her inside her residence.”
Mitchell stated that Ms. Chong had visited family friends “somewhere near the seaside” after her lodger reported her missing.
According to the prosecution, Mitchell hid the victim’s remains in the garden of the home she lived with her retired mother until June 26, when she loaded the suitcase into a rented car and went to Devon.
The court heard that the rental car was reserved using a phone seized from the residence of her deceased neighbor, whose signature was also used to witness the forged will she drafted.
A headless body was discovered by vacationers.
Mitchell was forced to stop at a service station en route to Salcombe following a flat tire. The jury heard a repairman who changed the wheel describe an “odd musty odor” inside the vehicle.
She dropped her corpse and head near Bennett Road in Salcombe after the delay.
The next day, vacationers discovered Ms. Chong’s decapitated corpse. Following a police search, her skull was discovered a few meters from her body.
A postmortem investigation revealed that Ms. Chong had a fractured skull and other injuries consistent with an assault.
Expertise in body dissection
Mitchell and Ms. Chong, who met through their church, reportedly exchanged multiple texts on the renovation of Mitchell’s property.
The judge stated that both of them were “devout Christians.”
Mitchell chose to murder her victim after she refused to pay £200,000 for the renovation of her £4 million property.
Before her death, the judge stated that Ms. Chong had a “severe history of mental illness,” was taking anti-psychotic medication, and was “especially fragile, both mentally and physically.”
As part of her human sciences degree from King’s College London, Mitchell “was taught anatomy” and “had experience dissecting human bodies,” according to the source.
“That certainly served you well,” he remarked.
Judge Marks stated that Mitchell’s offenses were aggravated by three factors: her preparation, the vulnerability of her victim, and “the horrifying nature” of what she did to the victim’s body after her death.
She was convicted of violating a non-molestation order in the past, but had “effective previous good character.”
