Julia James murder trial: Jurors retrace last steps of killed PCSO

The jurors in the trial of a man who admitted killing police community support officer Julia James have been taken to the spot where she was killed on a dog walk.

Mrs James, 53, died after being attacked in woods in Snowdown, Kent, in April last year.

Callum Wheeler admitted responsibility for her death at Canterbury Crown Court, but denies murder.

Jurors were taken to the footpath where she walked her Jack Russell, Toby.

They were also taken to Mrs James's home and along a footpath which led from the gate at the end of her garden, through a wooded area and along the edge of a famer's field.

She had walked along an uneven path at the edge of the field, on 27 April 2021, and on to a bridle path at the edge of Ackholt Wood to a place known for an abundance of butterflies, that she and her husband Paul called the Butterfly Point.

The jurors were shown where she then made a detour away from a wooded area, which the prosecution claim was because she had seen Mr Wheeler in the woods and wanted to get away.

Her body was found a short distance away along a path next to a wheat field.

Jurors were shown Mr Wheeler's home address in Sunshine Corner Avenue, and then went on to Aylesham and District Social Club in Ratling where they were shown a camera on the building which had recorded him walking past at 13:08 BST on the day Mrs James was killed.

Alison Morgan QC, for the prosecution, told the jury: "It shows the defendant carrying a bag containing a metal railway jack."

They then moved on to a building belonging to a coach company, with a CCTV camera which had captured an image of Mrs James from a distance while on she was on her walk along the bridle path.

Jurors were also shown locations near to the end of Spinney Lane where Mr Wheeler was caught on a bus dashcam on 27 April, and by gamekeeper Gavin Tucker who had taken a video clip and still photo of him the day after Mrs James's death.

The trial continues.

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