Notts man jailed for murdering ex
Andrew Kemp, 48, Colwick, sentenced to life for stabbing his ex to death
A man described as a danger to women has been jailed for life for stabbing a young mother of one to death at her home in Nottingham.
Andrew Kemp, 48, admitted stabbing Leighann Wightman, 24, at her home in Norman Street, Netherfield, but claimed he lost control after she attacked him.
There were tears and cheers of ‘yes’ in the public gallery as a jury at Nottingham Crown Court took less than two hours to convict him of her murder on Friday.
The court heard how Kemp, of Vale Road, Colwick, broke into her home despite being subject to a restraining order and stabbed her eight times before leaving her to die.
Sentencing him to a minimum of 22 years in jail, Judge Michael Stokes QC, the Recorder of Nottingham, said: “You are a man who clearly especially when in drink presents a very serious risk to any woman with whom you have any sort of relationship.”
The jury heard how Miss Wightman had previously been in an abusive relationship with Kemp, who had a history of violence spanning more than 27 years.
Following the verdict they heard Kemp had spent time in prison before for two assaults and a nine-year term for raping and indecently assaulting a neighbour.
They also heard he had admitted common assault on Miss Wightman and was handed a two-year community order with a condition to attend a two-year domestic abuse programme last August. He was also made subject of a restraining order which prohibited him from visiting the young mother or going to Norman Street.
However in October last year, after a night out drinking, Kemp broke the order and went to Miss Wightman’s house, forcing his way into her house while she slept. The court heard that he chased her around the house, stabbing her repeatedly.
Following Friday’s verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Tony Heydon, who led the murder investigation, said: “Nottinghamshire is a safer place with people like Andrew Kemp behind bars, but the verdict doesn’t bring Leighann back. Her family are devastated by her death. I wish to pay tribute to them and the dignity they have shown over the last eight harrowing months. Our thoughts are with them. They now need to somehow learn to live without her.”
