Woman sentenced to life in prison for murdering friend and dumping body in Devon
Jemma Mitchell will serve at least 34 years behind bars
Last updated 28th Oct 2022
A woman, who murdered her friend and dumped her body in Devon, has been sentenced to sentenced to life in prison.
Jemma Mitchell was found guilty over the killing of 67-year-old Mee Kuen Chong - known as Deborah - whose remains were found in Salcombe in June last year.
38-year-old Mitchell will serve at least 34 years behind bars.
Mitchell's sentencing was broadcast on TV. It was the second time cameras have been allowed into an English criminal crown court to record a sentencing, and the first in which the defendant was a woman.
WATCH: Jemma Mitchell's mum Hillary Collard speaks after sentencing
The court heard how Mitchell, from Brent, had met Deborah through a church group and the pair had been on friendly terms – Mitchell had also acted as a spiritual healer for Deborah.
Mitchell had been in the process of renovating her house but was in desperate need of funds to complete the work. Deborah had agreed to provide this money, believed to be in the region of £200,000, but at some point had changed her mind. This decision – just days before the murder - led to the pair falling out.
Deborah was last seen alive on 10 June 2021 by one of her lodgers.
On the morning of 11 June 2021 Mitchell went to Deborah’s house in Wembley and most likely killed her. She was captured on CCTV leaving the direction of the address pulling two large, wheeled suitcases – by Mitchell’s actions the suitcases appeared to be heavy.
After getting a minicab back to her house, it appears Mitchell kept the body in her property for around two weeks before driving to Salcombe on 26 June and dumping Deborah’s remains.
In that time, Mitchell had made a false report via email to a missing persons charity and sent a WhatsApp message to Deborah’s lodger saying Deborah had gone to spend time with her family for a year to clear her head. Perhaps most chillingly, given where Deborah was eventually found, Mitchell also wrote she had planned to stay ‘somewhere close to the ocean’.
Deborah’s body was found on 27 June. Her head was removed from her body and found a few metres away. Due to decomposition identification was not possible for several days.
A post-mortem examination confirmed Deborah had suffered a skull fracture along with other injuries consistent with an assault – it also concluded the head could not have been removed by animal activity meaning Mitchell, who had a degree in osteopathy and experience in human dissection, most likely removed it.
After reports began to circulate that a body had been discovered in Salcombe, Mitchell – no doubt realising that it was Deborah’s – made a further fraudulent report via email on 30 June to the missing persons charity, stating Deborah had contacted her to say she felt neglected and was staying with family by the sea.
Mitchell had also forged a copy of Deborah’s will ensuring 95% of the estate was left in her name. This was found at Mitchell’s property following her arrest, along with various possessions belonging to Deborah.
Also found were identity documents for a neighbour of Mitchell’s who had died in May 2021. Mitchell had used this person’s identity as a witness to the forged will, as well as reactivating their mobile phone which she used to hire a car to transport Deborah’s body to Devon.
Once Deborah had been identified as the deceased, detectives began to speak to those who knew her and quickly began to suspect Mitchell of involvement.
Mitchell was arrested at her home on 6 July but declined to answer any of the questions put to her while in custody. Mitchell was charged with Deborah’s murder on 9 July.
Detective Superintendent Mike West, the Head of Devon & Cornwall Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team, said: "The tragic discovery of Ms Chong’s body in Salcombe led to a significant deployment of specialist officers and staff from across our Force and regional area.
"Their painstaking work over many weeks, delivered by our Detectives, Forensic professionals and Intelligence Directorate established the true circumstances of a murder motivated by greed, and identified both the killer and where the offence took place.
"Our teamwork was not limited to the South West. We supported our colleagues in the Metropolitan Police throughout the investigative and judicial process and we are satisfied to hear of the guilty verdict delivered, noting the praise delivered by HHJ Marks around the ‘excellent and extremely thorough investigative work’ that saw justice served to Ms Chong and her family."