A photo taken the day after PCSO Julia James' was allegedly murdered shows her killer carrying the weapon less than a mile from where she was discovered bludgeoned to death, a court heard.

A jury at Canterbury Crown Court - where 22-year-old Callum Wheeler is on trial accused of murdering the much-loved mum-of-two - has this morning been shown a clear image of him, taken on April 28 last year.

It was taken by a gamekeeper, who also captured dashcam footage of Wheeler running into woods.

The image was passed to police, who circulated it to the press - leading to Wheeler's arrest.

Julia, 53, was found dead on a footpath beside Ackholt Wood in Snowdown, between Canterbury and Dover, on April 27.

Today, the court heard evidence from Gavin Tucker - a gamekeeper who owns a farm that includes Ackholt Wood.

Jurors were told that on April 28, the day after Julia was killed, Mr Tucker spotted Wheeler at the junction of Spinney Lane and Pond Lane, about 1.5km from where her body was discovered.

Wheeler was carrying a bag with a long item protruding from it - alleged to be the railway jack he used to kill her.

Mr Tucker took a clear image of Wheeler who, after being challenged again, reportedly said he was “new to the area” and ran off.

VIDEO: Gavin Tucker's encounter with Wheeler the day after the killing

Asked what conclusion he drew when Wheeler said he was new to the area, he said: “I was in a different vehicle so he never recognised me, so I knew he was telling lies.

“I asked him where he came from and he pointed towards Ackholt.”

Asked if anything else was said, Mr Tucker replied: “Probably what are you up to and where are you going?”

Dashcam footage from Mr Tucker's vehicle showed Wheeler, once confronted, gesturing towards Ackholt Woods, then running towards Spinney Lane as Mr Tucker called the police.

“There’s a suspicious fella and he’s running off, and there’s been a death down at Ackholt near Dover, between Dover and Canterbury,” he said.

Mr Tucker told how he took a photo of Wheeler through the window before he ran off, and handed it over to the police.

VIDEO: Wheeler leaving home with the weapon on the day of the alleged murder

Police circulated the image to the media on May 7 - with the weapon cropped out - which helped lead to Wheeler’s arrest.

“We can see for ourselves he was carrying a blue and back bag with an object sticking out of it, and he was carrying that down the road,” the prosecutor asked.

“Yes,” Mr Tucker replied.

Mr Tucker told how Wheeler then disappeared into Aylesham Wood.

The court heard that Mr Tucker had twice previously challenged Wheeler after spotting him on his property.

Seven months before Julia's death, on the afternoon of September 21, 2020, Mr Tucker confronted Wheeler, to which he responded "mind your own business", prompting Mr Tucker to become suspicious and alert a colleague, the court heard.

He said Wheeler then “went into the woods,” adding: “I wasn’t going to go in and follow him.”

Later that afternoon, when Mr Tucker again confronted Wheeler who was on his land, Wheeler replied: “I want a train station.”

Wheeler walking in Ratling Road with the weapon an hour and a half before Julia was killed

Mr Tucker told how he alerted colleague Kevin Hawker, who stopped his car in Snowdown Road and photographed Wheeler walking across a field carrying a Wilko carrier bag.

Asked how he felt following the encounter, Mr Tucker told the court: “It was just the way he came across to me, after I saw him twice I just didn’t like the way it was.”

The court heard Wheeler made an abandoned 999 call on April 17 last year.

When PCSOs attended his address, which he shares with his father, Wheeler could be heard laughing behind the door.

He called the officers “phonies”, questioned why they were there, and insisted they were not “even the real police”.

The day of the killing

The court was told about Wheeler's movements in the aftermath of Julia's death.

Footage captured by a Stagecoach bus at 3.04pm on the day of the killing showed Wheeler walking along Spinney Lane towards an industrial estate.

At 3.10pm, David Gillie saw a man walking towards him, as he drove along Spinney Lane.

At 3.15pm, Janice Deveraux spotted Wheeler in Spinney Lane carrying a dark holdall.

At 3.18pm, a lorry travelling along Adisham Road recorded the defendant walking.

Then at 3.19pm, bus footage caught Wheeler moving in the direction of his home address, apparently carrying the weapon.

Between April 29 and May 6 there were numerous sightings of Wheeler in the area, on occasion even carrying the weapon.

The court heard Kamila Rzasa saw Wheeler running from Adisham Road into Sunshine Corner Avenue on April 29.

And Aaron Benson and Amber Szukala told officers they saw a man who “looked weird”, standing on a verge looking down from a distance towards police officers working at the crime scene on April 30.

Finally, Scarlett Matthews told detectives she saw a man matching Wheeler’s description carrying what “appeared to be a dark rucksack with something sticking up from it” on May 4.

Jurors were shown pictures of the items which were later recovered from Wheeler’s address, including the railway jack, which was found propped against a wall in his bedroom, a blue holdall, a black hoodie and white and black striped top.

The court, with members of Julia's family in the public gallery, was also shown bodycam footage of the moment PCSO Emma Carmichael discovered her body, face down, with her hood up and her left coat pocket unzipped.

As the officer touched her back, she could be heard saying: “Hello, can you hear me?” and repeating: “Hello?”

The officer could then be heard speaking on her police radio: “I don’t reckon this female is alive, but I don’t want to touch her any more, because I think this is suspicious.”

Wheeler is accused of murdering Julia while she walked her dog on the afternoon of April 27 last year.

The trial at Canterbury Crown Court began on Monday, when Wheeler admitted killing the PCSO but denied her murder.

The prosecution alleges Julia was "chased down" by her killer and bludgeoned "again and again" with a metal pole.

Relaying what she claims were the final moments of Julia's life, prosecutor Alison Morgan QC told the jury on Monday: "The evidence suggests that her attacker was waiting in the woods for someone to attack and then ambushed her.

"Julia tried to escape her attacker but was subjected to a brutal and fatal attack.

"She ran, desperate to get away from her attacker.

“Unable to outrun him, he struck her. She fell to the ground, she broke her wrist, then when she was face down on the ground he struck her again and again and again. She had no chance of survival."

Ms Morgan told jurors Julia was walking to the personally significant ‘butterfly corner’, on the cusp of woodland on that fateful day.

Shortly before, Wheeler, carrying a railway jack protruding from his bag, was recorded on CCTV leaving his Sunshine Corner Avenue home, she said.

He was filmed approaching a gap in the hedge leading to Adisham Road, with the weapon cloaked with a white carrier bag.

Only minutes before, Wheeler’s mobile phone was disconnected from its network, explained prosecutor Alison Morgan QC.

'Waiting in the woods'

The court heard how mother-of-two Julia “must have seen her attacker waiting in the woods”, armed.

“Julia ran to save herself, along the side of her path," she said.

She was chased by her attacker,” the prosecutor continued:

“It is likely that she fell as she ran - either from the first blow from her attacker or by tripping - leading to her left wrist being fractured.”

She argued Julia, while bleeding, moved a short distance as she lay face down.

“In her final position, she was then struck repeatedly - while she was face down on the ground with her hood up,” she said.

“Julia James died extremely rapidly given the severity of the incapacitating blows which she received.”

Wheeler tried concealing an area of blood with recently torn grass, while Julia’s glasses - which she dropped during the chase - were discovered 50 metres away, the prosecutor alleged.

It is unclear how long Wheeler spent at the scene, Ms Morgan explained, but he was allegedly spotted in Spinney Lane carrying a bulky rucksack heading back towards Aylesham shortly after 3pm.

Dashcam footage also captured Wheeler returning home with the weapon concealed in a blue and black holdall.

A family taking a walk through Ackholt Woods would soon discover Julia’s body.

The Gillies family noticed a small dog with its lead attached but no owner, the court heard.

“The dog was Julia James’ dog Toby, who had remained in the vicinity after the attack on her," Ms Morgan said.

“They looked around the area for the owner of the dog and saw Julia James’ body lying on the ground.

“After receiving no response to their calls to her, they called 999,” Ms Morgan said.

A post-mortem examination by pathologist Dr Olaf Biedrzycki revealed Julia died after suffering devastating blunt force trauma to her head.

It was ruled the severity of Julia’s injuries to the back of her head likely killed her instantaneously.

Julia's final moments

The court heard Julia’s Apple Watch chartered her last moments along the bridleway, with her walking pace and heart rate spiking suddenly.

“She took a sudden detour out from the wooded area, along the side of a field and as she did, she dropped her glasses," Ms Morgan told the jury.

“Her heart rate escalated dramatically from 97 to 145 bpm and then dropped off - there was no further movement after 2.35pm.

“Her last heart rate was recorded at 2.43pm."

A number of witnesses had seen Wheeler, who lived with his father, walking in the area during the months leading up to the attack, jurors heard.

And he had been “roaming around the area near to Ackholt Wood” with the weapon, 24 hours before attacking Julia,” Ms Morgan explained.

Wheeler had familiarised himself with the woods in April 2021, even having come face to face with Julia, the prosecutor added.

'Strange male roaming the area'

Ms James had previously been "aware of the presence of a strange male" during a walk and described him to husband Paul James as a "really weird dude", she added.

She later pointed the man out to Mr James during a walk together about two months before her death.

Mr James would later create an e-fit of the male he saw.

“The image created has a striking similarity to the defendant," Ms Morgan said.

“Paul James would then go on to identify the defendant as the male seen in the woods at an identification procedure.

"The defendant went out the next day carrying the weapon, why he did that is known only to him.

"It could be that he was goading the police who were in the vicinity, or it could be that he was looking for somewhere to dispose of the weapon," the prosecutor said.

'Playing games'

Jurors were shown dashcam footage from gamekeeper Gavin Tucker, who the day after Julia's death stopped and quizzed Wheeler on the junction connecting Pond Lane with Adisham Road.

Following a verbal exchange, Wheeler could be seen running off towards Adisham Road carrying a bag with an item protruding from it covered by a Tesco carrier bag.

The image, with the bag and alleged weapon cropped out, was circulated via the media, which contributed to Wheeler being identified, the court heard.

"What was he doing running in and out of hedges, running away from Mr Tucker?" the prosecutor said, adding he was "playing games".

"The defendant continued to tour around the local area, sometimes carrying his bag and sometimes carrying what the prosecution alleges to be the murder weapon.

"He kept a check on the police cordon, he ran away from police officers and concerned members of the public, such as Mr Tucker."

The court heard Wheeler was arrested at his home on May 7, with the weapon in the corner of his bedroom.

Wheeler went on to deny the killing and asserted someone had "ratted on him", jurors were told.

Forensic evidence

Wheeler's DNA was soon discovered on Julia's blue coat, green boots, white vest, and on skin underneath an arm.

Julia's blood was found on both of Wheeler's trainers while the weapon, used to make adjustments to railway tracks, also contained his DNA.

Various areas of the 96cm metal bar, weighing 3kg, contained Julia's blood, as well as Wheeler's own DNA.

Ms Morgan told the jury he hit her with it in such a way that he intended to kill her.

"The key question for the offence of murder in this trial is whether or not when he attacked Julia James, the defendant intended to kill her or cause her at least really serious harm. The prosecution will invite you to conclude that it is clear and obvious that he did."

Jury visit to crime scene

Yesterday, the jury was taken to visit various sites in Aylesham and neighbouring Snowdown, including Wheeler's home and the spot at which Julia's body was found.

The trial continues.