Killer jailed on live TV: Female churchgoer sentenced to life for beheading pensioner in UK first
28 October 2022, 11:07 | Updated: 28 October 2022, 13:35
Jemma Mitchell, who murdered and beheaded a vulnerable pensioner friend has been jailed for life for murder in an historic televised sentencing.
Appearing at the Old Bailey, Mitchell, 38, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 34 years, and became the first murderer in England and Wales to have their sentencing broadcast.
Handing down the sentence, Judge Richard Marks KC said Mitchell has "shown no remorse" and said it appeared she was "in complete denial" as to what she did.
The trained osteopath killed vulnerable divorcee Mee Kuen Chong, 67, in June 2021, before putting her body into a suitcase and dumping it in Devon woodland.
Her victim's headless remains were found by holidaymakers in Salcombe, 200 miles from her Wembley home.
During her trial, the court heard how trained osteopath Mitchell had met the pensioner through a church group and that they had been on friendly terms, and Mitchell had acted as a spiritual healer for her.
Mitchell was in desperate need of funds to complete renovation works on her house, and Deborah had agreed to provide a sum believed to be in the region of £200,000, but changed her mind.
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The decision led to the pair falling out just days before the murder.
The 67-year-old was last seen alive by one of her lodgers on 10 June 2021.
On the morning of 11 June 2021 Mitchell went to her house in Wembley and most likely killed her.
CCTV footage showed her leaving the direction of the address pulling two large, wheeled suitcases which appeared to be heavy.
She then took a minicab back to her property, and it appears she kept the body in her house for around two weeks before travelling to Salcombe, Devon and dumping the remains.
Jemma Mitchell seen wheeling suitcase to and from Deborah Chong's home
Mitchell gave a false report via email to a missing persons charity and sent Deborah's lodger a WhatsApp message saying she had gone to spend time with family for a year to clear her head.
Mitchell also wrote she had planned to stay ‘somewhere close to the ocean’.
Deborah's body was discovered on 27 June by an overgrown pathway in Salcombe, and her head - which had been removed from her body - was found a few metres away.
Her body was so decomposed that identification was not possible for several days.
A post-mortem examination confirmed she had suffered a skull fracture as well as other injuries consistent with an assault.
It also concluded her head could not have been removed as a result of animal activity meaning Mitchell most likely removed it.
A further fraudulent report was sent to a missing persons charity on June 30 after reports circulated that a body was discovered in the area saying that Deborah had contacted her to say she felt neglected and was staying with loved ones by the sea.
CCTV shows Jemma Mitchell driving in Devon to dispose of Deborah Chong
Mitchell had also faked a copy of Deborah’s will that ensured 95 per cent of the estate was left to her.
The forged will was recovered from Mitchell’s property after her arrest, along with various possessions that had belonged to her victim.
Identity documents for a neighbour of Mitchell’s who had died in May 2021 were also found.
The 38-year-old had used their identity as a witness to the forged document, as well as reactivating a mobile phone of theirs which was then used to hire a car to move Deborah’s body to Devon.
Once Deborah had been identified as the deceased, detectives started to speak to people who knew her and quickly started to suspect Mitchell was involved.
Mitchell was arrested at her home on July 6 but declined to answer all questions put to her while in custody, and was charged with Deborah’s murder on 9 July.
Police bodycam shows Jemma Mitchell being arrested for murder
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Eastwood who led the investigation said: “The motivation for Jemma Mitchell’s actions was money and she showed a significant degree of planning and calculation as she attempted to cover up her horrific actions. The cold facts of this case are shocking.
“Deborah Chong was a vulnerable lady – in the weeks before her murder, she was seeking help for her declining mental health.
“However, Mitchell – so desperate to obtain the money she needed to complete the renovations on her house – sought to take advantage of Deborah’s good will, but when Deborah changed her mind, she callously murdered her and embarked upon an attempt to fraudulently obtain her estate.
“Over the course of two weeks following Deborah’s murder we can only speculate as to what Mitchell did with the body and what her wider plan was.
“The decomposition when the body was found was at such an advanced state that Mitchell may have begun to fear Deborah’s body would be discovered – whether this forced her into moving the body and why she chose Salcombe in Devon, we may never know.
“However, what is clear is that Mitchell – seeing her chance to obtain the funds she so desperately desired disappear – decided to attack and murder a vulnerable lady for her own gain in a truly despicable crime.”
