Jailed for 37 years, killer who ambushed PCSO

THE widower of PCSO Julia James broke down in court yesterday and said he felt like he had ‘died too’ as her murderer was jailed for 37 years.

Her family described Callum Wheeler as a ‘disgusting creature’ who ‘should never see the light of day again’ as he was sentenced for bludgeoning her to death.

The 22-year-old ambushed Mrs James, 53, with a 3ft-long iron bar while she was out walking her Jack Russell in Snowdown, Kent, in April last year.

Canterbury Crown Court heard that Wheeler had roamed Ackholt Wood near her home for days, hunting a lone woman to rape and kill.

Mrs James’s husband Paul was in tears yesterday, saying the death of his ‘soulmate’ had left him feeling like he’d ‘died too and they just forgot to bury me’. Her son Patrick Davis branded the killer ‘sick and twisted’, adding: ‘My mother only wanted to walk her dog but instead had her life brutally ended by this disgusting creature.’

Condemning the ‘vicious’ attack, Judge Mr Justice Wall told Wheeler his actions had ‘destroyed’ Mrs James’s whole family.