Trial date set for British man charged with Vernon, B.C. woman’s murder

The man accused of killing a Vernon, B.C., woman who’d traveled to the United Kingdom last November to be with him has had his trial date set.

Jack Sepple will stand trial on a charge of murder in the death of 19-year-old Ashley Wadsworth on Sept. 5, according to the Chelmsford Crown Court, in Essex, England. The trial is expected to last two weeks.

Wadsworth’s remains were brought home to the Okanagan and laid to rest late last month.

READ MORE: Family of Vernon, B.C. woman killed in U.K. ‘navigating a nightmare’

On Feb. 1, she was killed in the Chelmsford home she’d been sharing with Sepple. He was arrested at the scene and charged with murder a day later.

He has yet to enter a plea in relation to the charges and is still in custody.

1:47 Vernon teen killed in the U.K. reached out for help

Wadsworth’s death set off a wave of mourning and outrage that travelled from the city she’d recently relocated to for an extended stay, all the way home to Vernon, B.C.

There was a candlelit vigil in Chelmsford, Essex, and an estimated 150 people walked to a park near where she’d recently lived carrying signs denouncing violence against women and offering words of support for Wadsworth, a woman whom most had never met.

READ MORE: Friend of B.C. woman killed in U.K. says she sent a text for help hours before she was killed

The outpouring of support blunted some of the painful loss those who knew her best were experiencing, said her cousin Melissa Locke.

Locke described Wadsworth as a kind adventurer who was well-loved by her close-knit family.

2:33 Murder charge laid in U.K. death of Vernon teen

“She was 19 and she had the guts during the pandemic to travel across the world to do something she always wanted to do,” Locke said. “If that doesn’t tell you who she was, I don’t know what does.”

Wadsworth’s sister, Hailey, sent some words about her sister that organizers of the U.K. vigil read aloud, casting light on who she was.

“My beautiful sister,” the message read. “You have done amazing things, honey. You cared so much for your family. You always put us first.

“I’m so happy we were so close and grew up together and spent almost every day of our lives together,” Hailey said.

The fundraiser aimed at helping with burial costs reached more than $40,000. 

Once costs were dealt with, the family wanted to set up a scholarship in Wadsworth’s name and donate to a charity for others who have fallen victim of domestic violence.