Man jailed for a minimum of 19 years for strangling his girlfriend to death in Messingham

Ashley Kemp was found guilty of murder following a trial

Author: Julie CastonPublished 3rd May 2023
Last updated 3rd May 2023

A skydiving instructor who strangled his girlfriend to death at her home in Messingham near Scunthorpe has been sentenced to life - with a minimum term of 19 years in prison.

Ashley Kemp admitted manslaughter - but a jury found him guilty of murder.

In the early hours of Sunday 6 November last year 55-year-old Ashley Kemp of Robinson Grove, Hibaldstow rung 999 saying “I have killed my girlfriend. We got into a fight, and I ended up strangling her.”

Ashley Kemp

Police discovered 50-year-old mother-of-three Clair Armstrong in her bedroom having suffered fatal injuries to her neck, she had also sustained a head injury.

Clair Armstrong, was also a skydiving instructor and owned a beauty salon.

Officers arrested Kemp at the scene of a collision when he crashed into a tree after speeding between Hemswell and Willoughton.

Following the sentence of Kemp, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Simon Vickers leading the investigation into Clair’s murder said:

“Whilst I know the sentence served at court today won’t bring Clair back, I hope it will provide her loved ones with some closure as they continue to grieve for their mum, sister and friend.

“I hope the sentence provides Kemp with ample time to consider the unforgiveable pain he put Clair, and her family through."

Clair Armstrong

Following the verdict, speaking of their loss, Clair’s family said: “Since that horrible moment in November last year, our world was shattered, and our lives changed forever.

“We miss Clair incredibly and cannot remember a day where our hearts have not ached as we have continued to try and piece together how we will move forward without her.

“We had hoped that Kemp would have showed us some decency and admit to his unforgiveable actions to spare our family the torture of hearing the details of how our beautiful Clair died.

“We’re pleased that justice has now been served and whilst we don’t know when, we may at some point be able to accept life without Clair here with us, but we will never forget her or what he did to take that amazing person from us.”

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