BREAKING: COURT HEARS ANN WIDDECOMBE WAS STRUCK 21 TIMES WITH A HAMMER AS MU-RDER SUSPECT MAKES FIRST COURT APPEARANCE
Ann Widdecombe died after she was hit on the head with a hammer 21 times, a court was told today as a 28-year-old man appeared in court charged with her murder.
Joshua Kerry, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, appeared in Westminster Magistrates Court accused of attacking the ex-Tory MP turned Reform spokesperson at her home in Devon. Ms Widdecombe, 78, was killed in her remote bungalow on the edge of Dartmoor National Park 14 days ago and was found with head injuries.
Armed officers arrested Kerry three days later at his house on suspicion of murder on July 11. Today, Kerry was whisked three-and-a-half miles across London from Westminster Magistrates’ Court to the Old Bailey by plainclothes counter-terror detectives.
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Ann Widdecombe was found dead in her Devon home(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
Kerry was pictured staring straight ahead in the back of an unmarked Land Rover Discovery flanked by an officer in a grey face covering.
Wearing sunglasses, a police-issue mask and a black North Face body warmer, the driver sped out of the court followed by a Mercedes SUV and three more vehicles.
Ms Widdecombe was killed in her house on July 8, 30 minutes before she was set to appear via video call on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show. She had last messaged a producer at 12.19pm but failed to respond to a text at 12.48pm.
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A court artist sketch of Kerry at court(Image: Julia Quenzler / SWNS)
Bearded Kerry spoke with a strong Yorkshire accent to confirm his name, date of birth and address during the magistrates’ court hearing. Wearing a grey sweatshirt and matching tracksuit bottoms, he sat with his arms folded in the dock, flanked by a security officer and two plain clothes police officers.
Kerry looked calm and relaxed as prosecutor Kashif Malik gave a brief outline of the case against him during a five minute hearing. Mr Malik said the alarm was first raised when Ms Widdecombe failed to appear for a pre-arranged live online interview on the Allwright show at 12:50 on Wednesday July 8.
The production team repeatedly attempted to contact her over the following 24 hours before her secretary asked her gardener to check up on the politician, the court heard. Ms Widdecombe’s body was found with a serious head injury on Thursday July 9. Her front door was said to have been found held open by a doorstop.
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Kerry being driven away from the Old Bailey by police
She was discovered by her gardener with a serious head injury, lying face down on the kitchen floor. The emergency services were called and the police arrived just after midday, Mr Malik said.
The court heard Ms Widdecombe was sitting by the entrance to her kitchen eating her lunch when a red Vauxhall Corsa could be seen in footage from a Ring doorbell camera as it pulled up outside the front of her property.
Kerry was allegedly inside the bungalow for a total of two minutes, the court heard. Kerry then allegedly tipped Miss Widdecombe from her chair and took a wallet out of her handbag before leaving and driving off, having only been in the property for two minutes, the court heard.
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Kerry is pictured in the car as he was driven across London from Westminster Magistrates’ Court(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
A provisional cause of death from the pathologist was given as a blunt force injury to the head, the court heard. Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring remanded Kerry in custody and said he would next appear at the Old Bailey.
Following that appearance later today, Kerry was further remanded in custody. Prosecutor Alistair Richardson told the Old Bailey that before his arrest, Kerry was living in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, 265 miles from Ms Widdecombe’s Devon address.
Kerry will next appear at the same court on October 9 for a case management hearing before a further plea and trial preparation hearing on November 20. A provisional trial date was listed for June 8, 2027.
Kerry is understood to have been unemployed since working as an office administrator up until two years ago. Earlier today, the opening of an inquest at Exeter Coroner’s Court heard Ms Widdecombe’s cause of death is yet to be established.
Philip Spinney, senior coroner for the county of Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, said she was found unresponsive in her home by an employee carrying out a welfare check after concerns were raised due to her being “uncontactable”.
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An earlier photo of Widdecombe murder suspect Joshua Kerry(Image: Collect)
Mr Spinney said: “A post-mortem examination has taken place and at this stage the precise medical cause of death has yet to be established.
“Shortly after the conclusion of this hearing I shall be taking steps to formally suspend this inquest… Until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings.”
Ms Widdecombe was first elected a Conservative MP in Kent in 1987, then served as an MEP for the Brexit Party and spokeswoman for Reform UK. She also starred in Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for a serious review of MPs’ safety after Ms Widdecombe’s death
Paying tribute to Ms Widdecombe, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Ann Widdecombe dedicated her life to politics and public service. For nearly 40 years, she was a fixture of our political life. She brought conviction to our politics, grounded in her profound Catholic faith. She was forthright in her opinions and argued courageously for the things she believed in. But, perhaps most of all, she brought an inimitable style to politics.”
SOURCE: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ann-widdecombe-suspect-joshua-kerry-37456786
