A 'HEALER' who beheaded her friend and dumped her body to get £200,000 has today been jailed for 34 years in the first live sentencing of a woman.
Jemma Mitchell, 38, killed and beheaded 67-year-old Mee Kuen Chong before dumping her corpse in woodlands more than 200 miles away.
The sick killer bludgeoned the OAP in a row over £200,000 and was yesterday found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey.
Mitchell was today sentenced to 34 years in prison, in the first-ever televised sentencing of a woman.
Judge Richard Marks KC today described the horror killing as "chilling" – saying the murderer was "extremely devious".
He added she showed "no remorse" over the sick murder of her pal, and that "this was a murder done for gain".
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The Judge told Mitchell: "You have shown absolutely no remorse and it appears you are in complete denial as to what you did.
"The enormity of your crime is profoundly shocking, even more so given your apparent religious devotion."
Before the judge handed Mitchell her sentence, Mee's sister Amy Chong provided a victim impact statement.
Amy joined the hearing by video link from Malaysia, along with Mee's nieces Pinky and Yinky and nephew Ryan.
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She said in her statement said: "Deborah's death was a shock to us all.
"It was difficult to comprehend how it could have happened to her, although we are not close due to certain differences of opinion with regard to religion.
"It saddens me she had to go through such a horrifying ordeal and tragic death."
Amy said she had suffered sleepless nights and the murder of her sister had left a "huge bottomless hole" in her life.
She said that "no-one in their right mind" would mutilate another person in the way Mitchell had.
She added: "We still do not understand how she died. Did she suffer? This mystery will haunt me forever."
LARGE BLUE SUITCASE
Mee, who was also known as Deborah, was reported missing from her home in Wembley, North London, on June 11 with her body discovered 17 days later.
Jurors had previously heard how Mitchell kept Mee at her house for two weeks after the murder – in which time she made herself beneficiary of her friend's will.
Mitchell was also captured on film wheeling churchgoer Mee's body in a suitcase to her dilapidated home in Brent, North London.
She had arrived with the large blue suitcase, knowing Mee, who was 5ft 2in tall and weighed only seven stone, would fit inside.
The heartless killer then moved her body 250 miles away to Salcombe, Devon, in a rented Volvo.
Once there, she callously dumped Mee's headless corpse in woodland before making the long journey home.
The pensioner's lifeless body was found with a chilling biblical note left inside her black quilted M&S zip-up jacket, a court heard.
Inside the devout Christian's handbag was a tote bag, camera and a "length of orange nylon rope".
'JUST FOUND A BODY'
And the moment a bystander stumbled upon the corpse was also revealed by cops.
In the recorded 999 call, a woman can be heard saying that they had "just found a body" on Bennett Road, Salcombe.
The shaken woman can be heard describing the corpse as possibly lying there for a "few days".
Mee's head was found ten metres away in undergrowth and had been "cleanly cut" from the rest of the body.
A post mortem was carried out but a cause of death could not be determined due to decomposition.
But the torso appeared to have been cut and there were signs of assault – including a skull fracture that suggested "significant impact by a blunt object very shortly before death".
She was missing three bones from her spine and "laryngeal structures", which form the Adam's Apple, were also missing.
A pathologist said there was no evidence of an attempted hanging and she did not see blood at the scene.
'SHOCKING'
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Eastwood, who led the investigation, described it as a "truly despicable crime".
He said: "The motivation for Jemma Mitchell's actions was money and she showed a significant degree of planning and calculation as she attempted to cover up her horrific actions.
"The cold facts of this case are shocking.
“Deborah Chong was a vulnerable lady – in the weeks before her murder, she was seeking help for her declining mental health.
"However, Mitchell – so desperate to obtain the money she needed to complete the renovations on her house – sought to take advantage of Deborah's good will, but when Deborah changed her mind, she callously murdered her and embarked upon an attempt to fraudulently obtain her estate.
“What is clear is that Mitchell – seeing her chance to obtain the funds she so desperately desired disappear – decided to attack and murder a vulnerable lady for her own gain in a truly despicable crime.”
'ATTUNED' TO DISSECTION
Mitchell had studied Human Sciences at Kings College London where she gained a first class degree and a special prize for anatomical excellence.
She went on to study osteopathy in Australia and her professional website stated that as a result of her training she was "attuned to subjects in neuroanatomy, genetics and dissection of human cadavers".
However, as Mitchell wasn't qualified in the UK, she never practised osteopathy here.
The cold-hearted killer befriended Mee through church but they had recently "fallen out" over money.
She wanted £200,000 from her pal to help pay for repairs to her home, which was missing a roof and piled high with rubbish, but Mee refused.
Mee had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and struggled with her mental health, the trial at the Old Bailey heard.
On the day Mee vanished, Mitchell had messaged her suggesting a visit.
But the victim was so fed up of her friend badgering her for money that she texted: "Not talk about house or money, stresses them both out".
Jurors heard Mitchell had made a false report via email to a missing persons' charity and sent a WhatsApp message to Mee’s lodger saying the devout churchgoer had gone to spend time with her family.
A LARGE SUM
After killing Mee, Mitchell forged a will on her computer giving herself 95% of her friend's estate, valued at about £700,000.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer earlier told the jury: "A large sum was needed to complete the repairs on the defendant's house.
"In Mee Kuen Chong, the prosecution say the defendant found someone from whom she thought she could get that money – by persuading Me Kuen Chong to give it to her, or if not when she was alive, then by forging her will after she had killed her."
Mitchell denied murder and manslaughter but was convicted by the jury after eight hours of deliberation.
After the verdict, Judge Marks praised the police team for their "excellent and extremely thorough investigative work".
Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police released footage of Mitchell's arrest.
It showed the moment cops smashed down Mitchell's door before putting the depraved killer in cuffs.
A bedraggled Mitchell seemed lost for words as she was read her rights by officers and realised she was being arrested.
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This is only the second time a criminal's sentencing has been shown on live TV.
The first was Ben Oliver's in July, when the 25-year-old was given a life sentence for the manslaughter of his father.
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