Ashley Wadsworth: Man jailed for 'brutal' Canadian girlfriend murder

Ashley Wadsworth died from stab wounds to the chest

A man who inflicted 90 wounds on his Canadian girlfriend has been jailed for life for her murder.

Jack Sepple, 23, killed 19-year-old Ashley Wadsworth in a "brutal" attack at a flat they shared in Tennyson Road, Chelmsford, Essex, on 1 February.

Ms Wadsworth, from Vernon in British Columbia, first met Sepple online aged 12 before moving to the UK last year.

Sepple was jailed for a minimum of 23 years and six months at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Simon Spence KC, prosecuting, said Sepple murdered Ms Wadsworth after being "angered by her decision to return prematurely to her home country of Canada".

"He strangled and repeatedly stabbed Ashley and left her in the bed that they shared while he went about his daily business," he said.

A post-mortem examination showed she died from stab wounds to the chest.

When police forced entry to the property at 16:13 GMT they found Sepple on a FaceTime call to his sister "as he showed her the body", Mr Spence said.

Jack Sepple was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years and six months at Chelmsford Crown Court

When asked what he had done by police, Sepple replied: "I went psychotic, I'm sorry," adding: "I strangled her and stabbed her." He told officers this was "two to three hours ago".

The judge, the Honourable Mr Justice Murray, said he committed a "brutal and cowardly attack" and "gratuitously inflicted some 90 wounds on her body".

He said the killing happened because Sepple faced "imminent loss of control over her".

Her injuries included defensive wounds to her wrists, but the rest were all to the chest area.

'Never-ending pain'

Ms Wadsworth's mother, Christy Gendron, said in her victim impact statement that she "wasn't too happy" about her daughter travelling to meet Sepple, "but she was an adult so I couldn't stop her".

"Ashley's passion and love for Jack would ultimately cost her her life," she said.

She said in court: "This is a nightmare that thanks to you, Jack, we will never wake up from."

Her father, Ken Wadsworth, addressed the defendant directly, telling him: "Jack, you need to know and accept the brutality of what you've done and the never-ending pain you've caused my family."

Ms Wadsworth was pronounced dead at the address on Tennyson Road

The court heard the pair met online when Ms Wadsworth was 12 and Sepple was aged about 15 and they had a long-distance relationship, but Sepple had other relationships during this time.

Ms Wadsworth moved to the UK in November, according to her Facebook account, and the court heard she had travelled on a tourist visa.

The court was told that on the morning of the killing a neighbour said she had heard a female scream, and Ms Wadsworth came to her and told her that Sepple "had beaten her up and thrown the kitten against the wall".

Ms Wadsworth was "hysterical" and said that Sepple was going to kill her, but Sepple apologised and seemed "calm", the court heard.

'Horror'

It was told the defendant had previous convictions including harassment, breaching a restraining order by contacting a girl after she ended their online relationship, and assault on his mother.

Mr Spence, prosecuting, said Sepple had a "clear history of violent and controlling behaviour towards female partners".

Christopher Paxton KC, mitigating, said the killing happened amid "a breakdown of the relationship" and Sepple had admitted the murder.

Cheryl Williams, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Ms Wadsworth was "a mere two days away from flying back home when she was killed".

She said witness testimony detailed "the toxic controlling behaviour displayed by Sepple".

Det Supt Scott Egerton, of Essex Police, said Ms Wadsworth's family "could never have imagined the horror they've been faced with".