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Crown asks: ‘Was murder weapon in defendant’s bedroom when police visited before attack?’
Restarting after lunch, Alison Morgan QC said of the railway jack - the “large, heavy metal bar” - the jury will want to consider when it was the the defendant acquired that weapon.
“Was it already in his bedroom when the police attended?”, she asked.
Defendant roamed woods with railway jack 24 hours before attack, CPS say
At around 3.30pm on Apr 26 - a day before Julia James was killed - a witness called Neil McMahon saw a man walking along Spinney Lane near the woods.
Alison Morgan QC said: “He was walking on the narrow verge at the edge of the road.
“He appeared to be carrying a golf bag over his shoulder. It was noticeably long in its dimensions and there was a bright red object poking out of one end.
“The Prosecution alleges that this male was the defendant and the Prosecution alleges was this sighting was consistent with sightings of the defendant then next day, walking along carrying a bag with a large object - the railway jack - protruding from it.
“If correct, It follows that the defendant had been roaming around the area near to Ackholt Wood with that large potential weapon, 24 hours before the attack on Julia James.”
Crown’s chronology of defendant’s movements before attack
- 11.43am - Callum Wheeler’s bedroom window is open.
- 12.34pm - Defendant’s mobile phone is disconnected from his home wi-fi.
- 12.37pm - CCTV shows a figure alleged to be the defendant walking in the direction of the gap in the hedge from his home address carrying the holdall and the murder weapon.
- Before 1pm - Witness sees male subsequently identified as defendant with hood up and bag outside her address, making her feel uncomfortable.
- 1.08pm - Defendant captured on CCTV carrying a bag with a long object protruding from it. This is shown on CCTV footage from Aylesham Social Club. The Prosecution’s case is that a long object protruding from the bag was the railway jack that would later be used to murder Julia James. The route from the defendant’s home address to that location has been timed by police officers walking the distance. It takes approximately 13 minutes to walk the route. Police officers have then walked the route from this location to where Julia James was attacked. It takes about half an hour to 40 minutes to walk the route.
- Between 1.30pm and 1.55pm - Dog walkers see a person walking down footpath near the woods.
How victim came to meet her killer
Alison Morgan summarised: “It follows that by 13.00hrs, the defendant was out of his address and was carrying a bag with him, containing a long, large object.
“The Prosecution alleges that having been in the area of the Social Club to the north of Aylesham, he then walked towards Ackholt Woods, arriving there at about 2pm.”
On Julia James’ movements, Ms Morgan told the jury: “Julia James left her home to take her dog for a walk at 2.12pm. Her route is established by GPRS details recorded on her Apple Watch.”
The CPS allege that Wheeler was already in the woods as his victim set off.
Apple Watch recorded Julia James’ last heartbeat
The Crown told the jury that Julia James’ Apple watch provides “detailed information about the route that she walked, the speed that she was travelling and the moment when her heart rate suddenly escalated.
Alison Morgan QC told Canterbury Crown Court: “Julia was also sending messages from her mobile telephone as she walked.
“The last message that she sent was at 2.25pm, just after she got into the wooded area.”
Julia James, as was her routine, reached butterfly corner before turning back towards home around 14.28pm.
Ms Morgan continued: “Having turned around, she headed back to the wood, reaching the same location that she had seen the male she described as ‘weird’ - the defendant - previously with her husband, Paul James.
“At this point, at 2.30pm, there was a spike in her speed and heart rate. She took a sudden detour out from the wooded area, along the side of a field.
“As she did, she dropped her glasses. Her heart rate escalated dramatically from 97 to 145 bpm and then dropped off.
“There was no further movement after 2.35pm. Her last heart rate was recorded at 2.43pm.”
Victim killed by defendant in same spot in the woods she’d previously seen him
Alison Morgan QC told the jury: “The prosecution alleges that Julia must have seen her attacker, the defendant, waiting in the woods.
“He was in the same location that he had been in before. This time, he was armed with the large and obvious metal railway jack.
“Julia ran to save herself, along the side of her path. She was chased by her attacker.
“It is likely that she fell as she ran, leading to her left wrist being fractured.
“She was then subjected to what the pathologist who examined her body described as a ‘violent and sustained blunt force trauma assault to the head, especially concentrating on the top and to the back of the head’.”
The jury was shown a picture from bodycam footage of police arriving at the scene of Julia James’ body.
Ms Morgan continued: “There was very little blood immediately next to Julia’s body. However, a little distance away from her, some long grass had been pulled up and placed over the top of what was then identified to be a pool of blood.It appeared that the grass had been used to cover the blood in that area.
“It follows that Julia James must have been bleeding at that time to deposit blood on the ground, before being moved to her final position. Given the serious nature of the violent injuries to her head, causing her skull to cave in, the majority of the injuries to her head must have been inflicted whilst she was face down on the ground, with her hood up.
“Had it been otherwise, particulate matter would have been found in the area surrounding the body, which it was not.”
A smartwatch worn by PCSO Julia James revealed how she ran for her life after spotting a “really weird dude” holding a metal railway jack and waiting to ambush her in remote woods, a court has heard.
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