Woman who beheaded friend over money tried 'to steal best pal's boyfriend'

Jemma Mitchell, who decapitated her friend after murdering her, has been described as a "snake" by one of her former best friends.

Mitchell, 38, dumped her 67-year-old friend Mee Kuen Chong in the woods in Devon, UK after killing her last year.

Chong was reported missing from her house in Wembley, London in June last year. A search was launched by the police and her headless body was eventually discovered more than 200 miles (320km) away in the woods near Salcombe, Devon.

Mitchell's former best friend, Keren, has now claimed that the suspect had also "tried to steal her boyfriend."

"We were quite close friends; I would say best friends. We would call and talk every day. We ended our friendship because she tried to steal my boyfriend. She's a nice person but there was something extremely weird about her," she told The Mirror.

"To be honest I'm not surprised, I had an odd feeling about her. She creeped me out, the way she'd ask questions. She was constantly going behind my back but extremely sweet to my face – she was like a snake. It just shows you never know your friends," she added.

According to local media reports, Chong had agreed to give £200,000 to help Mitchell with house repairs but later had a change of heart and the duo eventually had a falling out over the issue.

Mitchell has now been sentenced to a minimum of 34 years for Mee Kuen Chong's murder. While announcing her sentence, Judge Richard Marks KC called Mitchell "extremely devious."

According to a BBC report, Mitchell had studied osteopathy and had a first-class degree in Human Sciences from Kings College London. Her professional website stated that she was "attuned to subjects in neuroanatomy, genetics, and dissection of human cadavers."

Mitchell returned to Britain in 2015 after having worked in Australia for seven years. She was living with her mother at their dilapidated family home in Brent at the time of Chong's murder.