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A therapist of choice has been convicted of killing her devoted Christian friend and dumping his headless body more than two hundred miles away to inherit thousands of pounds.
Jemma Mitchell hit Kuen Chong, 67, in the head with a gun at his London home and left his body decapitated and badly decomposed in the forests of Salcombe, Devon, two weeks later, he alleged.
The indictment claimed Mitchell, 38, planned to murder the vulnerable divorcee and feign his preference for inheriting the maximum of his estate of more than £700,000.
She proposed the plan after Mrs Chong, known as Deborah, gave up giving him £200,000 to pay for the maintenance of Mitchell’s dilapidated family home for £4 million, the jury said.
The trained osteopath, who boasted online of his award-winning human dissection skills, denied having anything to do with Ms. Chong’s death but refused to testify at her trial.
She claimed on her behalf that the prosecution had not found that she was concerned or that Ms. Chong had even been killed because an autopsy examination revealed that the cause of death was “uncertain”.
However, one pathologist said his skull fractures may have been caused by a push on a protruding surface or a blow with a weapon, he never recovered.
Multiple rib fractures could have been caused because Ms. Chong was stuffed into a suitcase. Mitchell was seen filming or resuscitation attempts, jurors heard.
An Old Bailey jury deliberated for seven hours to blame Mitchell for the murder.
Standing in the dock, Mitchell gave the impression of having no emotions and briefly closed his eyes when the verdict was announced.
She was detained for sentencing Friday.
Chief Inspector Jim Eastwood, who led the investigation, described it as a “truly despicable crime. “
He said: “The motivation for Jemma Mitchell’s moves was effective and she showed a significant degree of making plans and calculations while trying to cover up her horrific moves. The bloodless facts of this case are shocking. “
During the trial, jurors saw CCTV footage of Mitchell arriving at Ms. Chong’s home with a giant blue suitcase, allegedly containing her homicide kit, on the morning of June 11 last year.
More than four hours later, he walked out of Wembley Mansion in northwest London with the bulkiest and heaviest suitcase.
Prosecutors said CCTV gave the impression Mitchell appeared to have difficulty carrying the bulky suitcase because it contained a body.
He also had with him a small bag full of Ms. Chong’s monetary documents, which were later recovered from Mitchell’s home.
After the victim’s tenant reported her missing, Mitchell claimed she stopped at the family’s circle of friends “somewhere near the ocean” because she felt “depressed. “
Mitchell actually beheaded Chong and kept his remains in the garden of the space he shared with his retired mother in Willesden, northwest London, prosecutors suggested.
On June 26 last year, he kept the painting in the suitcase of the trunk of a rental car and traveled to Devon.
In the direction of Salcombe, the Volvo punctured a tire and Mitchell forced him to go to a gas station and call for help.
The repairman called to replace the wheel described Mitchell’s “confused” habit and a “strange musty smell” in the vehicle.
Jurors heard that none of the other people who came to rescue her saw the giant blue suitcase in the trunk, suggesting she had hidden it somewhere nearby, according to prosecutors.
Ms. Chong’s headless body was discovered by tourists along a wooded trail near Salcombe the next day.
The victim, five feet two inches tall and thin, gave the impression of having been dressed in clothing intended for a taller woman, jurors heard.
Following a police search of the area, Ms. Chong’s skull was discovered a few meters from the body.
A search of Mitchell’s home exposed Ms. Chong’s will and false documents.
The blue suitcase had been on the roof of a neighbor’s shed.
Although no forensic evidence was found in the suitcase, Ms. Chong’s DNA was found on a blood-stained cloth in a bag.
Mitchell’s defense said there is no evidence to confirm Ms. Chong’s body in the suitcase and noted a lack of evidence indicating a violent attack on her home.
But Deanna Heer KC, the prosecutor, said Mitchell broke a finger at Ms. Chong’s home as evidence of a fight, as well as the fact that he later lied about it.
Jurors heard that Ms Chong suffered from schizophrenia and called for help after writing letters to the then Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
In the months leading up to his murder, he had rebuked Mitchell for being a disorderly “hoarder. “
She gave the impression of changing her brain about funding Mitchell’s structure work, telling him she would sell her space and take the value of money instead.
Mitchell’s legal team reported that Willesden’s property, which had belonged to the circle of relatives for generations, was worth £4 million and that he had £93,000 in the bank and wanted no money.
Mitchell grew up in Australia, where his mother worked for the British Foreign Office and in an osteopathic business before returning to the UK in 2015.
On its website, it said it “listens to neuroanatomy, genetics and dissection of human cadavers. “
It can now be reported that Mitchell has been convicted of violating a non-sexual abuse order regarding members of the family circle.
In 2016, he granted parole at North West London Magistrates’ Court for breaching the order in respect of his sister and brother-in-law.
Since returning to the UK, Mitchell had been unemployed like her in her ill-fated home renovation task.
He never registered with the General Council of Osteopathy (GOsC), so he may not legally practice as an osteopath in Britain.
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