Jenna Mitchell, 38, will serve at least 34 years for killing Chong Mee Kuen, 67, in June last year before stuffing her body into a suitcase and dumping it in a forest in Devon.

A judge at the Old Bailey handed the sentence to Mitchell in the first case to be broadcast live on television, BBC reported.

“There is the chilling aspect of what you did to and with her body after you killed her,” he said.

“You have shown absolutely no remorse and it appears you are in complete denial as to what you did, notwithstanding what in my judgment amounted to the overwhelming evidence against you.”

Chong’s body was discovered beside a woodland footpath on June 27 last year by a family on holiday in Salcombe. Her head was found nearby a few days later.

Mitchell was arrested and charged in July.

According to the prosecution, Mitchell met Chong through a church group. She was murdered after she backed out of an offer she made to invest more than £200,000 (RM1.1 million) in renovating Mitchell’s rundown home.

The 38-year-old allegedly forged Chong’s will by naming herself and her mother as the beneficiaries of Chong’s estate, which was valued at approximately £700,000 (RM3.9 million).

The pathologist who performed a post-mortem examination on Chong said her skull bore a fracture that was most likely caused by being struck with a weapon.