A skydiving instructor murdered his girlfriend as their relationship fell apart over an accusation he attempted to rape a teenage girl at work, a court heard today.
Ashley Kemp, 53, choked fellow parachuting instructor Clair Armstrong, 51, when he snapped and ‘the red mist descended’ during a heated row in bed, the jury was told.
He later dialled 999 to tell police ‘I’ve killed my girlfriend’ and then drove off on an apparent suicide mission, crashing his car at night into a field but surviving the accident.
Police had been hunting the self-confessed killer and found him standing in a dazed state on the grass verge. When arrested for murder he responded ‘who have I murdered?’
Mother-of-three Ms Armstrong, who also ran a beauty salon, was found dead in bed by officers responding to Kemp’s call, Grimsby Crown Court heard.
Ashley Kemp (left) choked fellow parachuting instructor Clair Armstrong (right) when he snapped and ‘the red mist descended’ during a heated row in bed, the jury was told
Kemp has admitted manslaughter and denied murder
CSI teams arriving at the scene of the investigation in Messingham
Kemp, of Hibaldstow, North Lincolnshire, has admitted manslaughter and denied murder.
Prosecutor Richard Thyne, KC, said their two-year relationship had become ‘strained’ and she told friends she expected to be single again.
Both worked at the Drop Zone skydiving centre where she was also in a sky-diving formation team.
He said at the time of the alleged murder last November Kemp was facing an accusation, which he denied, of attempting to rape a teenager at work. No decision has been made on whether to charge him for the alleged offence said to have happened that summer.
But the allegation was putting pressure on their relationship and it ultimately ended in tragedy.
Mother-of-three Ms Armstrong, who also ran a beauty salon, was found dead in bed by officers responding to Kemp’s call, Grimsby Crown Court heard
Ms Armstrong was last seen alive shortly after midnight on Saturday November 5, returning home on foot with Kemp from an evening at her local pub in Mesingham, North Lincolnshire, with her brother and sister and their partners.
Although Kemp didn’t dial 999 until after midnight early on Sunday the prosecution believe she was killed the night before following the night out.
Kemp was later to tell police they rowed over the sexual allegation as they got ready for bed at Ms Armstrong’s house.
Read Related Also: Manchester Arena bomb survivors sue conspiracy theorist Richard D Hall
Although Kemp didn’t dial 999 until after midnight early on Sunday the prosecution believe she was killed the night before following the night out
He said she told him she couldn’t ‘do it anymore’ and asked him to leave. A violent fight then allegedly followed.
He admitted headbutting his girlfriend after she grabbed him. Kemp said after she hit him repeatedly he ‘squeezed her throat as hard as he could until she stopped.’
‘To be honest I just snapped, it was like the red mist coming over,’ he told police.
The court heard Kemp didn’t want to discuss the allegations. He said he ‘panicked’ and ‘didn’t know what to do’ after killing his girlfriend.
CCTV evidence showed Kemp had injuries to his face on Saturday morning when he stepped outside the house. He rang 999 at 12.41 am on the Sunday and told the operator: ‘I have killed my girlfriend.
‘We got into a fight and I ended up strangling her. She is upstairs in bed in the main bedroom. We just had an argument that was all and it got heated.
‘She started thrashing around and I just reacted, I never react. I pinned her down and just choked her.’
Police arrived at the house and found Kemp had gone and Ms Armstrong dead under the duvet. She was ‘cold’ and death was pronounced by paramedics.
Ms Armstrong was last seen alive shortly after midnight on Saturday November 5 returning home on foot with Kemp from an evening at her local pub in Mesingham, North Lincolnshire, with her brother and sister and their partners
A post mortem revealed she had been asphyxiated.
Police found Kemp 10 miles away less than two hours after the 999 call, standing injured on the verge of a rural road. His car had left the road, crashed through a fence and into a field.
A note in his clothing referred to the attempted rape allegations tearing the family apart. He wrote: ‘It’s time to go. I can’t be happy now, I’m so sorry.’
Mr Thyne said police had never found Ms Armstrong’s mobile phone, which Kemp may have ‘got rid of’ to ensure the police didn’t find it.
He said the issue for the jury was to decide on ‘intent’ and the prosecutor told the jury ‘when the red mist descended’ he did intend to cause her serious harm.
The case continues.
