nn Widdecombe was ‘hit over the head 21 times with a hammer while sitting in her kitchen’, a court has today heard.
The 78-year-old former MP was said to have been having lunch when ‘she came under attack for two minutes’ by an intruder.
Ann’s body was only discovered by her gardener 24 hours after she had been killed, magistrates were told.
Joshua Kerry, 28, has now appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court accused of Ann’s murder. He will appear at Crown Court later today.
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Kerry, from South Yorkshire, is also accused of rummaging through Ann’s handbag before stealing her wallet during the alleged incident.
Joshua Kerry ‘hit Ann Widdecombe 21 times’
Joshua Kerry is alleged to have arrived at Ann’s bungalow shortly after midday on July 9, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.
The court was told that Kerry’s car was caught on camera outside of her bungalow in Dartmoor.
Another camera in the hallway of her home was said to have capture Ann eating her lunch in the kitchen.
The defendant allegedly entered via the front door and asked Ann: “Don’t suppose you have bank cards and ID?”
Kerry is accused of ‘striking Ann 21 times on the head with a hammer’. He allegedly tipped her out of her chair onto the floor.
The gardener had reportedly been asked to check on Ann after she missed an interview scheduled with Channel 5.
The court heard that a provisional cause of death was given as a “blunt force injury to the head”.
‘Gloves and a black hat’ recovered at Ann’s home
Kerry, from Rotheram, South Yorkshire, sat with his arms folded. He spoke only to confirm his name during the court hearing.
Ann Widdecombe’s DNA was found on black gloves and a hammer recovered during a search of bins outside the property, prosecutor Kashir Malik said.
According to The Independent, Chief magistrate Paul Goldspring told Kerry: “You are charged with an offence of murder which can only be tried in the crown court.”
Kerry was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey in London this afternoon.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Counter Terrorism Policing head Laurence Taylor said that finding out whether Ann Widdecombe’s murder was politically motivated “active avenue of investigation”.
“I want to make it very clear that our investigation into this individual, determining his motivations and any wider activity he may have been involved in is continuing,” he said in a statement delivered outside Scotland Yard. Given Ann Widdecombe’s profile and the targeted nature of the attack, determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation for our detectives. And as with all murder investigations, understanding the why is a key part of our inquiries.”
Ann Widdecombe’s inquest ‘paused’
Paramedics pronounced Ann dead at 12:20 BST on Thursday, 9 July. An inquest into Ann’s death has since been opened and adorned.
Senior coroner for Devon, Philip Spinney, said the “precise” reason the former minister died has not been confirmed. It did say Ann had “visible injuries”.
Mr Spinney said the case would pause “until the conclusion of the criminal proceedings”.
