Ashley Wadsworth: Mother pays tribute to Canadian teen stabbed to death as body to be flown home

‘I am struggling every day to come to terms with this horrific tragedy and am eager to bring my baby home’

The mother of Ashley Wadsworth has paid tribute to the Canadian teenager after she was stabbed to death in Essex (Ashley Wadsworth/Facebook)

The mother of a Canadian teenager stabbed to death in Essex after travelling to England to meet her new boyfriend has said she “struggles every day” as her body is due to be flown home.

Ashley Wadsworth, 19, was found dead at a property in Chelmsford on 1 February after police were called to reports of a disturbance.

Her mother Christy Gendron has now paid tribute to her daughter as she thanked the British public for their support.

In a statement released through Essex Police on Thursday, she said: “Ashley…Mommy loves you and I will see you soon baby.

“Your sister and I are here waiting for you. God bless.”

Ms Gendron also thanked “everybody in the UK, Canada and around the world for their support and generosity at this difficult time”.

“I am struggling every day to come to terms with this horrific tragedy and am eager to bring my baby home,” she added.

The mother said she was finding it difficult to either travel or speak publicly but thanked the public “for respecting my privacy and [that of] my family on the Gendron side”.

Almost 40,000 Canadian dollars (about £23,100) was donated to an online fundraiser in less than two weeks to help Ms Wadsworth’s family with repatriation costs.

According to an update on the page on 8 February, her body was expected to be flown home “within the next week”.

Ashley Wadsworth (centre) pictured with her family (Family handout/Essex Police)

An inquest in Chelmsford heard how the teenager died from stab wounds to the chest.

Her boyfriend Jack Sepple, 23, has been remanded in custody after being charged with her murder.

He is next due to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on 7 March for a plea hearing.

Ms Wandsworth, from Vernon, British Columbia, travelled to England on 12 November to visit her Mr Sepple after the couple met through an online dating app.

She is said to have left Canada for the first time to “escape small town life” and was due to fly home just two days after her death.

Images on the teenager’s Facebook page show she visited London tourist attractions such as Buckingham Palace and Big Ben in the weeks before her death.

Canadian teenager Ashley Wadsworth, 19, pictured with her boyfriend Jack Sepple, 23, before her death (Ashley Wadsworth/Facebook)

She had also changed her profile picture to a photo of herself smiling alongside Mr Sepple just two days before she was found dead.

Her family previously paid tribute to a “kind” and “beautiful” woman, who was “fiercely loving and loyal to her family and friends”.

In a statement, her relatives celebrated her “spontaneous, witty, kind personality” and remembered her “unforgettable laugh”.

The family said they admired the teenager’s sense of adventure and that she had travelled extensively within Canada, as well as to Mexico, California and England.

She spoke three languages - English, French and Spanish - and travelling “encouraged her love of language”, they said.

The family said she dreamed of becoming a lawyer, strived for good grades, and had been accepted at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Colombia.