In a money dispute, a woman was found guilty of murdering and decapitating her friend.
Jemma Mitchell, 38, was charged with murdering devout Christian Mee Kuen Chong and disposing of her headless body more than 200 miles away in order to inherit hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Mitchell, an alternative therapist, hit the 67-year-old over the head with a weapon at her London home and left her decapitated and badly decomposed body in woods in Salcombe, Devon, two weeks later.
The prosecution claimed Mitchell had planned to murder the divorcee and fake her will to inherit the majority of her estate which was worth more than £700,000.
Jurors were told that Mitchell came up with the plan to murder her friend, known as Deborah after she backed out of giving her £200,000 to pay for repairs for Mitchell’s £4 million dilapidated family home.
A jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for seven hours before finding Mitchell guilty of murder.
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Eastwood, who led the investigation, described it as a “truly despicable crime”.