Murder victim ‘believed she was communicating with Prince Charles’

A pensioner believed she had a YouTube relationship with the former Prince of Wales before she was murdered and her headless body dumped in woods, a court has been told.

Mee Kuen Chong, known as Deborah, was allegedly attacked in her north-west London home by churchgoing friend Jemma Mitchell, 38, and carried off in a large blue suitcase in June 2021.

Mitchell allegedly hired a car and dumped 67-year-old Ms Chong’s decapitated body over 200 miles away in Salcombe, Devon, where a holidaying family found it.

Mitchell admits being the person seen on CCTV carrying the suitcase but denies murder, the Old Bailey heard.

Watch: CCTV 'captures woman accused of murdering neighbour walking with bulky suitcase'

On Friday, jurors were shown the suitcase before prosecutor Lucy Organ read out a series of statements from people who knew the victim.

Doctor Alyson Callan said Ms Chong had a “perceived relationship” with the then Prince Charles and believed she could communicate with him through video-sharing website YouTube, the court was told.

On 1 March 2021, Ms Chong was referred by the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre at Buckingham Palace to the Brent community mental health team, Dr Callan said.

Read more: CCTV captures osteopath trained in dissection ‘dragging suitcase containing body’

Dr Callan, a consultant psychiatrist with the Brent team, said: “The referral was made when Mee sent a number of letters addressed to Prince Charles and Boris Johnson.

“The contents of the letters contained nothing alarming but they were bizarre, suggesting she was having another episode of mental illness.”

The psychiatrist said Ms Chong was also referred in 2017 after being admitted to a mental health unit.

Ms Chong was visited in May 2021 and prescribed anti-psychotics but in early June complained they affected her sleep and appetite.

Two days before Ms Chong was reported missing, her lodger David Klein requested a carer for her, the doctor said.

Retired carpenter Michael McGreal, who went to the same church as Ms Chong and did work for her, said she was worried about climate change and had “strong political views”.

He said she would talk about leaving her house to the homeless and introduced Mitchell as a “friend”.

On learning Ms Chong was missing, former lodger and evangelist Lorenia Alvaranqa said: “I felt something bad had happened to Deborah. I was concerned about Deborah because she did not take much care when she met and spoke to strangers.”

Ms Alvaranqa added she met Mitchell at a barbecue at Ms Chong’s house.

Mitchell was introduced as Ms Chong’s lodger Mr Klein’s friend and revealed she was “in love with someone” and wanted to get married but did not say who it was, the jury was told.

Read more: Murder accused faked will after dumping woman’s headless body, court told

Later, jurors heard evidence about an incident on the day Mitchell allegedly made a 500-mile round trip to dump Ms Chong’s body in Devon.

On the evening of 26 June, Mitchell was forced to pull into a garage in Malborough near Salcombe with a flat tyre.

A former AA repairman, who was called to change the wheel on Mitchell’s rented Volvo, described Mitchell’s “confused” demeanour and an “odd musty smell” inside the vehicle.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said: “You have a conversation about whether it was sensible to drive the car with a temporary wheel?”

Mr Gardin replied: “Yes. She asked me not to put the wheel in the boot which I thought was a bit strange.”

Mitchell, from Willesden, north-west London, denies murder.