Ashley Wadsworth: Devastated grandad of Canadian teen stabbed to death ‘thought UK was safe’

The family are raising funds to bring the teenager’s body back to Canada

A man has been charged with the murder of Canadian Ashley Wadsworth, 19, after she was found dead in Essex (Ashley Wadsworth/Facebook)

The grandfather of a Canadian teenager stabbed to death in Essex after flying to the UK to meet her online boyfriend, said he thought Britain “was a safe place.”

Ashley Wadsworth, 19, was found stabbed to death at a block of flats in Chelmsford, Essex on 1 February.

Essex Police said Ms Wadsworth, from the city of Vernon, in British Columbia, was pronounced dead at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics.

Jack Sepple, 23, of Chelmsford, was arrested at the scene and charged with murder. He has been remanded in custody.

Now, the teenager's grandfather Jeff Wadsworth, 66, has spoken out about how he encouraged Ms Wadsworth to travel to the UK and thought she would have “the time of her life”.

“We’re just devastated. I can’t believe it. I encouraged her to go – I thought it was going to be the time of her life,” Mr Wadsworth told the Daily Mail.

The family of Canadian teenager Ashley Wadsworth have vowed to get ‘justice’ as her English boyfriend Jack Sepple, 23, appeared in court charged with her murder (Ashley Wadsworth/Facebook)

“I never thought something like this would happen in England – I thought it was the safest place in the world. And it is a safe place – this is such a not normal thing,” he added.

Ms Wadsworth converted to Mormonism when she turned 18 and was described as a “woman of great faith.”

She moved to England on 12 November to “escape small-town life,” and went to live with Sepple, who she met through an online dating app according to family and friends.

Ashley’s sister Hailey Wadsworth called for “justice” in a comment responding to a Facebook post from her sibling on 11 January in which she wrote: “More photos of our trip to London.”

She wrote on Facebook: “My poor baby sister we will get justice baby girl I love you so much I miss you every day your big sissy loves you.”

Their family is now facing the costly process of paying thousands of dollars to repatriate Ms Wadsworth’s body to British Colombia - a process that has been delayed because of a second autopsy request, according to Ms Wadsworth’s cousin Kali.

Mr Wadsworth added: “We’ve got to pay all this money to get her home. I thought [the British] would just zip her on over [back to Canada], sorry about that, but no – they want some money.”

The family has set up a GoFund Me page to raise funds to cover the repatriation and travel expenses for Ms Wadsworths’ parents Kirstie and Ken.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jack Sepple, of Tennyson Road, Chelmsford, (Elizabeth Cook/PA)

Mr Wadsworth described his granddaughter as a “sweetheart” and said the aspiring law student loved winter sports.

He said: “She was a sweetheart. She was very smart, she had a great attitude.

“She liked skiing; everything really. She was a great kid.”

Ms Wadsworth’s sister Hailey added in tribute: “We’re going to be getting her home. My girl took care of me so much. We did everything together. I don’t think I ever went a day without talking to her,

“This has been terrible. I’m so distraught. I’ve never felt so distraught. I’m lost. It feels like a piece of me is missing,” she told Daily Mail.

Sepple is due to enter a plea at Chelmsford Crown Court on 7 March, ahead of a provisional trial date set for 5 September.