John Jessop: Killer Who Cycled 18 Miles To Slit His Ex-Girlfriend's Throat Has Been Jailed
Updated: Jan 11
A murderer who stopped for a pasty while undertaking an 18-mile bike ride to brutally murder his ex-girlfriend has been sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court. When the victim's body was discovered by her elderly father, the killer was calmly enjoying a pint in his local pub.
26-year-old John Jessop cycled from Newark in Nottinghamshire to Colston Bassett with the pre-planned intention to murder his ex-girlfriend, 47-year-old Clair Ablewhite.
CCTV footage showed that Jessop only stopped once on his way to the mother-of-three's home - and that was to buy a pasty from a shop.
The remorseless killer was seen on the shop's surveillance footage calmly pondering which snack to buy on his way to commit the heinous crime.
Police identified Jessop from the front zip on his jacket in the shop to that captured on the CCTV footage of Ms Ablewhite's neighbour's security camera.
After killing Ms Ablewhite, Jessop was seen on CCTV and dashcam footage walking back to where he had hidden his bike before embarking on the 18-mile cycle back home.
The victim had broken up with Jessop due to her concerns about the large age difference between the pair.
The body of Ms Ablewhite was discovered by her 74-year-old father, Graham Tinkley, by this time her killer was calmly drinking a pint back at a local pub.
The victim's distraught father told Nottingham Crown Court: "To this day I wake up in the night with panic attacks. I see Clair in my dreams. "I see blood gushing from her throat trying to resuscitate her dead body."
Clair had suffered two stab wounds to the neck and chest and showed signs of being punched repeatedly.
The victim and Jessop had been in a relationship from September 2021 to February 19, 2022 - Ms Ablewhite was murdered just six days after calling off the relationship.
At a previous hearing in October 2022, John Jessop pleaded guilty to murdering Clair.
On Wednesday, att Nottingham Crown Court, Jessop was jailed for a minimum of 17 years and eight months.
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