The Express
BLACKPOOL, England — A paramedic who stabbed his nurse ex-girlfriend to death while on bail for her rape was jailed for life yesterday.
Jonathan Vass, 30, tracked Jane Clough’s movements on Facebook. He had been granted bail despite being accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting Miss Clough, 26, the mother of his child.
After warning one colleague “I will kill her”, he stalked her to the grounds of Blackpool Victoria Hospital, where she worked.
As she arrived for her night shift Vass pounced — slashing her in the neck and then slitting her throat as she lay dying.
Yesterday Vass wept uncontrollably as he was jailed for life and told that he would not be eligible for parole before 2040.
Judge Anthony Russell QC told him: “It is difficult to imagine a more horrific crime than this, motivated by real hatred and revenge.
“It was a deliberate, brutal and callous murder for which you have shown no remorse and no care for your own daughter.”
During the hearing, at Preston Crown Court, Miss Clough’s family wore “Justice for Jane” T-shirts. Her mother Penny refused to take her eyes off her daughter’s killer.
Prosecutor Dennis Watson QC said: “The motive behind this murder was the defendant’s wish to evade prosecution for the offences of raping Jane Clough the previous year.”
He told how the couple had met in 2008 while working at the hospital. “He was a jealous man who wished to dominate her and have complete control over Jane — despite the fact that, unknown to her, he was carrying on a relationship with two other women at the same time, " Mr Watson said.
By early 2009 Miss Clough was pregnant and Vass had become controlling and “sexually demanding”.
In November that year she reported him to police, revealing months of physical and sexual abuse and the repeated rapes.
Horrifying text messages between the pair were read to the court. On November 14 last year she sent Vass a message saying: “You have hurt, raped and reduced me to tears on countless occasions. I’m scared of you and you want to get engaged and have more kids?
Why?”
Vass coldly replied: “We are staying together regardless of our problems.”
Vass was charged with nine rapes and assault in November 2009 and later granted bail by Circuit Judge Simon Newell, despite opposition from police.
Miss Clough kept a diary, detailing her abuse and fears of Vass. When he was bailed, Miss Clough became “extremely concerned for her safety”. The court heard that when it became clear Miss Clough was prepared to give evidence, Vass decided to take “retribution”.
On July 25, two months before his trial, Vass travelled to the hospital to “lie in wait”. At 8.20pm Miss Clough parked her car and walked towards the A&E unit to begin her shift.
Witness Norman Smart, heard a male voice shouting and saw Miss Clough bleeding on the ground with Vass standing over her.
In a statement Mr Smart said Vass “slowly stuck the knife into her neck and slit her throat. He then casually walked off”.
Vass, who admitted murder, was arrested the next day.
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