Warning: Graphic depiction.
London: An “extremely devious” osteopath has become the first woman in England to be jailed for life on live television for beheading a church friend.
Australia-born Jemma Mitchell, 38, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 34 years for killing 67-year-old Mee Kuen Chong in a plot to get her hands on her estate in June last year.
Australia-born Jemma Mitchell.Credit:Alamy
She attacked Chong, who was also known as Deborah, at her home in north-west London, before cutting off her head and putting her remains in a suitcase, which she then drove 250 miles to Salcombe in Dorset.
The remains were found abandoned near a footpath the following day by holidaymakers.
Mitchell had decided to murder Chong after she backed out of giving her £200,000 ($362,000) to pay for repairs on her dilapidated home, her trial was told. She had hoped to inherit the bulk of her victim’s £700,000 estate by faking her will.
Mee Kuen Chong.Credit:Alamy
On Friday Judge Richard Marks KC was broadcast handing down his sentence to Mitchell at the Old Bailey, in what is only the second time cameras have been allowed into an English criminal court to record a sentencing.
The judge said it was a particularly shocking murder for gain perpetrated by an “extremely devious” person.
He told Mitchell: “There is the chilling aspect of what you did to and with her body after you killed her.
“You have shown absolutely no remorse and it appears you are in complete denial as to what you did, notwithstanding what in my judgment amounted to overwhelming evidence against you.
“The enormity of your crime is profoundly shocking, even more so given your apparent religious devotion and the fact Deborah Chong was a good friend to you and had shown you great kindness.”
The Guardian reported that Mitchell had grown up in Australia, where she had run an osteopathy business before returning to the UK in 2015.
Mitchell’s mother, Hillary Collard, who insists that her daughter is innocent, blew her kisses as she was sent down from the dock.
The victim’s sister, Amy Chong, nieces Pinky and Yinky, and nephew Ryan, watched proceedings by video link from abroad.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Amy Chong said: “Deborah’s death was a shock to us all. It was difficult to comprehend how it could have happened to her. It saddens me she had to go through such a horrifying ordeal and tragic death.”
Telegraph, London
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