Joshua Stimpson

Joshua Stimpson was born in approximately 1991 and was from Wouldham, near Rochester, Kent.

Before the murder of Molly McLaren, Stimpson worked as a warehouse worker. He had previously been in relationships with other women, and evidence presented at his trial showed that concerns had also been raised about his behaviour toward a previous girlfriend.

Stimpson met Molly McLaren through Tinder in 2016. They began a relationship that lasted approximately seven months.

After their relationship ended in June 2017, Stimpson became increasingly persistent in attempting to maintain contact with McLaren.

Joshua Stimpson murdered one known victim, Molly McLaren.

McLaren ended her relationship with Stimpson approximately two weeks before the murder. Following the breakup, Stimpson began following her and posting derogatory comments about her on social media.

McLaren became sufficiently concerned about his behaviour that she reported him to police. Officers warned Stimpson to stop contacting her and told him that further behaviour could result in prosecution. He was spoken to by police again shortly before the murder.

On June 29, 2017, Stimpson went to the PureGym at the Dockside shopping centre in Chatham, where McLaren was exercising.

McLaren contacted her mother to tell her that Stimpson had appeared at the gym and was exercising close to her. Her mother advised her to leave and go home.

Stimpson followed McLaren into the car park.

As McLaren sat in her car, Stimpson attacked her with a kitchen knife, stabbing her more than 75 times. Despite attempts by a passerby and emergency responders to help her, McLaren died at the scene.

Stimpson's murder was a targeted attack against a former intimate partner following the breakdown of their relationship.

His behaviour before the killing involved persistent unwanted contact, following McLaren and monitoring her movements. He followed her to the gym on the morning of the murder and then pursued her into the car park.

He attacked McLaren while she was sitting in her vehicle using a kitchen knife, inflicting more than 75 stab wounds.

Evidence presented during the trial also showed that Stimpson had purchased a knife two days before the murder.

Stimpson was arrested at the Dockside shopping centre shortly after the attack.

When police arrived, he was covered in blood and approached the officers. He was subsequently taken into custody and charged with murder.

Stimpson's trial took place at Maidstone Crown Court in January and February 2018.

There was no dispute that Stimpson had killed McLaren. His defence argued that he should be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder because of diminished responsibility.

The prosecution rejected that argument and presented evidence concerning his behaviour toward McLaren before the killing, including his stalking, his appearance at her gym and his preparations before the attack.

The jury rejected the diminished-responsibility defence and found Stimpson guilty of murder after less than four hours of deliberation.

On February 6, 2018, Stimpson was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years.

Judge Adele Williams described the killing as cruel, calculated and cowardly and said Stimpson had been determined to punish McLaren for ending their relationship.

He was described in court as posing a considerable future risk to women. His parole eligibility date is January 2044.