KUALA LUMPUR – Jemma Mitchell, the accused in the murder of Malaysian-born Deborah Chong Mee Kuen, was trained in human dissection, and killed and decapitated her church friend, said the prosecution during the trial’s opening today at the Old Bailey in London.
According to a report by the BBC, Mitchell, 38, is accused of murdering 67-year-old Chong due to a disagreement related to money matters in 2021.
On June 27, 2021, Chong’s headless body was found in the woodlands in Salcombe, Devon, 350km from her home.
The 67-year-old had been reported missing on June 11 from her home in Wembley, London.
Initially treated as an unexplained case during investigations led by Devon and Cornwall police, inquiries by the force in south Devon and the London area led to a murder probe launched by the Metropolitan Police’s specialist crime command.
Mitchell, from Brent, however, denies murdering Chong.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer, in her opening remarks at trial, was quoted as saying: “It is the prosecution case that she assaulted and killed the deceased, and then transported her body to Salcombe in a large blue suitcase where she attempted to dispose of it in the woods.”
Mitchell, she said, visited the victim on the day she went missing, June 11, 2021, and was captured on CCTV footage walking from Chong’s house with two suitcases.
“The larger of the two was obviously very heavy and difficult to manoeuvre. It is the prosecution case that it contained the body of Mee Kuen Chong.”
Heer asserted that Mitchell had travelled to Salcombe with the suitcase on June 26, 2021 in a rented grey Volvo, adding the vehicle was captured on CCTV footage driving towards the area of woodland where Chong’s remains were eventually found.
A woman who had been on holiday “made a gruesome discovery – the headless body of a woman”, while out for a walk with her family on June 27.
Following the discovery of Chong’s headless body, the court was told that her head was discovered four days later about 10m away in an undergrowth.
Heer also reportedly said that a post-mortem examination had been unable to determine Chong’s cause of death due to the degree of decomposition, but her body appeared to have been cut and there were signs of assault, including a skull fracture suggesting “significant impact by a blunt object very shortly before death”.
Mitchell had studied osteopathy, Heer said, pointing out that her professional website detailed that she was “attuned to subjects in neuroanatomy, genetics and dissection of human cadavers”.
Additionally, the court learnt that Mitchell returned to Britain in 2015 after practising for seven years in Australia but had remained unemployed since.
Mitchell, described by Heer as a devout Christian, had befriended the victim through church, but “had recently fallen out over money”.
Chong, the court was told, was a vulnerable individual who was prone to erratic behaviour, and had been referred to a community mental health team after sending letters to then-Prince Charles and former prime minister Boris Johnson.
At the time of Chong’s death, jurors were told that the suspect was living with her mother at a family home in Brent, which was in a state of disrepair.
The prosecutor also claimed that Chong had agreed to hand over £200,000 (RM1.024 million) to help with repairs of the “roofless” property before subsequently changing her mind.
Mitchell had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Chong on a date between June 10 and June 27 last year.
The trial continues.
Chong had been living in Wembley for over 30 years, according to reports. The pensioner has been described by neighbours and friends as a staunch Christian, friendly and helpful, and yet trusting and naive.
Formerly of Kuala Lumpur, Chong, who was single, studied at Ampang Road Girls’ School and Convent Bukit Nanas. – The Vibes, October 12, 2022
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