‘Sick and twisted’ PCSO killer jailed
THE “sick and twisted” murderer of PCSO Julia James has been jailed for at least 37 years for the “brutal and vicious” sexually motivated attack.
The much-loved grandmother and mother-of-two, 53, was ambushed by Callum Wheeler, 22, in Ackholt Wood, near her home in Snowdown, Kent, as she walked her Jack Russell called Toby.
Wheeler had previously roamed the countryside carrying the large metal bar he used to beat her to death on the afternoon of April 27 last year.
Wheeler, who was found guilty of murder in May, was carried into the Canterbury Crown Court dock on Friday, wearing handcuffs, by staff from Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital, in Berkshire, where he has been held.
He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 37 years on Friday by Mr Justice Wall, who told him: “The attack you launched on her was brutal and vicious.”
“Your actions have not just served to end the one life prematurely but have also destroyed the lives of the whole of her family,” said the judge.
“I am drawn on the evidence to the obvious conclusion that this was a not a spur of the moment aberration by you.
“Rather, it was an attack which was planned and thought through in advance.”
He added: “You were there looking for a lone female victim and you were sexually motivated to do so.”
Wheeler showed no emotion as he was escorted down to the cells in front of his victim’s family, including her widower Paul James, daughter Bethan Coles and son Patrick Davis.
Ms Coles said outside court: “I think we are pleased with 37 years, although clearly it never brings my Mum back.
“What it does do is keep women safe from harm and what he may do in the future.”
Wheeler earlier sat with his head bowed as the family read their emotional victim impact statements, telling him his actions had given them a “life sentence”.
Mr Davis said: “Mum finally found peace and happiness and that was snatched from her within a blink of an eye for one sick, twisted individual’s strange satisfactions.
“He should never see the light of day again. Why should he?
“My mother only wanted to walk her dog but instead had her life brutally ended by this disgusting creature.
“I will not refer to him as a human being because in my eyes he isn’t.”
Mrs James’ widower repeatedly broke down in tears as he told how “my life was finally complete when I married my soulmate” but “my hopes and dreams were taken”.
“I actually felt I died too,” he added. Wheeler was described by prosecutor Alison Morgan QC as a “highly sexualised” prolific user of internet pornography, who had searched for words including “raped” just two days before the attack.
She said Wheeler planned to target a lone woman and was “lying in wait in bushes” for “highly respected PCSO” Mrs James, who made a “desperate attempt to run away”.
Data from her Apple watch showed that her heart rate and walking pace spiked at the point it is believed she spotted Wheeler in the woodland, and changed her route home in a bid to escape.