Nottinghamshire Police describe how they caught John Jessop for the murder of Clair Ablewhite at Colston Bassett
Detectives have described how they caught a cold-blooded killer who murdered a mum-of-three in her own home.
It all started with a grainy CCTV image of a hooded man lingering near the home of 47-year-old Clair Ablewhite.
It ended today when John Jessop, 26, of Sherwood Avenue, Newark, was jailed over the killing of Clair.
Police arrived at a house in Hall Lane, Colston Bassett, on Saturday, February 26, last year to find the mum-of three dead in her pyjamas with serious stab wounds to the neck and chest.
Her killer had hardly left a trace of DNA at the scene, apart from shoe prints marked in blood.
Clair’s mobile phone was missing, there was no weapon, and the crime was committed in a remote location leading to fears that CCTV footage and witnesses would be sparse.
But Detective Inspector Mel Crutchley, senior investigating officer in charge of the case, was determined to catch the killer.
She said: “In any murder investigation it is important to understand the background and lifestyle of the victim because this can often give an indication as to who may be responsible and why.
“One of my lines of inquiry was to task officers to obtain witness accounts from Clair’s family and friends.
“This allowed the team to understand the relationships she had, any known issues that could have contributed to her death and her known movements prior to the murder.”
Brought up in Bingham, Clair had married at 19 and had spent most of her life working on the farm she shared with her husband and three sons.
When the marriage ended, she set up a new life for herself in Colston Bassett.
In January 2022, she started renting a small cottage in Hall Lane and was becoming a successful entrepreneur — setting up her own dog walking and dog boarding business.
Her friends and clients described her as “sociable, well-liked, who would stop and talk to anyone”.
But someone was determined to end the new life she had started.
DI Crutchley said: “In any homicide investigation I always remain open-minded and keep the information, intelligence, and evidence under constant review.
“However, I formed the opinion very early on in this investigation that Clair’s killer was known to her.
“There was no forced entry to the house, there was no evidence of a burglary, and Clair had only lived at the address for about six weeks.
“The nature of her injuries to the head and chest appeared very personal.”
Police began the process of elimination, working from a list of more than 20 people.
Road cameras and bus routes were checked to find the mode of transport the killer had taken, but to no avail.
A breakthrough came after a media appeal when the police got a call from Clair’s neighbour working in France — he had caught the killer on his CCTV camera.
Not only was there a picture of him, but it had also captured the sound of the assault that ended her life.
Having viewed the CCTV remotely from his mobile phone in France, the neighbour flew home so police could view the footage.
The grainy image of a hooded man was their first shot of the killer.
It provided plenty of clues, including his height and what he was wearing, including his Adidas trainers, which matched the same blooded footprints left in Clair’s kitchen.
Meanwhile, the police had also formed the opinion that he had either walked to the scene or arrived by bike.
“There was no evidence of any vehicle at or near the scene and the way that he carried his rucksack on both shoulders appeared to me to be inconsistent with having got out of a car,” said DI Crutchley.
Now a team of officers had to work backwards to find where this bike and its rider had travelled from, working despite gaps in CCTV coverage thanks to the remote location of the attack.
Luckily, it appeared his bike had one tell-tale sign — a faulty reflector that gave detectives a marker.
As police spent countless hours trawling through CCTV and dashcam footage, a search team had made a new discovery — Clair’s mobile phone in a local stream.
Having been severely water damaged, officers worked at retrieving information on it.
Clair had been using a dating website and in WhatsApp messages there was one man that had not come forward to assist police with their investigations — Jessop.
“He was identified as being known to Clair via social media and had been in an intimate relationship with her from September 2021 which had ended on the February 19, 2022,” DI Crutchley said.
“The contact ceased mainly due to concern over the age difference, and it was evident from the communication that he had been at her Colston Bassett address during the six weeks she had resided there.”
Jessop travelled 17 miles from his home by bike to commit murder, making one stop at a shop to buy a pasty, and then cycled home.
Footage from the shop picked up a front zip on his jacket that matched the same jacket on the CCTV image.
Jessop left his phone at home on the night of the murder. But data showed he had installed Google Maps, which was deleted the day before Clair’s murder.
Relentless police work managed to build a CCTV picture of Jessop leaving his Newark address and travelling to Colston Bassett by bike.
On March 11, Jessop was charged with murder and he pleaded guilty at Nottingham Crown Court on October 12.
DI Crutchley said: “This was a solid investigation with many officers working all hours to catch Clair’s killer. The CCTV work was integral and managed to catch Jessop’s route from Newark to Colston Bassett.
“The neighbour played a major part in helping with our investigation by providing that first CCTV image of the killer and I would like to thank him personally for travelling home from France to help us bring Clair’s killer to justice.
“It is also a timely reminder for people to think about who they interact with online and to ensure their safety is protected from violent and predatory people like Jessop.
“Throughout this investigation, Jessop has shown no remorse for what he did to Clair.
“He has consistently provided ‘no comment’ in interview and offered up no apology.”
