A pub chef who sexually assaulted and killed a dog walker near a beach in Kent has been jailed.
Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss, 21, had previously admitted murdering Claire Knights, 54, from Upstreet, near Canterbury.
The artist’s body was found between St Nicholas-At-Wade and Minnis Bay in August 2023, after a two-day search.
Van-Pooss was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 25-and-a-half years at Canterbury Court today.
Ms Knights is thought to have been walking her white and brown spaniel Zebulon back from the beach to the car when she was ambushed by Van Pooss.
He sexually assaulted the mother, murdered her and threw her body into a dyke, the court heard.
He then took her dog to a nearby shop and bought it treats. The dog was still with him when he was arrested.
Ms Knight’s son found his mother’s body face down in the dyke, the court was told.
Claire Knights’ family’s statement
Following her death, a family statement released by Kent Police said: ‘Claire was a loving mum, partner, daughter and sister.
‘An amazing contemporary artist, a trailblazer in life.
‘She loved animals and in particular her springer spaniel, Zebulon.
‘We, the family, are struggling to come to terms with the fact she is no longer with us.
‘We wish to thank friends and the community for their active support and kind words.’
Prosecuting barrister Alison Morgan KC described Van-Pooss as a ‘vast and powerful man’ who left Ms Knights with multiple fractures after beating her, the BBC reports.
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
Throughout the year we will be bringing you stories that shine a light on the sheer scale of the epidemic.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to engage and empower our readers on the issue of violence against women.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
- Introducing This Is Not Right: Metro’s year-long violence against women campaign
- Yvette Cooper’s message to abusers and rapists: The streets don’t belong to you
- Remembering the women killed by men in 2024
- Stories about violence against women don’t make an impact – this is why
- Men – we need your help to end violence against women
- What to do if your loved one is at risk from domestic abuse
A coroner at an inquest into her death in September said that it’s thought she died from a blunt force injury and drowning.
Van-Pooss had been caught upskirting a woman at a bar less than 24 hours before the murder.
Learn more about femicide
- On average, one woman a week is killed by a partner/ex-partner.
- Of the 249 female domestic homicide victims between March 2020 and March 2022, the suspect was male in a staggering 241 cases.
- Women’s Aid have found that women are over three times more likely to be killed by a partner than by not wearing a seatbelt
- A Killed Women survey found that only 4% of bereaved family members said their loved one’s killing was not preventable at all
He then camped out in a den overnight, armed with a chef’s night, before attacking Ms Knights.
Alongside his murder plea, Van-Pooss, of Margate, also pleaded guilty to an offence of upskirting, by using a mobile phone under a woman’s clothing without her consent for the purpose of sexual gratification.
He was sentenced to one month in prison for this offence, to run concurrently.
Following her death, a family statement released by Kent Police said: ‘Claire was a loving mum, partner, daughter and sister.
‘An amazing contemporary artist, a trailblazer in life.
‘She loved animals and in particular her springer spaniel, Zebulon.
‘We, the family, are struggling to come to terms with the fact she is no longer with us.
‘We wish to thank friends and the community for their active support and kind words.’
Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. Or you can submit your videos and pictures here.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Follow Metro.co.uk on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get Metro.co.uk articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here.
Discover more from USNewsRank
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.