Edward Tenniswood, a 52-year-old former bookkeeper, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 30 years for the rape and murder of 20-year-old India Chipchase. The jury at Birmingham Crown Court took just one hour and 45 minutes to convict him after a two-week trial.
Tenniswood, described as an 'oddball' by his own lawyer and a friendless loner by his landlord, found Chipchase drunk outside NB's nightclub in Northampton on 31 January. He promised to get her home safely but instead took her to his squalid home, where he raped and strangled her, leaving her with more than 30 injuries.
In court, Tenniswood claimed that Chipchase had gone with him willingly and that they had consensual sex, but the prosecution presented evidence of a struggle, including his blood under her fingernails and scratches on his neck and arm. He also falsely claimed to have dated model Heather Stewart-Whyte, whose image was among clippings of women found on his walls.
Sentencing him, Mr Justice Saunders said: 'This was a terrible crime. It was committed because the defendant was determined to satisfy his own sexual desires on an attractive and much younger woman. It was a crime of utter depravity.' Chipchase's parents, Jeremy and Sue, wept as the verdict was read and said her death had left a 'huge void'.
CCTV footage showed Tenniswood approaching Chipchase as she stood alone using her phone, putting his arm around her, and leading her to a taxi. He repeatedly changed the destination before taking her to his home. After the murder, he went for a kebab and then to a hotel, where he drank lager and checked news updates on the missing person search. Police arrested him after tracing Chipchase's phone signal to his house; he was found carrying a rucksack containing a kitchen knife and latex gloves.
Chipchase's boyfriend, rugby player Evaan Reihana, paid tribute to her on Instagram, writing: 'I honestly can’t believe to think even now that you have left us in that way.' The case has highlighted ongoing concerns about night safety and the failures that allowed a predator to target a vulnerable young woman.
