The mother of a convicted murderer has denied that her daughter was brutally murdered, beheaded and then stuffed her close friend’s body in a suitcase, claiming she saw the contents of the luggage with her own eyes.
Jemma Mitchell, 38, was sentenced to life to a minimum of 34 years after she was found guilty of murdering and dismembering her close friend Mee Kuen Chong, 76, also known as Deborah, in June 2021.
Hillary Collard has now claimed to have seen the bright blue suitcase that her daughter was found to have used to transport Ms Chong’s remains to their shared home in London and then to a town in Devonshire, two hours away.
Mrs Collard, who insists her daughter is innocent, claims the bag contained no body.
“I saw what went in that briefcase, I didn’t see her actually put it in the car,” she told 60 Minutes’ Jordan Steinfort.
‘She had three five-kilo bottles of water, she had cans in case she wanted to stop for something to eat, she had a sun lounger and an umbrella.
‘That is it. She crammed what she could into the trunk.’
Hillary Collard (pictured) has claimed to have seen the bright blue suitcase that her daughter was found to have used to transport Ms Chong’s remains
Screenshot taken from CCTV issued by the Metropolitan Police of Jemma Mitchell dragging a blue suitcase outside Mrs Chong’s home in Wembley
During her June trial, Mitchell allegedly hit Ms Chong on the head with a heavy object in her London flat before returning to collect her body two weeks later.
Ms. Chong had pulled out of an agreement to loan Mitchell $357,000 to renovate the $7 million family home she shared with her mother.
At her trial, the jury learned that Mitchell then plotted an “evil” plot to kill Ms. Chong and forged her will to inherit most of her estate, worth more than $1.25 million.
On June 11, 2021, she was captured on CCTV arriving at Ms Chong’s home in Wembley, North West London, carrying a large blue suitcase.
More than four hours later, she emerged with the bag appearing to be bigger and heavier and returned to the house she shared with her mother.
Two weeks later, CCTV footage shows Mitchell loading the case into a hired Volvo SUV before driving three hours south west to Salcombe, Devon on June 26, 2021.
Ms. Collard also claims to have seen the contents of the briefcase when her daughter returned from Ms. Chong’s home two weeks earlier.
The briefcase used to transport Mrs Chong’s decapitated body to Devon, where she was found
Before her death, Ms. Chong (pictured) had pulled out of an agreement to loan Mitchell $357,000 for the renovation of her $7 million family home
Pictured is the trunk used to transport Mrs Chong’s headless body to Salcombe, Devon
Ms Chong went missing on 11 June 2021, and her body was found about 200 miles away in the seaside town of Salcombe, Devon just two weeks later
“I saw the suitcase when she came back from Deborah’s house and there was only a pan in it, some utensils, some towels, there were tins, there were books. It was all heavy stuff,” she said.
“But there was no body there.”
Ms Collard insists her daughter is innocent, telling the programme: ‘She’s not a murderer, I know you don’t believe me, but she isn’t.
“I’m telling you, Gemma didn’t commit this crime.”
Ms Collard said she and her daughter believe Ms Chong died after committing suicide or falling and being unable to get up.
However, during last October’s criminal trial, the prosecution suggested that Mitchell keep Ms Chong’s remains in the garden of her mother’s property for more than two weeks before disposing of it in Devon.
At Mitchell’s sentencing last October, Judge Marks said, “I have no doubt that this was a penalty for gain.
Mee Kuen Chong was hit on the head with a gun in her London home in June 2021
The spot in the woods where the body was dumped in Salcombe, Devon, and found by the police
On 27 June that year, Mrs Chong’s decapitated body was found the following day by holidaymakers next to a woodland track near the picturesque town of Salcombe.
After a police search of the area, Ms. Chong’s skull was found a few feet away from the body.
An autopsy revealed skull fractures, possibly caused by a blow to the head and broken ribs.
Experts said they may have been caused by the body being put in the trunk.
A search of Mitchell’s house found a fake will, leaving Mrs. Chong’s house to her, as well as a series of her personal papers.
While no forensic evidence was found from the briefcase, Ms. Chong’s DNA was identified on a blood-stained kitchen towel in a pocket.
The trained osteopath, who once practiced in Melbourne but returned to the UK in 2015, had denied involvement in Ms Chong’s death but refused to testify at her trial.
Ms Collard insists her daughter (pictured) is innocent of the brutal crimes, telling 60 Minutes: ‘She’s not a killer, I know you don’t believe me, but she’s not’
At Mitchell’s sentencing last October, Judge Marks said, “I have no doubt that this was done for profit.
“The starting point should be one of 30 years in prison. There’s the chilling aspect to what you did to and with her body after you killed her.
“You have shown no remorse and appear to be in complete denial of what you have done. The magnitude of your crime is very shocking.
The sentence of the court is life imprisonment and the minimum will be 34 years.
Ms Collard blew kisses to her daughter from the public gallery as she was taken to port and out of court insisted her daughter was innocent.
“There’s absolutely no doubt about it and I know she wouldn’t do such a thing. I am absolutely stunned,” she told reporters.
Her mum Hilary Collard (pictured) said her daughter became ‘erratic’ after breaking up with her traditional Melbourne boyfriend
‘I’m completely crazy. There was no DNA on the body.
“If she had killed the lady, there would be blood and other things at our house, but there was nothing.
‘She offered to take her to Salcombe. If she had a dead body in the back, she wouldn’t have asked me to go with her, would she?’
Ms Collard insisted her daughter was a “loving, thoughtful” woman, rather than “exceedingly crafty” as the judge had said.
She told 60 Minutes that she is planning an appeal and visits her daughter regularly.