Killer locked up for 37 years

The murderer of PCSO Julia James has been jailed for at least 37 years for the 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 dog.

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 brought to Canterbury Crown Court, where he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 37 years by Mr Justice Wall.

Wheeler showed no emotion as he was escorted to the cells in front of his victim’s family.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan said Wheeler planned to target a lone woman and was “lying in wait in bushes”.

Data from her Apple watch showed her heart rate and walking pace spiked when it is believed she spotted Wheeler and changed her route home in a bid to escape.

Wheeler had no connection to his victim, but prosecutors said he targeted her when she became separated from other dog walkers.

When arrested, he told police “sometimes I do things that I cannot control” and while in custody said “you can’t go into the woods and expect to be safe”.

He added that if he was released he would return to the woodland to rape and kill women and that Mrs James had deserved to die.

Mrs James’s daughter, Bethan Coles, said: “I think we are pleased with 37 years, although clearly it never brings my mum back.”

Detective Superintendent Gavin Moss said: “Callum Wheeler has demonstrated that he is an incredibly dangerous individual reflected by his actions that he subjected my colleague, Julia James, to the most horrific of injuries.

“I am reassured, and so should the public be, that Callum Wheeler is now off the streets for a significant period of time.”

Senior Crown prosecutor Matt Capes said: “Violence against women and girls is an abhorrent blight on our society that we are determined to eradicate.

“Women like Julia James and their families deserve justice.”

LIFE IN JAIL: Bethan Coles welcomed the 37-year prison sentence the judge handed down to Callum Wheeler for the brutal murder of her mother Julia James, inset.