In a trial that was televised to the U.K., a judge sentenced an English woman to prison after she was found guilty of killing her friend in an attempt to steal her inheritance.
Jemma Mitchell, 38, will serve a minimum of 34 years in jail for the June 2021 murder of 67-year-old Mee Kuen Chong.
She is the first-ever woman to be convicted and charged with murder in a televised trial in England and Wales, the BBC reported.
Judge Richard Marks called Mitchell “extremely devious” as he handed down the sentence in court on Friday.
“There is the chilling aspect of what you did to and with her body after you killed her,” said Marks.
When Chong’s body was discovered two weeks after her murder, she was severely decomposed and had been decapitated. Mitchell met Chong, who also went by Deborah, through a church group. The Guardian reported that Chong was a widow and devout Christian originally from Malaysia.
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CBS News claimed Mitchell, who was an osteopath by profession, acted as a “spiritual healer” to Chung during their friendship.
Mitchell asked Chong for £200,000 ($315,960) to repair the rundown, £4 million ($6,319,200) London home she shared with her mother. When Chong denied, Mitchell allegedly killed her.
The prosecution alleged Mitchell also forged a will that falsely claimed Chong had left her estate worth £700,000 ($1,106,070) to her friend and healer. On June 11, 2021, Mitchell was caught via CCTV footage as she arrived at Chong’s home with a large blue suitcase. The video was played in court during the trial.
Four hours after her arrival, CCTV footage again showed Mitchell leaving with the suitcase, though it now appeared much heavier. She was also carrying a smaller bag filled with Chong’s personal financial documents.
For two weeks, Mitchell kept Chong’s body in a garden on her own property, the prosecution claimed.
Chong’s body was eventually discovered beside a woodland path in Salcombe. Her head was found several metres away from her body.
The prosecution claimed Mitchell transported Chong’s body there in the trunk of her car.
Chong’s cause of death was unable to be determined due to her body’s severe state of decomposition. The pathologist who completed the post-mortem examination did, however, indicate that Chong had a skull fracture that could indicate a hard blow to the head.
“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,” Judge Marks said during sentencing.
“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,” he continued.
Mitchell’s mother, Hillary Collard, maintained her daughter’s innocence, even after the sentencing.
She said she was “absolutely agog” by the conviction, as per the BBC.
“She offered me to go to Salcombe with her. If she had a dead body she would not have asked me to go with her, would she?” said Collard.
Collard claimed Mitchell’s June 11 suitcase had been filled with “crockery, cutlery and tea towels.”
Mitchell’s mother vowed to appeal the conviction.
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