Authorities said Thursday that a British woman has been convicted of murder after a judge found her guilty of decapitating her former acquaintance and disposing of her body last year. Jemma Mitchell, 38, is now in custody and is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, according to a press release issued by the Metropolitan Police Service on Thursday.
Mitchell, a resident of northwest London, is accused of killing Mee Kuen Chong, also known as Deborah Chong, in June 2021 at the Chongs’ home in neighboring Wembley. Chong, 67, became friends with Mitchell after meeting him through a church group, and Mitchell “also served as Deborah’s spiritual healer” during this time, according to authorities.
According to investigators, Chong struggled with her mental health prior to her death. Mitchell was renovating her home at the time, and investigators say she approached Chong for money to assist fund the project. According to investigators, although Chong initially agreed to repay Mitchell approximately £200,000, she finally retracted the offer, which “led to the pair falling out” days before the murder.
Deborah Chong was a vulnerable woman; in the weeks preceding her murder, she sought care for her deteriorating mental health, according to Jim Eastwood, detective chief inspector and main investigator in Chong’s investigation for the Metropolitan Police. Mitchell, however, was so anxious for money to complete the repairs on her home that she attempted to take advantage of Deborah’s generosity. When Deborah changed her mind, Mitchell brutally murdered her and began a scheme to fraudulently collect her fortune.
Metropolitan Police-issued CCTV image of Jemma Mitchell, 38, entering a service station store near Bristol on October 13, 2022. Metropolitan Police/PA Photographs courtesy of Getty Images
Chong was last seen alive on June 10, 2021, and authorities believe she was “likely murdered” the following day by Mitchell. The inquiry into Chong’s killing found June 11 CCTV footage showed Mitchell at Chong’s residence. Video footage also showed Mitchell going out from the apartment while carrying two huge, wheeled luggage that “from Mitchell’s actions… seemed to be heavy,” according to the police.
Authorities suspect Mitchell returned home with Chong’s body and stored it there for almost two weeks before travelling to a coastal location in southern England to dispose of the remains.
“During that time, Mitchell emailed a bogus complaint to a missing persons organization and sent a WhatsApp message to Deborah’s lodger, claiming she had gone to spend a year with her relatives to clear her head,” police said. “Perhaps most chillingly, given where Deborah was ultimately discovered, Mitchell also noted that she intended to stay’somewhere near the water.’”
Jemma Mitchell, 38, lugging a blue bag on Chaplin Road, north-west London, on June 11, 2021, as captured on surveillance footage supplied by the Metropolitan Police. Metropolitan Police/PA Photographs courtesy of Getty Images
According to authorities, Chong’s remains were discovered in Salcombe, a beach resort, on June 27, 2021, with the head separated from the body and located some yards away. A second autopsy verified that Chong had assault-related injuries, including a fractured skull, and established that the head was removed by a human, not an animal. According to investigators, Mitchell had a degree in osteopathy and experience with human dissection.
Mitchell, according to authorities, phoned the U.K.’s missing people charity days after Chong’s remains were discovered and stated that Chong had previously informed her that “she felt ignored and was staying with family near the sea.”
When Mitchell was caught less than a week later, officials discovered a falsified copy of Chong’s will, which gave nearly all of her wealth to Mitchell, along with “other valuables belonging to Deborah” and identification credentials belonging to the victim. Mitchell, according to the police, “used this person’s name as a witness to the forged will and reactivated their mobile phone to rent a car to transfer Deborah’s body to Devon.”
Friday will mark the sentencing of Mitchell, who was charged with murder shortly after her arrest on July 9 of last year.