A 52-year-old Teignmouth man has been found guilty following a murder in Teignmouth earlier this year.
David Ablett was convicted of murder at Exeter Crown Court yesterday, Monday 26th November.
Ablett has been sentenced to life in prison for murder, to serve a minimum of 16 years after stabbing 38-year-old Matthew Jackson six times on Sunday 3rd June 2018.
Ablett was also found guilty on the charge of supply of a class-A drug and sentenced to three years in jail to be served concurrently.
The court heard how Ablett washed the murder weapon and hid it in nearby undergrowth.
Matthew Jackson’s body was moved from the scene to nearby bins. Ablett was aided by Neal Hinton. Matthew Jackson’s body was found by a member of the public.
Hinton plead guilty at a previous and separate hearing to perverting the course of justice; he awaits sentencing at Exeter Crown Court on Monday 3 December.
The body of Matthew Jackson was found by a member of the public early in the morning on the 3rd June.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Inspector Steve Davies of the Major Crime Investigation Team welcomed the sentence and added: “Ablett’s actions of trying to cover up the murder only went to show that this was not the deeds of someone who had innocently acted in self-defence.
“Throughout this investigation Ablett has tried everything to distance himself as the killer and today a jury has seen through his story of events; to stab someone six times is not reasonable force for self-defence and the jury have agreed with the prosecution on this.
“My team carried out an extensive investigation gaining evidence from witnesses, CCTV, phone data and forensic specialists. This was the only way of finding out what had happened prior to and on the day of the incident. The first time Ablett gave his version of events was when he spoke in court following all the evidence being presented to him by the prosecution team.
“We welcome today’s sentence, and our thoughts are with the family of Matthew Jackson.”
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