The story of the young Canadian who went to meet her virtual friend and ended up murdered

They were modern pen pals for years. Jack Sepple and Ashley Wadsworth used the Internet to bridge the distance of more than 7,000 kilometers that separated them. Until she decided to leave Canada to start a life together United Kingdom. A few months later, he murdered her.

LOOK: What is Lev Tahor, the Jewish ultra-Orthodox sect accused of human trafficking and sexual abuse in Mexico

What happened?

“It is very traumatic to think about his last moments, how scared she must have been, what her last words were, to think that she may have asked for us,” says Ashley’s mother, Christy Gendron. “I’ll never know. Only two people know: one is already gone and the other probably won’t tell the truth.”

Ashley, from British Columbia, Canada, came to the UK to live with Sepple, 23, in their one-bedroom apartment last November.

On February 1 of this year, the police discovered that Ashley she had been strangled and repeatedly stabbed in the chest. She was declared dead on the spot. Sepple was sitting on the bed next to her body when police found him.

After admitting to Ashley’s murder, Sepple has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 23 years and six months.

“There was nothing to stop her”

Ashley was something like a human supersonic plane, says her mother. “She was amazing. Curious, adventurous, she liked sports and she was always outdoors.”

Christy Gendron, Ashley’s mother, describes her daughter as a “ball full of energy.” /BBC

“It was a ball of energy.” As a child, Ashley loved horseback riding, skiing, and sailing.

Then, when he was about 12 years old, a local friend introduced him virtually to an English boy: Jack Sepple. And, for seven years, “they were friends on Facebook.”

“It wasn’t a relationship”says the mother. “They came and went, they talked a little, as they got older he went out with people and they stopped talking and so on.”

Despite not having met him in person, Sepple’s face was a regular part of the family’s life in Canada. He and Ashley were talking on FaceTime in the family living room. If Mrs. Gendron passed by, she would say hello.

Ashley became a Mormon at age 18 after having what she described to her mother as a “God moment.” Later, decided she wanted to move to the UK to be with Sepple.

Gendron was worried by the idea. “But there was nothing to stop her.”

Ashley became a Mormon at the age of 18 and then decided to move to the UK. / FAMILY PICTURE

“All the boys Ashley knew he always compared to him, always to Jack.”

“I thought that the worst thing that could happen is that it goes away, that it doesn’t work and then come home,” he says. “Murder never crossed my mind.”

Ashley had raised her growing concerns about Sepple’s behavior with her family and with the Mormon church in the town she moved to in the UK.

Already had booked a flight to Canada for his return on February 3. But two days earlier, Sepple stabbed her to death.

“Ashley is dead, Jack has murdered her”

“I woke up the morning of February 1 and my daughter Hailey was saying to me on the phone ‘my sister is dead, Ashley is dead, Ashley is dead, Jack killed her,'” says Ken Wadsworth, Ashley’s father.

Ashley’s father remembers talking to his other daughter that morning: “Ashley is dead, Jack murdered her.” /BBC

She then remembers that she ended the call with Hailey and called the police in Canada, saying that she feared her daughter, who was in England, was dead.

After a while, he received a call from a British police officer.

This is how she learned that her daughter, a girl she remembers as “wild and crazy, who wanted to do anything and everything”, was dead.

“Your heart breaks,” he says. “I went to the doctor and told him that I had a lot of pain in my chest that did not go away. And he told me that it was pity,” bill.

“It’s something very hard. It’s your girl and she’s gone. There are no words to describe that pain.”

“She was a sweet girl and definitely wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. She was amazing and full of love. We gave her freedom and she used it,” says Ken.

Along with his wife Charmaine, Ken traveled to the UK to take care of paperwork and pick up Ashley’s body. “It was the worst time for me,” he says.

“Everything’s fine”

Sepple killed Ashley because he got mad when she wanted to go back to Canada.

Ashley sent several messages to her friends in the local Mormon Church. She said it was an emergency and he needed help. / FAMILY ARCHIVE

At 8 a.m. on February 1, a neighbor heard Ashley scream. After a while, the 19-year-old knocked on her door, anguished. She told him that Sepple had hit her and that she had thrown the kitten they shared against the wall.

The young woman explained that Sepple I had seen looking at the photo of a naked woman, that he had smashed her phone, called her a lesbian and assaulted her.

ashley le told the neighbor that she feared Sepple would kill her.

So, the neighbor went to talk to him. He found it calm and apologized to Ashley. Then the neighbor had to go on a date.

At about noon, Ashley sent several messages to his friends in the local Mormon Church. He said that it was an emergency and that he needed help.

a couple of hours laterSepple sent several messages stating that everything was fine.

Concerned, Ashley’s church friends Jamie Ashworth and Taeylr Borden visited the property. Getting no answer, They called the police.

After strangling and stabbing Ashley to death, Sepple left her body on the bed they shared and FaceTimed her sister Nadia.

He was on that call when the police broke into his house at four in the afternoon.

“We had no idea of ​​his history”

Sepple has a long criminal record for Online harassment, assaults and non-compliance with restraining orders dating back to 2014.

Before murdering Ashley, he was accused of a series of crimes related to a previous partner.

Ashley told her neighbor that she feared for her life. She didn’t know it, but Jack Sepple had a criminal record. / ESSEX POLICE

The accusations included unlawful arrest, assault, and coercive and controlling behavior. But the victim did not attend the trial, the prosecution offered no evidence and so Sepple was the subject of a restraining order but no conviction.

“We had no idea about her background. I feel like… I sent her to the lion’s den,” her father says.

Both Ashley’s father and mother want that others can learn from your daughter’s story.

“If something doesn’t feel right, take action, even if they say ‘it’s all right now, we’re better,'” says Ms. Gendron.

After strangling and stabbing Ashley to death, he left her body in their shared bed and FaceTimed her sister Nadia. / STEPHEN HUNTLEY / BBC

“If inside you you know that your sister, your friend, your aunt, your mother or daughter is in a situation or a relationship like that, definitely call the police and intervene, get involved”.

Christy and Ken traveled to the UK to attend Sepple’s sentencing. Afterward, they will travel the country to follow in Ashley’s last footsteps.

Despite being happy about the life sentence, Mrs Gendron says that “in both the UK and Canada, this sentence only lasts a maximum of 25 years”.

“Ultimately, (the sentence) won’t bring my daughter back“.

Christy tells how she and her other daughter, Hailey, now watch every one of the animated and humorous videos Ashley made. “We laughed a lot. We also cry. It is not easy because they are memories and we cherish them, because it is all we have”.

Source: Elcomercio