Fantasist Edward Tenniswood claimed he had consensual sex with India Chipchase at his Northampton home.
Edward Tenniswood claimed he strangled India Chipchase at her request
A man has been found guilty of murdering India Chipchase, whom he raped and strangled after finding her drunk outside a club.
Edward Tenniswood, 52, claimed he had consensual sex
with Ms Chipchase and that her death in his squalid Northampton home on
30 January was a result of his "over-eagerness" in bed.
The former bookkeeper had promised to "get her home safe" after finding the 20-year-old student in a drunken state outside the nightclub.
But instead he raped and strangled her, leaving her with more than 30 injuries.
The court heard that Ms Chipchase was "drunk" and "upset" when she
met Tenniswood by chance outside NB's nightclub, according to friends
she was out with that night.
CCTV showed him outside at 1.11am, turning to look at Ms Chipchase before walking up to her minutes later.
He led the student - who had almost three times the drink-drive limit of alcohol in her blood - to a waiting taxi but kept changing his destination rather than give his address.
When they arrived at his home, Tenniswood raped his victim and then "squeezed the life" out of her, prosecutors said.
In his account, Tenniswood claimed the idea to strangle Ms Chipchase was her suggestion and her death was an accident.
He said: "I, in my over-eagerness to please her, either sustained the pressure just too long or just gripped too tightly."
After killing the young woman, Tenniswood told a jury at Birmingham Crown Court that he "cuddled up" to her lifeless body thinking she was in a deep sleep.
But instead of raising the alarm, he went to get a kebab and then sat and drank lager in a nearby hotel bar where he accessed a news story about the search for Ms Chipchase.
A rucksack he was carrying when he was arrested contained a kitchen knife and a pair of latex gloves. Tenniswood told the court he used the gloves to reclothe his victim and put a sheet over her body so she would not be cold.
The jury took just one hour and 45 minutes to convict him of rape and murder after a two-week trial.
In a victim statement, India's father Jeremy Chipchase said: "I sincerely hope that there is no possibility that any other woman ever suffers at the hands of my daughter's murderer.
"I am sure that I and other family members will continually have moments like this of pain, anguish, emotion until we take our last breath."
Her mother, Susan, said: "Her death has left a huge void in all our lives and her siblings are quiet and subdued without her."
Tenniswood was labelled a fantasist by prosecutors, and claimed during the trial that he had dated former fashion model Heather Stewart-Whyte in the late 1980s.
Speaking after the trial, Ms Stewart-Whyte said: "I can state categorically that I have never knowingly met this man and certainly have never had any kind of relationship with him."
Tenniswood will be sentenced later on Tuesday.
The former bookkeeper had promised to "get her home safe" after finding the 20-year-old student in a drunken state outside the nightclub.
But instead he raped and strangled her, leaving her with more than 30 injuries.
Video:
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CCTV showed him outside at 1.11am, turning to look at Ms Chipchase before walking up to her minutes later.
He led the student - who had almost three times the drink-drive limit of alcohol in her blood - to a waiting taxi but kept changing his destination rather than give his address.
When they arrived at his home, Tenniswood raped his victim and then "squeezed the life" out of her, prosecutors said.
In his account, Tenniswood claimed the idea to strangle Ms Chipchase was her suggestion and her death was an accident.
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CCTV shows Edward Tenniswood talking to India Chipchase -
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![Northamptonshire Police of a taxi containing Edward Tenniswood and India Chipchase]()
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After killing the young woman, Tenniswood told a jury at Birmingham Crown Court that he "cuddled up" to her lifeless body thinking she was in a deep sleep.
But instead of raising the alarm, he went to get a kebab and then sat and drank lager in a nearby hotel bar where he accessed a news story about the search for Ms Chipchase.
A rucksack he was carrying when he was arrested contained a kitchen knife and a pair of latex gloves. Tenniswood told the court he used the gloves to reclothe his victim and put a sheet over her body so she would not be cold.
CCTV showed Tenniswood and Ms Chipchase getting into a taxi in Northampton
In a victim statement, India's father Jeremy Chipchase said: "I sincerely hope that there is no possibility that any other woman ever suffers at the hands of my daughter's murderer.
"I am sure that I and other family members will continually have moments like this of pain, anguish, emotion until we take our last breath."
Her mother, Susan, said: "Her death has left a huge void in all our lives and her siblings are quiet and subdued without her."
Tenniswood was labelled a fantasist by prosecutors, and claimed during the trial that he had dated former fashion model Heather Stewart-Whyte in the late 1980s.
Speaking after the trial, Ms Stewart-Whyte said: "I can state categorically that I have never knowingly met this man and certainly have never had any kind of relationship with him."
Tenniswood will be sentenced later on Tuesday.
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