Julia James murder trial: Accused photographed with weapon

A man accused of murdering police community support officer Julia James was photographed carrying a weapon the day after her death, a jury heard.

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

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

Gamekeeper Gavin Tucker took a picture of Mr Wheeler, in which the prosecution claim he is carrying the murder weapon.

Mr Tucker, who worked for Nethersole Farm which included Ackholt Wood, called Mr Wheeler "suspicious".

Mr Tucker saw Mr Wheeler on 28 April last year, the day after Mrs James died, near the junction of Pond Lane and Spinney Lane and took a picture of him, the court heard.

Jurors were shown the image of Mr Wheeler, 22, who carrying a blue holdall with a long object poking out of it, covered with carrier bags.

Prosecutors say the object was a railway jack that Mr Wheeler used to bludgeon Mrs James to death.

The dashcam on Mr Tucker's vehicle also captured a conversation between Mr Tucker and Mr Wheeler, who hurried away.

The gamekeeper called the police to report "a suspicious fella" running off.

Mr Tucker had asked Mr Wheeler what he was doing, to which he replied he was "lost or new to the area".

Mr Tucker told the court: "I knew he was telling lies."

He claimed he saw Mr Wheeler in the same area twice the previous September.

The first time he had spotted Mr Wheeler was as he was walking across a field near the wood.

He said: "There's no footpath here, are you lost?"

Mr Wheeler told him to "mind your own business," the court heard.

The second time Mr Wheeler was spotted and questioned he said he was looking for a train station.

Mr Tucker said he "didn't like" the way Mr Wheeler came across, and asked a colleague to keep an eye out for him too.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC also read a series of agreed facts to the jury, including details of an abandoned 999 call made by Mr Wheeler on April 17 last year.

When two PSCOs arrived at his home, Mrs Morgan said Mr Wheeler was laughing behind the door, saying "it wasn't even the real police".

He said PSCOs were "phoney" and "he was not going to talk to them".

"He told them to get lost, go on their way and bother someone else," Mrs Morgan told the court.

Mrs James was off-duty at the time of her death and was walking her Jack Russell dog Toby near the back of her home.

Footage taken from body-worn video captured by PCSO Emma Carmichael, who was first on the scene, was shown to the court.

She found Mrs James lying face down on a path, with her hood up.

The video clip showed the officer calling out to Mrs James and putting her hand on her back but receiving no response, before speaking into her police radio to tell colleagues she believed the death was suspicious.

The trial continues.

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