jemma mitchell entered the dock at the old bailey for her trial. the jury heard the former osteopath had a first class degree in human sciences and was trained in human dissection. she declined to give any evidence in her defence. a woman from london has been found guilty of killing her- friend and dumping her body more than 200 miles - away in devon. afterjust eight hours of deliberations, the jury found jemma mitchell guilty of murder. a woman has been found guilty of the murder and decapitationj of a friend she met in church. jemma mitchell killed - mee kuen chong at her home in wembley last year before i taking her headless body 200 miles away, in a suitcase. deborah was 67 years old when she was murdered in june of last year.
and first woman in england and wales to have her sentence televised. jemma mitchell, i have to sentence you for the murder on 11 june of last year, of mee kuen, otherwise known as deborah chong, which you were convicted by the jury yesterday. i have had regard to the victim impact statements read to the court from members of herfamily, who are not, unnaturally, in a state of shock and devastation as to the circumstances in which she met her death. the court heard a statement from deborah s sister, amy. the court heard a statement in it, it said..
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 great kindness. the sentence of the court is one of life imprisonment. will you please take the defendant downstairs?
detectives would later conclude mitchell dumped deborah chong s body in the woods. automatic number plate cameras logged mitchell s drive back to london overnight. by 6244 the next morning, she was back home. she is caught on cctv taking items from the car boot, including the blue suitcase, back into her house. on the afternoon of 27 june, less than 2a hours after deborah chong s body was dumped in woodland, it was discovered by charlotte rollings and her family.
today at the old bailey, a 38 year old woman jemma mitchell has been found guilty of that murder. deborah was born in malaysia. through her own hard work and initiative, she made a good life for herself, finally settling in london, where she was a much valued and loved member of her community. mitchell has never accepted responsibility for deborah s murder so there are questions which may remain unanswered. why she kept the body for over a fortnight, why she decapitated her, and why she deposited her remains in salcombe. but what we we do know is it that it was an evil act carried out by an evil woman, and the only motive, clearly, was one of financial gain. on friday 28 october, mitchell was back in court. this time, she was to be sentenced for murder. it was a historic moment at the old bailey. she became the first murderer