https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11323893/Headless-woman-Bible-quote-jacket-pocket-court-told.html'Headless body of devout Christian, 67, was found with handwritten Bible passage in her M&S jacket pocket after being murdered and beheaded by her property developer friend in cash row'
Mee Kuen Chong, 67, was found dead in woodland off Bennett Road in Devon
Jemma Mitchell, 38, allegedly dumped her headless corpse there in June 2021
Pieces of paper torn from notepad with a quote from the Bible found on body
Mitchell, an ex-osteopath, is standing trial at the Old Bailey charged with murder
By Jamie Phillips For Mailonline
Published: 14:04, 17 October 2022 | Updated: 16:21, 17 October 2022
The headless body of a devout Christian was found with a handwritten quote from the Bible in her jacket pocket after she was murdered and beheaded by her property developer friend in a row over money, a court has heard. Jemma Mitchell, 38, is alleged to have killed 67-year-old Mee Kuen Chong at her home in Wembley on June 11 last. She is accused of then driving more than 200 miles to dump her headless corpse in Salcombe, Devon, 15 days later. Ms Chong’s fractured skull was found in undergrowth ten metres away from her body by a holidaying family days later. A murder trial at the Old Bailey has heard how a row had developed between the pair over money to pay for a renovation project worth hundreds of thousands of pounds at Mitchell's home in Willesden, north London. Giving evidence today, pathologist Dr Deborah Cook said she arrived at the scene, near the Salcombe estuary, to examine the decapitated body shortly after 11pm on June 27 last year. She told the court: 'It was apparent that the head and at least the first two bones that form the spine were absent.'
The larynx at the front of the neck was also missing, she said. Ms Chong was wearing a multi-coloured pattern dress underneath a black quilted Marks and Spencer zip-up jacket when she was found. Jurors heard that the left pocket of the jacket contained an Oyster Card and business cards for a GP, dentist and an Evangelical church in London. There were also small pieces of paper torn from a notepad with a quote from the Bible on them, jurors were told. ‘Those pieces of paper had writing on them including a quote from the bible,’ prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, said.
The pensioner was also found next to a handbag and wearing gladiator-sandals. Inside the bag was a camera, a tote bag and a length of orange rope which the prosecution alleges matches some found at Mitchell’s home. Dr Cook said that one of the handbag’s straps had been 'fastened underneath' one of Ms Chong’s shoe straps. Inside the handbag, the court heard there was a tote bag, camera and a 'length of orange nylon rope'. Asked about the Ms Chong's neck, Dr Cook said: 'It was apparent that the head and at least the first two bones that form the spine, that is the first and second cervical vertebrae, were absent.'
The court has previously heard how the pair met through the church and had known each other since August 2020. Within a month Mitchell began talking to Ms Chong about her finances and suggested she could sign her home in Wembley to her to avoid inheritance tax. Mitchell, who studied Human Sciences at Kings College London and is said to have become an expert in body dissection, is alleged to have pressured Ms Chong to give her the money. She then allegedly murdered the vulnerable Ms Chong in her own house in Wembley, north west London, on June 11 last year before faking her will to get money to pay for repairs to her own home. Jurors were last week shown CCTV footage allegedly of Mitchell dragging a suitcase containing Ms Chong's body, along with a second suitcase holding financial documents, around London for two hours. The court heard Mitchell was seen on CCTV walking into Chaplin Road, where Ms Chong lived, with an apparently empty suitcase before she reappeared five hours later with the same bag appearing much heavier. Jurors were told she then walked around London for two hours, calling various taxi firms, before she was dropped off outside her neighbour's home and dragged the two suitcases into her property. Fifteen days later, Mitchell is alleged to have hired a Volvo from Hertz before making the journey to Devon. She arrived back in London shortly before 7am on June 27. During the intervening period, jurors heard that Mitchell made herself the main beneficiary of the Ms Chong's will. The court has also heard how Ms Chong had a history of mental ill health dating back to 2015 when she was noted in GP records as having schizo-affective disorder and acute stress. According to the records, she suffered an episode of mania with psychotic symptoms in 2017 but by the next year her condition had stabilised and she was discharged by community mental health team. In May 2021, records indicate she had paranoid schizophrenia. Former osteopath Mitchell, of Willesden, denies murder. The trial continues.
