Chloe Mitchell suffered a cruel and brutal death before being dismembered, jury hears

Chloe Mitchell was attacked repeatedly with weapons while she was still alive and was then mutilated and dismembered after death, the opening day of a murder trial in Belfast has heard. Brandon Rainey, 30, formerly of James Street in Ballymena, County Antrim, denies murdering the young woman in June 2023 and denies attempting to prevent the lawful and decent burial of her body.

A jury of seven women and five men was sworn in on Tuesday to hear the case. As reported by RTÉ News, Judge Stephen Fowler told jurors there had been a “degree of publicity” surrounding the case and warned them it was “vitally important” that they avoid online and social media commentary about it. They were also told not to discuss the evidence with friends or family.

Opening the prosecution case, barrister David Russell KC said there was a body of evidence pointing to Rainey as the person responsible for the killing. According to TheJournal.ie’s report of the hearing, Russell told the jury it was “a cruel and brutal death at his hands,” and said the nature of the attack showed a clear intention to kill. The court heard that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, together with stab wounds to the chest.

Jurors were told the pair had been in an on-and-off relationship, and that Mitchell was a young woman who was dealing with significant addiction problems. The accounts of two friends who were with her when she was last seen alive were read to the court. One described an occasion when Rainey became aggressive and would not let her leave his home, while another recalled him grabbing her by the hair and throwing her against a shop shutter with such force that she fell.

On the evening of Friday, June 2, 2023, Mitchell and two friends drank at Rainey’s flat on James Street before the friends left her there alone with him. One of them told police that Rainey made a remark about chopping someone up and melting them in the bath, then claimed he was joking. Jurors were shown CCTV footage of a man making three trips to and from the direction of James Street carrying black bags at around 5.20am on June 3.

The court heard that an officer discovered Mitchell’s remains on Sunday, June 11, in two residential bins in the James Street area after being alerted by a strong odor at the back of a neighboring property. A second bin was found in a nearby alley, and flies emerged when it was opened. Russell told jurors that the condition of her body meant she could not be identified visually, and that dental records and a tattoo described by her family were used instead.

Members of the public gallery left the room or became visibly upset as the post-mortem findings were outlined. The jury heard that incisions made during the dismemberment were relatively clean and consistent with the use of a sharp blade, that there were fractures to the right side of her skull, and that she had suffered at least 55 stab wounds. Bruising associated with some of the blows and stab wounds indicated they were inflicted while she was still alive. Her ears were never recovered.

Russell described what he called a very substantial forensic connection between the accused, the flat at 22 James Street, and the victim. Blood matching Mitchell was identified in several areas of the property, including the front door handle, a utility room wall, a living room armchair, and a bedside table. Blood-stained plastic bags and a blood-stained Nike trainer found on an outside windowsill were also recovered and examined.

Examination of Rainey’s phone revealed repeated attempts to order “amputation knives” from surgical supply companies online, along with repeated searches relating to Jack the Ripper, the court was told. A witness statement was read describing a barbecue in Ballymena on June 1, at which the defendant was said to have revealed a large sheathed knife.

When police asked him where Mitchell was, Rainey said he did not know. Russell described that answer as the first in what he called a “catalog of lies” and said the defendant repeatedly denied harming her.

Mitchell’s disappearance prompted a large search operation in Ballymena and a long-running campaign for justice by her family, whose case has been delayed several times since Rainey first pleaded not guilty in 2024. The trial, which is expected to run for several weeks, continues on Monday.