British man pleads guilty to murder of Vernon, B.C. woman

The English man accused in the death of Vernon teen Ashley Wadsworth pleaded guilty to her murder, Essex Police say.

Jack Sepple, 23,  was arrested for the Feb. 1 stabbing death of Wadsworth, 19, in the home they were sharing in Chelmsford, England.

Sepple appeared in Chelmsford Crown Court, in Essex,  Wednesday and entered a guilty plea to the charge of murder. Sentencing will be on Oct. 10.

“The evidence against Sepple is so overwhelming that he was left with very few options other than to admit his guilt,” Det. Supt. Scott Egerton, from the Essex Police said in a press release.  

“At the very least, today’s plea means Ashley’s family will be spared the heartache of having to sit through a trial. I hope today that they can feel some form of comfort knowing that Sepple is facing a substantial amount of time behind bars for his actions.”

Wadsworth moved to England last November on a six-month tourist visa to be with Sepple, who she’d been in correspondence with for years.

“Ashley was adventurous, she was loving and she was kind. She always wanted to travel and she did travel,” Melissa Locke, the teen’s cousin said in the aftermath of her death.

Locke and her family were confident the teen was having the time of her life.

Today, online, they expressed relief that there was a conclusion to the legal process, and that Sepple would not be free to hurt anyone else today.

A motive for the murder was not provided.