'Oddball' Edward Tenniswood found guilty of killing India Chipchase

Chilling CCTV images show the moment India Chipchase was ushered into a taxi by an "oddball" fantasist who was today convicted of her rape and murder.

The 20-year-old barmaid left NB's nightclub in Northampton in the early hours of January 30 after reportedly downing six Jagerbomb drinks.

Footage from outside the club shows the moment 52-year-old Edward Tenniswood spots Chipchase and tells her: "I'll get you home safe".

In a story dismissed as lies by prosecutors, he claimed they later had consensual sex and she died due to his "over-eagerness".

But a jury took less than two hours today to find him guilty of Chipchase's rape and murder after hearing his blood was found under her fingernails.

He was jailed for life yesterday and ordered to serve a minimum of 30 years, meaning he will be at least 82 years old if he is ever released from prison.

As the trial concluded, it emerged that:

• Tenniswood, who strangled Miss Chipchase, previously attacked two other women, one of whom he grabbed by the throat.

• He kept photos of a model who bore a striking resemblance to Miss Chipchase and claimed he was in a relationship with the cover girl, who insisted she had never met him.

• Photos from inside his home show how the killer covered surfaces in dust sheets, newspaper and clingfilm because he was obsessive about dirt.

• The victim's father told of his heartbreak at having to attend his daughter's cremation and knowing he will never walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

Evaan Reihana, son of former All Black Bruce Reihana,with girlfriend India Chipchase. Photo / Facebook

As the verdicts were delivered, Tenniswood looked down then dropped his face into his hands.

His invented story of what happened on the night of India's killing had added to her family's pain. Her relatives, who were in the public gallery of the court, wept as the verdicts were returned.

Sentencing Tenniswood today, Judge John Saunders QC said: "This was a terrible crime. It 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. I have no doubt that he was very persuasive, and convinced India in her befuddled state to come with him by promising her that she would be safe.

"The defendant picked on her because she was obviously drunk and obviously so drunk that she was unable to care for herself."

Chipchase's father Jeremy Chipchase, a doctor who lives in Adelaide, Australia, said: "I sincerely hope there's no possibility that another woman ever falls into the hands of my daughter's murderer."

Chipchase had been studying a diploma in health and social care, and lived with her mother, Suzanne, in upmarket Wootton, Northampton.

Edward Tenniswood has been found guilty of raping and murdering India Chipchase.

The murder trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard she had arrived at NB's bar with friends at around 11.30pm on January 29 this year.

Chipchase was later seen slumped at the bar and dropping her handbag on the floor. She then left the club and told a doorman outside "I just want to go home".

The doorman put her into a cab, but Chipchase jumped out of the vehicle following an apparent disagreement with the driver over money.

She then waited outside the club and was approached by Tenniswood, an "oddball" who kept a horde of newspaper cuttings of women at his squalid home in the city.

The moment Edward Tenniswood made contact with India Chipchase outside a bar on the night he killed her.

CCTV footage shows the pair having a heated conversation, before Tenniswood helps her towards a taxi.

Prosecutor Christopher Donnellan told the trial: "Others nearby thought from the way he spoke to her, he knew her.

"He was overheard by others to say, 'not to worry', and he'd get her home safe - he didn't."

The only person to see Chipchase after that was a neighbour of Tenniswood's who saw him helping her across the road.

The CCTV footage shows the taxi going through the town as Tenniswood directed it, via a petrol station, to his home.

Chipchase attempted to call a friend who was in a nightclub and couldn't hear his phone, and sent a Snapchat message shortly after she arrived at Tenniswood's house.

The following morning, after Chipchase's parents reported her missing, police broke into Tenniswood's home and found her dead.

Police came to the house after an officer recognised Tenniswood in CCTV images and her mobile signal was traced to the location.

Her body was found on a mattress with her hair placed "like a halo" around her head.

Tenniswood had earlier checked into the Ibis Hotel in Northampton, where he was again spotted on CCTV.

The last time India was seen alive was by a neighbour of her killer.

The footage released by police shows officers arresting him at the hotel. He told them: "I'm surprised you were so quick. You didn't take very long to find me."

Giving evidence during the two-week trial, Tenniswood claimed the pair had "loving" and "organic" sex, during which she instructed him to put his hands around her neck.

He insisted he didn't realise she had choked and went to sleep for a few hours before waking to discover her not breathing.

But prosecutor Donnellan told the jury: "You can't believe a word the defendant says. It's garbled nonsense... He is an oddball."

The court heard Tenniswood kept newspaper clippings of women who looked like his ex-girlfriends in his "squalid" home.

He drank up to three boxes of red wine per day, and usually kept six bottles of cheap Sainsbury's wine in his home.

Tenniswood claimed he kept most of his belongings covered in dust sheets because of 'OCD' and wrapped his computer keyboard in cling film to keep it clean.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Woliter said after the case: "India was a young woman at the start of her life, who should have been able to enjoy a night out with friends and return home without coming to any harm.

"It is clear that Tenniswood targeted India at a point when she was most vulnerable and unable to defend herself - the actions of the worst kind of predator.

"My lasting hope is that India's family is able to take some kind of solace in the fact that Tenniswood will not be able to prey on any other young women who are innocently going about their lives."