Jemma Mitchell jailed for 34 years for murdering and decapitating friend

Published

2 years ago

October 28, 2022

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A woman has been sentenced to 34 years for murdering and decapitating her friend in a row over money.

Jemma Mitchell, 38, became the first woman in England and Wales to be sentenced live on television for killing Mee Kuen Chong, 67, also known as Deborah, and dumping her headless body in some woodland more than 200 miles away in Salcombe, Devon.

Jemma Mitchell sentencing – as it happened

Sentencing her on Friday, Judge Richard Marks KC described her as “extremely devious”.

“You have shown absolutely no remorse,” he told her at the Old Bailey. “It appears you are in complete denial as to what you did, despite the overwhelming evidence against you.

“The enormity of your crime is profoundly shocking, even more so given your apparent religious devotion as well as the fact that Deborah Chong was a good friend to you and had shown you good kindness,” he said.

Judge Marks said Mitchell and her mother were living in a house in Willesden, northwest London, and had been cheated out of most of the £230,000 they paid two builders to add another floor to the property.

“This proved to be your undoing,” he said.

Mitchell, an alternative therapist, was given £200,000 by her victim, but decided to kill her and fake a will to inherit the rest of Ms Chong’s estate.

Mitchell denied having anything to do with her death and declined to give evidence during the trial.

Jurors viewed CCTV footage of Mitchell arriving at Ms Chong’s home in Wembley, northwest London, carrying a large blue suitcase on the morning of 11 June last year.

More than five hours later, she emerged from the property with the suitcase appearing bulkier and heavier.

Judge Marks said: “That large suitcase contained Deborah Chong’s body. I have no doubt that you killed her when inside her house.”

After Ms Chong’s lodger reported her missing, Mitchell claimed she had gone to visit family friends “somewhere close to the ocean”.

The prosecution said Mitchell stored her remains in the garden of the house she shared with her retired mother until 26 June when she put the suitcase in a car she had hired and drove down to Devon.

The hire car was booked with a phone stolen from her dead neighbour’s house, the court heard, whose signature she also used to witness the fake will she wrote.

Headless body found by holidaymakers

On her way to Salcombe, Mitchell was forced to drive into a service station after the car blew a tyre. A repairman who changed the wheel described an “odd musty smell” inside the vehicle, jurors heard.

After the delay, she dumped her body and her head near Bennett Road in Salcombe.

Ms Chong’s headless corpse was found by holidaymakers the next day. Her skull was recovered a few metres away from the body following a police search.

A post-mortem examination confirmed that Ms Chong had suffered a skull fracture along with other injuries consistent with an assault.

Experience of dissecting bodies

The court heard Mitchell and Ms Chong, who met through church, had exchanged several messages about renovating Mitchell’s home.

They were both “devout Christians”, the judge added.

Mitchell decided to murder her victim after she pulled out of giving her the £200,000 to pay for the refurbishment of her £4m home.

The judge said Ms Chong had a “serious history of mental illness”, was on anti-psychotic medication and was “particularly vulnerable, both mentally as well as physically” before she died.

He also said as part of her degree in human sciences from King’s College London, Mitchell “was taught anatomy” and “had experience in the dissection of human bodies”.

“That no doubt stood you in good stead,” he said.

Judge Marks said there were three aggravating factors to Mitchell’s crimes – her planning, her victim’s vulnerability and “the chilling aspect” of what she did to the victim’s body after she died.

She had a previous conviction for breach of a non-molestation order, but was of “effective previous good character”.

Following her conviction, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Eastwood, who led the investigation, said: “Mitchell has never accepted responsibility for Deborah’s murder so there are questions which remain unanswered.

“Why she kept her body for a fortnight, why she decapitated her, why she deposited her remains in Salcombe.

“What we do know is that these were evil acts carried out by an evil woman and the only motive clearly was one of financial gain.”

UK

Teenage girl killed on M5 in Somerset after getting out of police car named

Published

6 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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Teenage girl killed on M5 in Somerset after getting out of police car named

A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.

Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.

She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.

A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.

Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.

“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.

“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”

The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.

In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.

“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”

Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.

UK

Mohamed al Fayed’s brother Salah also abused women, say female Harrods employees

Published

6 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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Mohamed al Fayed's brother Salah also abused women, say female Harrods employees

A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.

Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.

The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.

One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.

Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.

Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.

The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”

The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.

Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.

The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.

A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.

“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”

The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.

One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.

Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.

UK

Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman

Published

6 hours ago

November 15, 2024

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Wes Streeting 'crossed the line' by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman

Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.

Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.

MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.

But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.

He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.

Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.

“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.

“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.

“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”

Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.

She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.

“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.

The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.

Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.

The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.

MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.