A sketch of Mitchell and (right) her arrest (Pictures: Central/PA/Elizabeth Cook)

An alternative therapist has been found guilty of murdering her devout Christian friend, cutting her head off and dumping her body 200 miles away in a bid to inherit her wealth.

Jemma Mitchell hit 67-year-old Mee Kuen Chong over the head with a weapon at her London home and left her decapitated and badly decomposed remains in woods in Salcombe, Devon, two weeks later, a court heard.

Prosecutors said Mitchell plotted to murder the vulnerable divorcee and fake her will to inherit the bulk of her £700,000 estate.

The 38-year-old allegedly hatched the plan after Ms Chong, known as Deborah, backed out of giving her £200,000 to fix her run-down £4million family home.

The trained osteopath, who boasted online of award-winning skill in human dissection, had denied having anything to do with her friend’s death but declined to give evidence at trial.

An Old Bailey jury, who saw footage of her lugging a large suitcase from Ms Chong’s home, found her guilty. She was remanded in custody for sentencing today.

Mee Kuen Chong’s body was found in the woods in Devon after being reported missing on June 11 this year (Picture: Central News/Met Police)

Outside court, Det Ch Insp Jim Eastwood said: ‘The motivation for Jemma Mitchell’s actions was money and she showed a significant degree of planning and calculation. The cold facts of this case are shocking.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Jemma Mitchell hit 67-year-old Mee Kuen Chong over the head with a weapon and left her decapitated.