Three men from Somerset have received life sentences for stabbing deaths. A “lovely” mother from Wells was killed by a man who strangled her and brutally cut her with a knife.
Another Dunster guy stabbed his longtime wife fifteen times to death. Another guy in Yeovil was murdered by a third South Petherton man who repeatedly stabbed him in the head, neck, and shoulders.
A 39-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison earlier this week for the murder of Sarah Ashwell, the mother of two children in Wells. On June 19, Antanas Jankauskas, a former resident of Wookey, appeared at Bristol Crown Court with the accusation of taking her life.
The 47-year-old told the court that she was the victim of a “savage and sustained attack” at her South Street house. The inquest began with a moving statement from Sarah’s mother, Linda Joice, delivered by prosecutor Anna Vigars QC. She wrote of how the loss of her daughter had “devastated” the entire family.
“Bill and I are devastated and heartbroken that our daughter and only child, Sarah, is no longer with us,” Mrs. Joice remarked. Knowing I won’t be able to chat to her on the phone, see her again, or discuss typical things a mother and daughter share, is terrible.
“She enjoyed watching her two sons play rugby and football; one was a teenager and the other a little boy. Her demise was appalling. Just thinking about what she endured is terrible.”
She told how Jankauskas had taken her grandson to the store to buy sweets and played football with him. “Sarah assured us we could trust you,” she stated.
Ms. Vigars continued by reading the details of the crime, in which Sarah was fatally stabbed and strangled. The court was informed that Ms. Ashwell, who was in a relationship with the defendant, had battled drug usage for many years.
Ms Vigars told the court how Sarah had described Jankauskas as “controlling” to her friends and said he had been violent towards her “on multiple occasions”, sometimes grabbing her throat.
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