GUILTY UK - Mee Kuen "Deborah" Chong, 67, Wembley, London, decapitated in woods, Salcombe, Jun 2021 *arrest

[JuicyLucy]

Oh, how confusing, I thought I was on the wrong thread for a minute but now I realise someone must have started a duplicate.

A new article in the Harrow Times this lunchtime has a few new snippets of info I hadn't previously read, mainly from one of her neighbours:

• she'd lived in her Wembley home for 20 years; she currently lives with a lodger; there was no mention of a current or ex-husband or partner (the neighbour has been there 40 years, so would know, I think)
  
• the neighbour saw her the week before she went missing said she "didn't look too good"
• the neighbour considered her vulnerable because of her age and "concerns with her mental wellbeing" (I wonder if that means dementia)
• she doesn't normally go away at all
• she struggles to walk
• no one seems to have heard anything about whether the murder/decapitation happened in London or Devon (perhaps even the police are bemused?)
  
• the neighbour said she had no family in the UK but a sister in Malaysia

Horrified neighbours express shock of women from Wembley who was found headless

The idea that a woman who can barely walk, never goes away and perhaps has dementia could end up 200 miles from home with her head severed from her body just seems more and more bizarre to me, especially with no Significant Other to suspect of DV, and also given that she was known and recognised in her local neighbourhood and a stranger bundling her into a car, for instance, would almost certainly have attracted attention.

The plot thickens.

ETA: JMO

 

[LouTennant]

Intresting that there are no updates on Mee's last phone/internet activitys. I guessing that the police would have said if her cellphone was tracked to Cornwall. Police deffo playing this close to their chest and are hopefully closing in on the perp(s).

 

[Tortoise]

I think based on her reported lifestyle, mobility issues and not usually going away, she was most likely killed near to home and transported to Devon to reduce the likelihood of her being identified.

I wonder how she was identified. Perhaps a blood type was identified and the database for recently missing females of Malaysian origin was searched. Then she could be matched by DNA with her toothbrush?

If it was a local that person must know they will be linked with her, and not a stranger. IMO

 

[Al Ka]

I think based on her reported lifestyle, mobility issues and not usually going away, she was most likely killed near to home and transported to Devon to reduce the likelihood of her being identified.

I wonder how she was identified. Perhaps a blood type was identified and the database for recently missing females of Malaysian origin was searched. Then she could be matched by DNA with her toothbrush?

If it was a local that person must know they will be linked with her, and not a stranger. IMO

I very much agree with you on all of your points, being deceased closer to home, transportation to far away location and mutilation to prevent her identification as it would lead to someone close to her.

With regards to her identification - Simple blood type test UK police force usually perform on unknown deceased would not tell them about her Malaysian origins.

I have recently found out that UK missing person DNA database is a bit less sophisticated than I previously thought and lots of work done on it is still in progress. Matching unidentified DNA to missing person is NOT automated process as it is in US. Police here obtain DNA from remains and compare DNA's manually to missing persons only after general investigations are exhausted (of clothing found with unknown remains, other items, autopsy and anthropology report - sex, age, tattoos etc) and manually compare those first details to missing persons of similar description, timeframe and region. Once they zoom in on few solid candidates, only than they obtain those candidates DNAs from families and perform DNA comparison. This is done in recent cases and not cold cases where DNA of unidentified and also missing people should be by now in DNA databases, but still even in those comparisons are not automatic.

As Lee was already officially reported missing and hence was on police radar and listed in national police database as missing, in similar timeframe and similar age of unknown deceased and there were probably some other details pointing to her - items found with her or body anomalities, health issues matching her, only after that Lee's DNA was obtained (from toothbrush or shaving razor etc), than compared and matched. It is not standard to obtain DNA from every recently missing person.

Identification in this case was done within 3 days of remains being found, so pretty quick. (Hence my thought that some item on her or her body helped pointing to her and speed up identification)

I really wish police would share with us some of those technicalities and details how she was identified, what was found etc, but yes, so far they are very tight lip even about small details. They did not even officially announce yet if it is murder investigation which we all here suspect it is. Maybe in due time we will learn a bit more.

(All above is just in my humble opinion)

 

[realanastasia]

Have we any MSM confirmation that she was married at some point in her life? And does/did her former spouse share her faith? Did they have children, and if so, what faith were they raised in? As someone already mentioned, Islam is the dominant religion in Malaysia so I wonder if she converted from that faith to Evangelical Christianity either before or after immigrating to the UK. Why do I think this information might be relevant? Well, the gruesome act of beheading “infidels” or “traitors” to the faith is most familiar to me in the context of the well-publicized murders of foreigners and perceived “traitors” that were carried out in the last 10-15 years by ISIS/ISIL and other radical groups (al-Shabab, etc.) who claim they are defending Islam, so I wonder if anyone in the deceased woman’s life might have taken offense to her apparently VERY enthusiastic practice of Christianity and meted out what they saw as “just” punishment. IMO/MOO

 

[Kittybunny]

Do we know who reported her missing?

Agree with those of you who think the killer is close to home.

 

[JuicyLucy]

I very much agree with you on all of your points, being deceased closer to home, transportation to far away location and mutilation to prevent her identification as it would lead to someone close to her.

With regards to her identification - Simple blood type test UK police force usually perform on unknown deceased would not tell them about her Malaysian origins.

I have recently found out that UK missing person DNA database is a bit less sophisticated than I previously thought and lots of work done on it is still in progress. Matching unidentified DNA to missing person is NOT automated process as it is in US. Police here obtain DNA from remains and compare DNA's manually to missing persons only after general investigations are exhausted (of clothing found with unknown remains, other items, autopsy and anthropology report - sex, age, tattoos etc) and manually compare those first details to missing persons of similar description, timeframe and region. Once they zoom in on few solid candidates, only than they obtain those candidates DNAs from families and perform DNA comparison. This is done in recent cases and not cold cases where DNA of unidentified and also missing people should be by now in DNA databases, but still even in those comparisons are not automatic.

As Lee was already officially reported missing and hence was on police radar and listed in national police database as missing, in similar timeframe and similar age of unknown deceased and there were probably some other details pointing to her - items found with her or body anomalities, health issues matching her, only after that Lee's DNA was obtained (from toothbrush or shaving razor etc), than compared and matched. It is not standard to obtain DNA from every recently missing person.

Identification in this case was done within 3 days of remains being found, so pretty quick. (Hence my thought that some item on her or her body helped pointing to her and speed up identification)

I really wish police would share with us some of those technicalities and details how she was identified, what was found etc, but yes, so far they are very tight lip even about small details. They did not even officially announce yet if it is murder investigation which we all here suspect it is. Maybe in due time we will learn a bit more.

(All above is just in my humble opinion)

That's interesting info @Al Ka. I didn't know half of that.

I wonder if there was something distinctive on her body, like surgical scars or a physical abnormality. From what has been said by neighbours and some of the photos, she didn't seem like an altogether well woman.

 

[AlwaysAsking]

I wish we knew more about the lodger

 

[Amonet]

Have we any MSM confirmation that she was married at some point in her life? And does/did her former spouse share her faith? Did they have children, and if so, what faith were they raised in? As someone already mentioned, Islam is the dominant religion in Malaysia so I wonder if she converted from that faith to Evangelical Christianity either before or after immigrating to the UK. Why do I think this information might be relevant? Well, the gruesome act of beheading “infidels” or “traitors” to the faith is most familiar to me in the context of the well-publicized murders of foreigners and perceived “traitors” that were carried out in the last 10-15 years by ISIS/ISIL and other radical groups (al-Shabab, etc.) who claim they are defending Islam, so I wonder if anyone in the deceased woman’s life might have taken offense to her apparently VERY enthusiastic practice of Christianity and meted out what they saw as “just” punishment. IMO/MOO

Muslim is considered the 'default' religion for ethnic Malay people in Malaysia, but not for non-Malays.

DC, (could the name Deborah be added as an alias, as that's the name she went by on FB?) seems to be Chinese or Chinese-dominant ethnicity, as she has a Chinese name rather than the Malaysian/Muslim name, with Malaysian being her nationality. I don't think it's very likely that she's a convert from Islam.

From my personal experiences having friends in the UK who came over from Malaysia to study, the ethnic Malaysian and Chinese Malaysians don't seem to mix very much. I don't think anyone who was ethnic Malaysian and Muslim would take any notice of an ethnic Chinese Malaysian woman being Christian as they wouldn't expect her to share their Muslim faith.

 

[Kitkat28]

This is an absolutely horrendous crime, and yet another example of a case receiving no publicity whatsoever because it doesn’t fit with the media’s idea of a ‘suitable’ victim for the front covers.

When are the murders of old or brown or poor or ugly women ever going to get equal coverage?

Poor Mee Kuen, such a lovely, kind looking lady in her pictures. I hope whoever did this is found quickly - I can’t imagine they are a safe person to have on the streets!

 

[RobinCAL]

Neighbours remember Mee Chong after body found

 

[Amonet]

I hope there will be a positive update soon. If I feel like we've been waiting for ages, I can't imagine how Mee's family and friends feel, especially given the nature of her death

 

[mspuurfect]

This is horrendous! Poor older woman probably lived a quiet life and taken so brutally from this probably peaceful life she lived. As others have said check out the lodger and also the lodgers friends - since lockdown restrictions perhaps they have invited someone into the home that perhaps disagreed with her opinions? IMO definitaly someone close to home and also pretty certain this person will be caught soon though

 

[Skigh]

Police arrest woman, 36, from London on suspicion of murdering pensioner, 67 | Daily Mail Online

 

[Legally Bland]

Police arrest woman, 36, from London on suspicion of murdering pensioner, 67 | Daily Mail Online

That's a surprise.

 

[Amonet]

That's a surprise.

In that case my guess goes to the age-old motive of 'money'. Maybe this woman befriended Mee and got her to leave her house to her in her will, and couldn't wait for a natural death.

If the arrested woman is the murderer, I hope she will tell police where the rest of the remains are.

 

[MsMiniSleuth]

That's a surprise.

Just saw this (bit going on for us Englanders tonight!).

Wow, have to say a bit of a shock and surprise. Perhaps puts a whole new spin on motive.

Must have had help, surely? A woman is adept at decapitating another?

 

[swedeheart]

A woman! Wow, I did not see that coming. Now, who is this woman to Mee?

 

[Sarahlou]

A woman? Hmm. Will wait to hear more about this

 

[Legally Bland]

[S...] met Deborah at the Westminster branch of the Emmanuel Evangelical Church in March 2020.

He said: "She was in my group and that's where I first spoke to her - and after that she would always come and say hello. She was really lovely."

[...]

He said: "She was a very vulnerable person. You could tell because she was very innocent, and very trusting of people.

"When I read it, it upset myself and my family because we know that it wouldn't have been hard to lure her anywhere.

"Especially because she was a Christian - all you'd have to say really is 'ooh I'm a Christian, let's have a bible study', she was so eager to learn and so eager to find out more."

Alleged murder victim had 'sweet and childlike nature'