From left: Tianna Kowalchuk and Ashley Wadsworth.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED: Tianna Kowalchuk

The family of a Vernon teen murdered in the U.K. while on a trip to see her boyfriend remembers Ashley Wadsworth as a caring, loving soul.

"(She was) adventurous, smart, witty, she had an infectious laugh that will never be forgotten," Wadsworth's cousin Melissa Locke told iNFOnews.ca. "She was very outgoing, she was the cousin who would get all the other cousins going."

On Feb. 1 Wadsworth was found dead at the home she was staying at with her boyfriend, Jack Sepple, in Chelmsford, U.K.

Essex police say they were contacted at 4 p.m. Feb. 1 with reports of a disturbance. Paramedics tried to revive Wadsworth but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sepple, 23, has now been charged with Wadsworth's murder.

Wadsworth had travelled to the U.K. in November to visit Sepple, who'd she'd met online.

Locke said she wasn't surprised that Wadsworth had taken the trip to the U.K.

"Ashley wanted to see the world... she'd just turned 19 and she wanted to explore," Locke said.

Tianna Kowalchuk has been a lifelong friend of Wadsworth and the two graduated W.L. Seaton Secondary together in 2020.

Kowalchuk said Wadsworth and Sepple had had an on-off online relationship for roughly five years.

"I never liked him, I don't think any of us really did," Kowalchuk said. "We never really understood why she was still talking to him because he... had a bad temper, he would just say rude things, and lash out at her."

Wadsworth and Sepple had never met so in November 2021 Wadsworth flew to the U.K. to finally meet him.

Kowalchuk said she texted Wadsworth daily while she was in the U.K. and there were no obvious signs that things weren't going well.

"She said she was happy with him, and she was enjoying their time together," Kowalchuk said. "Everything seemed to be fine, she'd send me videos of them together."

Wadsworth posted multiple photos on social media of the couple having fun and sightseeing around London.

"She was happy, she would tell me if something was wrong," she said.

Kowalchuk said she has spoken to Sepple online.

"He was always so rude, controlling, manipulative, he didn't treat her how someone should treat someone who they're supposedly dating," she said.

In one instance Wadsworth texted Kowalchuk telling her to be careful what she said because Sepple read her texts.

But Wadsworth did want to bring Sepple back to see Vernon.

"She was so excited to have him come down here (and) potentially come visit," Kowalchuk said.

Wadsworth told Kowalchuk she wanted her and Sepple to go on double dates.

Several media sources say Wadsworth was planning to travel back to Canada any day.

Over the years the two teenagers have spent a lot of time together.

Kowalchuk said the two girls would go skiing together and head up to Wadsworth's parents' property to camp and have bonfires. Wadsworth would go ATVing with her family and the two teenagers would float down the river and hangout out at the beach in the summer and go to parties.

"We did everything and anything we could," she said.

According to The Sun newspaper, Sepple appeared in court today, Feb. 3 and remains in custody.

The Sun reports that the court was told Sepple was found by police on a bloodstained bed next to Wadsworth's body.

Several U.K. media outlets have reported Wadsworth was stabbed to death, however, the U.K. police have not confirmed whether a weapon was used in the attack.

Locke said because Sepple lived in the U.K. the family knew next to nothing about him.

"There are answers we all want to know right now, we're all seeking those answers, it's hard to not have them," she said.

Kowalchuk says she couldn't believe the news when she was told Wadsworth was dead.

"I couldn't believe he was actually capable of something like that," she said.

Locke wants people to remember her cousin as the positive and outgoing person she was.

"She was loving, she was all about her family," Locke said.

Jack Sepple and Ashley Wadsworth.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Ashley Wadsworth

To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022