Ashley Wadsworth with Jack Sepple.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Ashley Wadsworth
October 10, 2022 - 10:37 AM
The British man who stabbed his Vernon girlfriend to death in the U.K. has been sentenced to life in prison.
Jack Sepple, 23, pleaded guilty earlier this year to the murder of Vernon girlfriend Ashley Wadsworth, who was visiting him at the time. Wadsworth, 19, died from a "number of stab wounds" and was found dead in Sepple's apartment in Chelmsford, England, on Feb. 1.
"Earlier that day, two of the 19-year-old’s friends received texts saying Ashley needed help and wanted to leave," according to a statement from the Essex Police. "The texts asked the pair to come and get her from the Tennyson Road property, followed by messages a while later saying everything was 'sorted'"
Concerned for their friend’s safety, the friend's went to the address where Wadsworth was staying. Despite hearing movement within the property, they got no response and decided to call emergency services.
Officers arrived and forced entry into the home. After making their way to the bedroom, they found Sepple on his mobile phone alongside Ashley’s body.
"Sepple calmly told officers he had strangled and stabbed Ashley," police reported.
Hidden behind a radiator in the lounge of the one-bedroom property, forensic officers recovered a blood-stained knife.
A post mortem found Wadsworth had been stabbed more than 90 times on her body and with bruising on her neck consistent with strangulation, according to police.
During the investigation, police officers discovered the messages telling Ashley’s friends that everything was “sorted” were sent after her death.
Sepple will be jailed for the next 23 and a half years. His sentencing hearing was held today, Oct. 10, according to police.
"Your passion for Jack knew no bounds, but it seems that your love, trust and support wasn’t returned. He didn’t want you to come home to those who truly loved you," Wadsworth's mother Christy Gendron, said in the statement.
"My life will never be the same without you, Ashley. I will never be whole again."
The Vernon teen had met Sepple online several years earlier and had flown to the U.K. to meet him in November 2021.
Although Wadsworth hadn't lived in the U.K. for long, around 150 people gathered in Chelmsford to honour the teenager for a vigil earlier this year.
Wadsworth's body was returned to Canada in late February and a funeral, which was also streamed online, was held at the Pleasant Valley Funeral Home.
Her cousin Melissa Locke previously told iNFOnews.ca that Wadsworth always wanted to travel and was "fun-loving and caring."
The Mirror reported her parents flew from Canada to attend the hearing and give victim impact statements.
The Chelmsford Crown Court could not be reached for comment.
- This story was updated at 4:17 p.m. to include a statement from the Essex Police.
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