Smartwatch shows victim ran for her life before bashing death
Device revealed Julia James’s heart rate spiked to 145bpm as she tried to flee her attacker, court told
A SMARTWATCH worn by Julia James on the day she died revealed how she ran for her life after spotting a “really weird dude” holding a metal railway jack and waiting to ambush her in remote woods, a court has heard.
Data retrieved from the Apple device detailed how Mrs James, a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO), had been on her usual dog walk in April last year when her heartbeat increased dramatically and she suddenly changed direction.
Prosecutors at Canterbury Crown Court allege that the 53-year-old fled after spotting Callum Wheeler, a 21-year-old local man, whom she had seen acting suspiciously in the same spot on at least two previous occasions.
Jurors were told how Mrs James ran in a desperate effort to escape her attacker but was slowed down by her wellington boots. She fell to the ground, breaking her wrist, before being struck repeatedly on the head with a heavy metal object, leaving her with no chance of survival, the court heard.
Wheeler has admitted that he killed Mrs James but he denies murder.
On the opening day of his trial, the jury was told that, shortly after 2.30pm on April 27, Mrs James had been walking her beloved Jack Russell terrier, Toby, in Ackholt Wood close to Snowdown in Kent. However, she suddenly veered from her usual route out of the wooded area and, at the same time, her heartbeat rocketed from 97 to 145 beats per minute.
Alison Morgan QC, prosecuting, said: “The prosecution alleges that Julia must have seen her attacker, the defendant waiting in the woods. He was in the same location that he had been in before. This time he was armed with a large and obvious metal railway jack.
“Julia ran to save herself, along the side of the path. She was chased by her attacker,” she alleged.
Mrs James, a mother of two, died “extremely rapidly” after being struck with a “weapon of considerable weight”, Ms Morgan said.
The jury was told that Wheeler, who is unemployed, had been spotted regularly in the months before the attack as he roamed around the area where the attack took place.
Mrs James had twice spotted a man matching his description in Ackholt Wood, commenting to her husband that she had passed a “really weird dude” on the bridle path. In February last year, just weeks before she was killed, Mrs James and her husband spotted the same man loitering near the eventual scene of the attack.
The day before the attack, a witness described seeing a man matchingwheeler’s description, walking close to the woods carrying a large metal object in a bag. Ms Morgan said: “If correct it follows that the defendant had been roaming around the area near to Ackholt Wood with a large potential weapon 24 hours before the attack.”
After the discovery of her body a huge police investigation was launched with a cordon thrown around the woods and surrounding area but the jury was told that Wheeler left his home in Aylesham the next day, again carrying the alleged murder weapon. He was spotted by several witnesses close to the woods
‘The community was shocked, many trying to help the police ... yet here was the defendant playing games’
carrying a holdall with a metal object protruding.
Ms Morgan said it was the weapon he had used to kill Mrs James. “Why he did that is known only to him,” she said. “It could be that he was goading the police who were in the vicinity, or it could be he was looking for somewhere to dispose of the weapon.”
One of those who spotted him was a local gamekeeper, Gavin Tucker, who had seen him acting suspiciously in the area the previous September. He challenged Wheeler in an exchange captured on his dashboard camera.
After claiming he was new to the area, Wheeler allegedly ran off towards the woods. Other witnesses also reported seeing him dodging in and out of the woods, carrying a heavy holdall.
Ms Morgan said: “The community in Aylesham was shocked at Julia James’s death. Many were seeking to assist the police ... yet here was the defendant playing games, running around and trying to evade police officers and concerned members of the public.”
While Mr Wheeler denies murder, he has accepted responsibility for Mrs James’s death. The prosecution claims he intended to kill her, or at least cause her serious harm and is therefore guilty of murder. The trial continues.