A skydiving instructor who headbutted and then strangled his partner when she confronted him over allegations he'd tried to rape a teenage girl has been jailed for life for her murder.
Ashley Kemp, 55, killed beauty salon owner Clair Armstrong, 50, 'in a fit of rage' after she tried to dump him after the claims put a 'severe strain' on their relationship.
He struck her twice to the head before pinning her down and choking her so hard she passed out, causing her 'pain, suffering and untold trauma'.
Kemp then dialled 999 on in the early hours of the morning on Sunday, November 6, and told the call handler: "I have killed my girlfriend."
He added: "We got into a fight, and I ended up strangling her."
Police rushed the house in Messingham, Lincolnshire, where they found mum-of-three Clair dead under her duvet in her bed.
She'd been asphyxiated and suffered a broken nose.
Kemp later crashed his car into a field in an suicide attempt, jurors heard during his trial at Grimsby Crown Court.
He admitted manslaughter, saying he didn't intend to kill Clair and even claimed he acted in self-defence as she had 'attacked him'.
But it took jurors less than four hours to find him guilty of murder last week after a five day trial.
He appeared today, Wednesday, for sentencing at Hull Crown Court where he was jailed for life with a minimum of 19 years.
Jailing him, judge John Thackray KC said Clair was killed in her own home, where she should have felt safe and secure.
He said: "Claire was 50 years of age and had so much to live for. She was obviously an impressive woman with her own business whilst also working as a skydiving instructor, in addition to her participation as part of a formation skydiving team.
"She was a much loved mother to three sons. She had been in a relationship with you and you had been living at her house.
"She had generously given you a home when you lost your accommodation due to the sexual allegations which had been made against you at work by a third party, which resulted in your dismissal from work."
Prosecutor Richard Thyne, KC, told the trial the couple's two-year relationship had become 'strained' before her murder.
He said Kemp had been accused of attempting to rape a teenager at work at the time of the attack.
When quizzed by detectives, Kemp said they rowed over the sexual assault allegation as they got ready for bed at Clair's house, jurors.
He said she told him she couldn't 'do it any more' and asked him to leave. A violent fight then erupted, the court was told.
Kemp admitted to headbutting Clair before strangling her to stop her talking.
In his mugshot released after his trial, he can be seen scowling beneath a bruised forehead, which the court heard were 'defensive' wounds as Clair fought for her life.
Judge Thackray added: "The relationship had become strained and you must have known that it was close to being over. On the day in question she had informed you that the relationship was finally over and that you must move out.
"You decided that if you could not have her, nobody could and you launched a brutal attack upon her. First, you struck her twice to the head, breaking her nose and causing an injury to her forehead.
"You then pinned her down and strangled her with such force that you broke her hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage.
"Injuries to her mouth indicated that you also smothered her mouth, no doubt to prevent her from screaming for help.
"She was undoubtedly fighting for her life, evidenced by the injuries caused to your forehead and the fact that she had bitten her tongue.
"I reject your account that she was attacking you.
"Except for the injuries caused to your forehead, you did not have any injuries consistent with the repeated blows alleged by you.
"I do not accept that you are genuinely remorseful. During your evidence, I detected nothing but self pity from beginning to end."
Clair's brother-in-law Ian Farrell said in a statement read to the court that her family's lives 'changed forever' when they received a phone call informing them of her death.
And he said Clair's three sons, the youngest of which is just 14, will 'still buy her flowers, but the will have a very different meaning now'.
He said: "We received news that shattered us all and left a huge hole in our lives that could never be filled. We all miss her immeasurably.
"The magnitude of the impact on our loves of her loss is so big, it's difficult to capture everything. Never again will November 5 be a day of fun in our family. So many days will be marred with sadness and will never be the same again.
"We have heard accounts we will never unhear. One day we might be able to accept life without Clair, but we will never forget her."
