After cycling 18 miles from Newark and stopping along the way for a pasty, killer John Jessop cut the throat of mum-of-three Clair Ablewhite at her home in Colston Bassett, and cycled home. From hundreds of hours of CCTV and dash cam footage, Nottinghamshire Police officers meticulously pieced together the journey of murderer Jessop, who brazenly set out from Newark on his push bike to speak to his former partner, Clair, who did not wish to continue their relationship.
She was found by her 75-year-old father, Graham Tinkley, dead on the floor of her cottage. "To this day I wake up in the night; panic attacks. I see Clair in my dreams. I see blood gushing from her throat trying to resuscitate her dead body," he told Nottingham Crown Court, in Jessop's sentencing hearing.
After the senseless killing shocked the small tight-knit community, where Mrs Ablewhite had lived for six weeks, Jessop went on to plead guilty to her murder at a Nottingham Crown Court hearing in October, and, on Wednesday, (January 4), he was jailed for the most cruel act of all - taking an innocent person's life.
READ MORE: 'Relief' in Colston Bassett after man enters guilty plea to the murder of 'popular' mum-of-three
Judge Stuart Rafferty, King's Counsel, jailed Jessop for life and set the minimum term at 17 years and eight months, less days he has spent already in custody.
Police had arrived at a house in Hall Lane in Colston Bassett on Saturday, February 26 last year, to find Clair dead in her pyjamas, after she had suffered stab wounds to the neck and chest. Forensically, Nottinghamshire Police found her killer had hardly left a trace of DNA at the scene - apart from shoeprints marked in blood inside the address.
Clair’s mobile phone was missing. There was no murder weapon there at a crime scene; a quiet and remote location, the village known for being the home of traditional Shropshire and Stilton blue cheese. Detective Inspector Mel Crutchley, the senior investigating officer said: “In any murder investigation it is important to understand the background and lifestyle of the victim, because this can often give an indication as to who may be responsible and why.
“One of my lines of inquiry was to task officers to obtain witness accounts from Clair’s family and friends. This allowed the team to understand the relationships she had, any known issues that could have contributed to her death and her known movements prior to the murder.”
Brought up in Cropwell Bishop, Clair had married at the age of 19 and had spent most of her life working on the farm she shared with her husband. They had three boys together. When the marriage ended, she moved out of the family home and set up a new life for herself in Colston Bassett.
In January 2022, she started renting a small cottage in Hall Lane and was becoming a successful entrepreneur - setting up her own dog walking and dog boarding business. Her friends and clients described her as “sociable, well-liked, who would stop and talk to anyone”.
Jessop had formed a relationship with Mrs Ablewhite but she ended things not long before she was murdered. The judge said: "It is clear from the messages you sent, you were perplexed by that," said the judge. "You did not understand why that happened and could not understand. On February 15, you were saying, 'what's going on? Don't mess me around'."
By February 19, he had not heard from her and set off on his bike to sort things out. The judge said there was no evidence for him to draw the conclusion, and, as the prosecution said, he set out with a intent to kill.
DI Crutchley said: “In any homicide investigation, I always remain open-minded and keep the information, intelligence, and evidence under constant review. However, I formed the opinion very early on in this investigation that Clair’s killer was known to her.
“There was no forced entry to the house, there was no evidence of a burglary, and Clair had only lived at the address for about six weeks. The nature of her injuries to the head and chest appeared very personal.”
Police began the process of elimination, working from a list of more than 20 people they needed to speak to. Road cameras and bus routes were checked to find the mode of transport the killer had taken, but to no avail.
A media appeal broke the investigation wide open when the police received a call from Clair’s neighbour working in France. He had caught the killer on his CCTV camera. Not only was there a picture of Jessop, but it was an audio camera - and it had captured the sound of the very assault that had ended her life. Having viewed the CCTV remotely from his mobile phone in France, the neighbour flew home so police could view the footage.
The grainy image of a hooded man was their first shot of the killer. And it provided plenty of clues for detectives including his height, what he was wearing, including his Adidas trainers, which matched the same bloodied footprints left in Clair’s kitchen.
DI Crutchley said: “On March 1 st I declared this male the suspect for the murder of Clair Ablewhite, despite not knowing his identity. I also formed the opinion that he had either walked to the scene or had arrived there by bike.
“There was no evidence of any vehicle at or near the scene and the way that he carried his rucksack on both shoulders appeared to me to be inconsistent with having got out of a car.”
Now a team of officers had to work backwards to find where this bike and its rider had travelled from. Not only that but they had to work with gaps in CCTV coverage due to the remote location of where the attack took place. Luckily, it appeared his bike had one tell-tale sign – a faulty reflector which gave detectives a significant lead. As police spent countless hours trawling through CCTV and dash cam footage, a search team had made a new discovery – Clair’s mobile phone in a local stream.
Having been severely water damaged, officers found Clair had been using a dating website, and within WhatsApp messages one man that had not come forward to assist police with their investigations. It was 26-year-old John Jessop from Newark.
“He was identified as being known to Clair via social media and had been in an intimate relationship with her from September 2021 which had ended on the February 19, 2022,” DI Crutchley said.
“The contact ceased mainly due to concern over the age difference, and it was evident from the communication that he had been at her Colston Bassett address during the six weeks she had resided there.”
Jessop had travelled 18 miles from his home address by bike to commit murder and then travelled 18 miles back home. He had made one stop at a shop to buy a pasty, which he paid for in cash, on his bike ride to murder.
Read more: Colston Bassett murder investigation: 'Significant' CCTV shows man police want to speak to
Footage from the shop picked up a front zip on his jacket which matched the same jacket on Clair’s next-door neighbour’s CCTV camera. Jessop left his phone at home on the night of the murder.
But data from Jessop’s phone showed that he installed Google Maps, which was subsequently deleted the day before Clair’s murder. Relentless police work managed to build a CCTV picture of Jessop leaving his Newark address and travelling to Colston Bassett by bike. On March 11, Jessop was charged with the murder of Clair Ablewhite.
Jessop, aged 26 and formerly of Regal Lodge, Sherwood Avenue, in Newark, pleaded guilty to her murder at Nottingham Crown Court on October 12.
"The CCTV work was integral"
DI Crutchley said: “This was a solid investigation with many officers working all hours to catch Clair’s killer. The CCTV work was integral and managed to catch Jessop’s route from Newark to Colston Bassett.
“The neighbour played a major part in helping with our investigation by providing that first CCTV image of the killer and I would like to thank him personally for travelling home from France to help us bring Clair’s killer to justice. It is also a timely reminder for people to think about who they interact with online and to ensure their safety is protected from violent and predatory people like Jessop.
"Jessop has shown no remorse"
“Throughout this investigation, Jessop has shown no remorse for what he did to Clair. He has consistently provided ‘no comment’ in interview and offered up no apology. The attack he inflicted on Clair was brutal and relentless, causing catastrophic injuries which finally led to her death.
“At the same time that Clair’s dad discovers his daughter’s body and tries to provide CPR - Jessop is enjoying his first pint in a pub in Newark with mates. This was a premediated attack. As he set off on that 18-mile cycle ride he knew exactly the course he wanted to take.
“He has taken away a loving, caring, and outgoing mum, daughter, sister, and friend to many.“Today’s sentence will never bring back Clair, but it does mean that Jessop will spend a considerable part of his life behind prison bars, and I hope this gives her family some comfort.”
READ NEXT:
- Pervert who recruited 'truly evil' Angela Allen could be free in spring
Psychiatric report to be prepared as man admits robbery and possession of table knife
- Thieving sisters banned from Tesco Express store after violent attack on manager
Rough sleeper sentenced after being caught with rusty razor blade
- Read more crime news
