Essex man sentenced to life in prison for murder of Canadian teenager
Jack Sepple, 23, was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court
An Essex man has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 23 years and six months, for the murder of a Canadian teenager he had met on an online dating app.
Jack Sepple, 23, from Chelmsford, had already pleaded guilty to murdering 19-year-old Ashley Wadsworth, whom he had been in a relationship with.
Ms Wadsworth was pronounced dead at an address in Tennyson Road, Chelmsford, Essex, on February 1st.
An inquest hearing was told that she died of "stab wounds to the chest".
Back in September, 2021, Sepple admitted to murdering Ms Wadsworth during an appearance at Chelmsford Crown Court.
The court clerk read the single charge of murder and Sepple, standing in the secure dock in a long white sleeved top and with tattoos on his face and hand, replied: "I'm guilty."
At the time, Judge Christopher Morgan had warned Sepple: "By your plea of guilty to murder there's only one sentence that can be passed and that's a life sentence."
Ms Wadsworth, originally from Vernon, British Columbia, had met Sepple through an online dating app and travelled to the UK late last year.
She moved to Chelmsford in November 2021, according to posts she wrote on Facebook.
Earlier this year she posted photos online of her "amazing trip to London", where she had been sightseeing.