Ashley Wadsworth: Boyfriend accused of murdering Canadian girlfriend visiting UK to stand trial

Nineteen year old found dead in Essex three months after moving to England to escape ‘small town life’

The Essex boyfriend of Canadian teenager Ashley Wadsworth is due to stand trial accused of her murder (Daniel Seaman/SWNS)

The British boyfriend of Canadian teenager Ashley Wadsworth is set to stand trial accused of her murder.

Jack Sepple, 23, of Tennyson Road, Chelmsford, is alleged to have killed the 19 year old in February this year

He spoke only to confirm his name and no pleas were entered as he appeared in the dock at Chelmsford Crown Court for a trial preparation hearing on Monday morning.

The court heard a date of 5 September had been set for a two-week trial.

Ms Wadsworth’s body was discovered when Essex Police attended an address shortly after 4pm on 1 February.

Despite the efforts of paramedics, the teenager was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jack Sepple is due to stand trial accused of killing his teenage girlfriend (Ashley Wadsworth/Facebook)

The teenager was originally from Vernon, British Colombia, and met Sepple through an online dating app, a court previously heard.

She is said to have moved to Chelmsford in November 2021 after leaving Canada in search of escape from “small town life”.

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

She had changed her profile picture to a photo of the smiling couple just two days before she was found dead.

In a tribute released through Essex Police, her family described her as a “kind” and “beautiful” woman.

Tributes were paid to the 19 year-old after her death (Ashley Wadsworth/Facebook)

They said she had a “spontaneous, witty, kind personality”, an “unforgettable laugh”, and was “fiercely loving and loyal to her family and friends”.

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

She spoke three languages - English, French and Spanish – and had travelled extensively within Canada, Mexico, California and England, which “encouraged her love of language”.

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.

Ms Wadsworth’s elder sister, Hailey, described her sibling as her “best friend”, and the teenager’s niece, Paisley, called her the “best aunty ever”.

Friends also paid tribute following the news of her death, including one woman who described the teen as her best friend, writing in a Facebook post: “My heart aches to hear this tragic news. We lost a beautiful soul.”

Additional reporting by Press Association