Ashley Wadsworth’s friends and family were happy to be following along with the pictures and updates she sent of her UK adventure.
They took pleasure in the 19-year-old’s bright smile as she shared images of the places she’d been, the sights she’d taken in and the apparent joy it all brought her.
“Ashley was adventurous. She was loving and she was kind. She always wanted to travel and she did travel, ”cousin Melissa Locke said Thursday.
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They were confident that the Vernon, BC, woman, who had gone to the UK on a six-month tourist visa in November, was having the time of her life, although one friend said she had lingering concerns about the man she’d traveled to meet.
Tianna Kowalchuk said she and Wadsworth had been friends from infancy, connected by their parents’ high-school friendship.
She said Wadsworth had met 23-year-old Jack Sepple through a mutual friend online, and that she’d spoken to him multiple times over the five years he and Wadsworth had been talking.
“He did not like me because I encouraged her not to be with him,” Kowalchuk said, adding that she could not name a particular red flag about him but that he was not the “nicest guy” to her friend.
During the trip, however, she said she never suspected there was a problem.
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jack Sepple, of Tennyson Road, Chelmsford, appearing in the dock at Colchester Magistrates’ Court accused of the murder of a 19-year-old Canadian woman who was found dead in Chelmsford. A statement from Essex Police says 19-year-old Ashley Wadsworth died Tuesday, shortly after officers were called to a disturbance at a home in Chelmsford, northeast of London. THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP-Elizabeth Cook / PA via AP.
“She was sending me videos. She was happy that she was with him, and she was excited because when she was supposed to come back, she wanted him to eventually try and come back to Canada as well, ”Kowalchuk said.
“She wanted me to meet him in person and hang out with him.”
That changed on Feb. 1, hours before Wadsworth was killed.
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“I got a text message that was our time 3:30 am that she was seeking help… and needed me to contact a member of our church on her behalf so they could help her,” Kowalchuk said.
The message, sent to other friends as well, did not say why she needed help or explain what she was dealing with, Kowalchuk said.
Due to the hour it was sent, they did not see it until they woke up much later. Kowalchuk said they called the church member on Wadsworth’s behalf and waited to hear back.
Later that night, she said she heard from one of Wadsworth’s family members that her friend had been killed.
That. Chief Insp. Scott Egerton with the Essex police said they were called to Sepple’s home in Chelmsworth after a neighbor called in a disturbance.
Officers arrived to find Wadsworth and called in paramedics, but it was too late.
A man was arrested at the scene, police said. Sepple was later charged with murder.
Jack Sepple, left, is charged with the murder of BC teen, Ashley Wadsworth.
Sepple appeared in court on Friday and remains in custody. He did not apply for bail.
His next court appearance was set for March 7 for a preliminary trial and preparation hearing.
Kowalchuk said she wants to honor her friend’s memory by living life to the fullest.
“I will carry on for her, live out for some things she wanted to do, and keep good thoughts about her around.”
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