Julia James: man, 21, appears in court charged with murder of PCSO found dead near woods after walking her dog

PCSO Julia James died from serious head injuries after taking her dog for a walk in Akholt Wood
By NationalWorld Team
11th May 2021, 7:55am

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

A 21-year-old man has been charged with the murder of PCSO Julia James (PA and Kent Police)A 21-year-old man has been charged with the murder of PCSO Julia James (PA and Kent Police)
A 21-year-old man has been charged with the murder of PCSO Julia James (PA and Kent Police)

A 21-year-old man has been remanded in custody after appearing in court, charged with the murder of PCSO Julia James, who was found dead near woodland in Kent.

Ms James, 53, had been walking her dog in Akholt Wood close to her home in Snowdown, Kent, on April 27.

She died from serious head injuries.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Callum Wheeler, from Aylesham, appeared in person at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (11 May).

He was arrested on Friday and large numbers of police, from several forces, were in Aylesham on Monday as the probe into her death continued.

Wheeler is due to now appear at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday 13 May.

At a press conference held at the same time as the court hearing, Assistant Chief Constable Tom Richards said that no further arrests were currently anticipated.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said it had been a “hugely challenging” fortnight since the death of Ms James.

He told reporters: “As many of you will be aware, yesterday shortly after 10pm detectives… charged a gentleman, Callum Wheeler, a 21-year-old man who lives in Aylesham, with the murder of Julia.

“Today we continue to appeal for witnesses. I am confident that there were people in the area at the time that we want to speak to.”

Assistant Chief Constable Richards said that the police are not “actively” seeking any further suspects in connection with the death of Ms James.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said: “I am keeping all options open, it’s a huge step forward in the investigation, a breakthrough, that we have arrested somebody.”

He added: “We are not at this stage looking actively to make any further arrests.”

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.