MURDER: Jia Ashton

Show Notes:

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
I'd like true crime, so Idecided to make a true crime podcast where
I covered true crime stories year byyear. And I hate true crime,
so I decided to beef up mywife's true crime podcast by telling people what
was on TV during each one ofthose murders or who was winning that wrestling
match during that awful rape. Theresult is American Timelines, where we cover
strange, fascinating happenings and sometimes sillystories and even birthdays. Didn't you always

(00:25):
wonder when don Cheeta was born?No? Didn't you at least wonder what
the number one song was when donCheeta was born? No? Well,
what did you want to know?Just about murder? Sweet sweet grizzly murder?
Well, sometimes you talk about UFOsor ghost stories too, Yes,
those are cool too. And whohasn't wondered what episode of two two seven

(00:45):
was on during a haunting? Everyonedownload and subscribe to American Timelines by History
for Jerks. You can hear iton Apple, podcast, Stitcher, wherever
you get your podcasts. It's betterthan it sounds. It really is.
American Timelines by History for Jerks,the greatest podcast ever. Morning The following
podcast may contain descriptions that some listenersmay find a stressing. Listener discretion is

(01:07):
advised. Any views are on ourown and do not in any way reflect
the places where we were. Hello, welcome to this week's Mad or Bad.
My name is Rachel and I'm Neil, and this week we'll go back
to March twenty eleven and the murderof twenty five year old Jar Ashton.

(01:30):
Jar was born in China and sheleft China sent or encourage buying more at
age sixteen to come to the UKfor a better life. I'm not sure
she lived with when she came overto the UK. I presume some kind
of family from what I can makeout, I'm not sure who Jar's mum,

(01:51):
and the majority of a family stayedin China. She obviously went to
school and eventually she attended the Universityof Warwick, where she completed a degree
in economics, graduating in two thousandand seven. Whilst at university, she
met and in two thousand and sixmarried her husband, Matthew. Matthew went

(02:16):
on to become a music teacher.There's some lovely pictures actually of the wedding
on the internet, and remember inthe newspaper at the time of the wedding,
which was actually back home for Jarin China. Matthew and Jar lived
together in summer Coats, which isa small town about ten miles from Nottingham

(02:38):
in the East Midlands of the UK. So again it's another local case.
To Rachel and I we we weused to live before we moved here where
we live now and where we arenow. It's probably an eva or eight
in our miles did we did?We did live, you know, sort
a couple of miles from where Jarand Matthew lived. Um, and I

(03:00):
know, you know, there's anotherlocal kind of case. It sounds like
we live in, you know,somewhere really dangerous, doesn't it. I
mean, keep it. But Imean, you know, I mean the
first one, I think episode onethat was sort of like over forty years
ago, so it was her ownthen, I think. So yeah,
I mean there's not a yeah,I mean, whether she was kind of

(03:21):
put on the plane over there bymum and then collected off the train back
train plane when she got over hereby another member of the family. But
but yeah, even so, itis, yeah, you know, she
did really well. So after graduating, Jar was successful in gaining a position
as a systems analyst. Not reallysure a systems analyst does. But she

(03:44):
got a job at Thornton's the chocolatemakers graduate scheme. Lucky girl. I
don't think she'd test the I don'tthink she was making the chocolates. I
remember, you know, when Iwas a sixth form I UM, I
went for this um like temporary jobin the summer at Thornton's And that was

(04:06):
when it was at Belpa, whichis another um another fracture that's not earner
listeners. But I remember I'd like, if you know, like when you
get a box of chocolates and it'sgot like that where the chocolates are placed
in you know that inside. Soyeah, that's it. So the trade

(04:26):
comes along quite fast our thought onthe on the and you have to like
you're responsible for that. I don'tknow the vanilla forge. You only do
you only do like the one itwas it was then. Yeah, But
honestly, I think that's all.I didn't get the position one job to
doing. You didn't get the ahyeah yeah. But in my defense,

(04:47):
as I told anyone that would listen, at the time, when we were
all like met in reception, theywere like all these other people that were
applying, they were all saying likethey all knew each other because every Christmas,
every summer Easter, they all gofor thee So I was competing with
someone that had been at least thatstory. So what you had to compete
to see who could get taking somany on? Yeah, so who could

(05:10):
do the job? Basically? Didyou just eat the vanilla? Fortune?
Didn't eat one for you, onefor the bar? No, No,
I just I just want you know, I think my dexterity would improve if
given time, But there were notime. So Thornton's as UK listeners will
more than likely know the makers ofchocolate and you know, well chocolate and
they have a few caffees as well. Don't think there are a few calfs

(05:33):
where you know, you buy acoffee you get free chocolate. And I
think they might do yeah they doyou like did you like some cakes and
that? Then they but I don'treally know. They do good Easter eggs
and they do really good box asa chocolate. Yeah. I mean when
I was a kid, I rememberthem. I don't know whether this says
more about the money that was aroundwhen I was a kid or not,

(05:53):
but I remember them as or appearedto me then that they were more like
a luxury brand. But I thinkdue to I think it's probably an element
of you know, me being akid and the fact that we didn't have
them. But I don't know,like they're a step up from like a
box or ross. They are,but I think I think probably due to

(06:14):
competition. I think they've had todo a lot of discounting. Yeah,
and they shot a lot of shops, didn't there a few years ago?
Do you know what it makes methink of? And it's a bit off
top. So they always seem tobe on offer, don't they in supermarkets?
I mean all our own bargains andstuff. Yeah, another discount UK
shop? You know what it makesme think of? Do you know lint,
which obviously are like more off market. I'd say there are another step.

(06:36):
Do you know the pick and mixlint that you get in some of
the out of the shops Genie macroom back. Yeah, there's one of
the Oh my god, that's dangerous, isn't it. They're quite expensive though
they are buying so good one ofevery flavor. So Joe was quite local

(06:59):
to where she worked and where shelived. It was only, I would
say a couple of miles. OftenJo would she'd walk listen to music on
her whatever she had at the time, twenty eleven and P three playing probably
or I think if she had anYeah they find something. First iPhone was

(07:25):
God, did you have an iPod? Yeah? I had a really expensive
one actually, and this is whenI went to college to it would have
been have been twenty rich students norlisten right, So basically the ladies doing
apparently got broken into by other studentswho lived there. And I know exactly

(07:46):
who it was as well. Icouldn't prove it and I saw my figure.
Did you ever approach them? Didyou ever say? Of course,
they just don't eied it. ButI was like, I know you did
it. Yeah, never got itback. Yeah, bash, that's cost
a fortunate. It was one ofthose, the bigger ones, one of

(08:07):
them, one of them, andthe last one I was an iPod nano,
which was one of them. Yeah, little skin good, weren't they
little tiny little things? Yeah?And then I had a little shuffle thing
as well. Sorry, that wasa shuffle. I didn't like the shoffer
because you couldn't there was a screen, you couldn't see yeah, yeah,
that's that's a good point. Um. I wonder they sell them anymore production

(08:28):
You can get an iPod shuffle oneBay or something. Yeah, but like
why would you when you have yourphone? Wouldn't would you mean to do?
But going back to like what appearedto be a luxury item at one
time and now it doesn't seem tobe. Yeah, I remember when iPhones
first come out and I said itwas two thousand night so two yeah,
so two thousand night I remember.And even a few years after that,

(08:50):
when the iPhones first come out,first few years, I thought, like
a real light you know, Imean it still appeared like my we both
got our phones, and it storedus to me. When I've got it,
you know, it's worse. It'snice. But they comment everyone's got
one of the kids. Yeah.You know, what was your first mobile
phone that you ever had? Itwas a Nokia No, it was a

(09:15):
motor roller yeah, um, andI bought it from our goss arts in
fact, Ilkeston, another place youused to live. And it was a
flip phone. No, not oneof them like razor ones. No no,

(09:35):
no, never had to sink oneof those. It was kind of
quite big. But but mine wasAnkia thirty two ten of course, and
then they did like thirty three tensindustry, I think, so shnake.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, indeed. And I had like a leopard skin

(10:00):
because you could change the past.Yeah, the cover is and I had
a leopard skin one. I thoughtI was so cool when I was twelve.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, I mean the agaphones, bachelors
stages. Oh my god, likedays. I don't know who the hell
I was talking to Anna, because, like you, she mates and she

(10:22):
lived out of the way a bit, so I suppose the country. So
Jar lived quite local to where sheworks, actually probably a couple of miles.
Often she would walk back listening onher MP three player or on her
phone or whatever, you know,listening to music or sometimes on occasion a
colleague would give her a lift down. So to the tenth of March twenty

(10:46):
eleven, so as you use yourJar finished work at five pm and she
was last seen by the man atthe security gate or the security man or
whatever at the entrance to the factoryyou know where the long drive is into
the Yeah, um, so heeat because obviously she finished it five to
walk down the drive and ESAA justkind of you kind of come out of

(11:07):
the Thornton's basically in turn right,so that's where she was last seen.
And yeah, and he described asjust having her head phones on with a
hood up, hood pulled up.Um, she then turn I think it
would have been I'm just thinking likewise, it would have been quite dark.
Well, yeah, I was goingto mention that. I mean, it's

(11:28):
March, it's tenth of March,and it's five pm, so getting dark,
I would say, would dark dark? Because definitely a twice Yeah,
that's what I would think. Yeah. So yeah, she turned offt onto
the path and locals apparently called thatthe yellow Brick Road. I'm not sure.
Well, I remember at the timewhen that was in the papers.

(11:50):
I'd never heard of that nickname atall. I don't know if the stone
that you use is slightly yellow limestoneperhaps yellow limestones, oh right, yeah,
maybe, But I remember doing somefollowing this. You know, we
have an interesting true crime. Shortlyafter this happened, I went up there,

(12:13):
which kind of was a bit Ithink you've you've pointed it out to
me. Yeah, I think,I think yeah, when we used to
live. Yeah, and I don'tremember it being yellow, but anyway,
it might be nothing to do withthat. Um. And like Rachel you
said, yeah, I thought aboutthis when I was researching for this that
um, you know, first partof March five PM. Yeah, quite

(12:37):
dark. Although you know, aswe know, as we've said before in
other cases, you know, Um, that's not to say that she shouldn't.
I'm not trying to blame, butreality though, isn't it. You
know? Yeah, something you wouldhave been quite set the scene. Now,
the path if you imagine, Ithink we're Thornton is it's at the

(13:00):
bottom of an industrial estate and wherethe path is I think, I think
all of that area I think Ithink it was in the seventies when the
industrial state was built. But someof where Thornton's and the path is,
or all of it or just someof it used to be a mine,
a pit, you know, acolt, a coal mine. But I

(13:24):
think that closed, I think likelate sixties. So what it was in
between, I mean, I don'tknow how long Fulton's factory has been there
as well, So so my pointsaying that is is the path if you
imagine the path kind of loose sortof stone path, it's not like muddy,
it's like stone going up. Andthis is how it was. It's

(13:48):
interesting enough it's been changed since.And then to the left of the path,
probably ten feet from where the pathis, it's kind of like plantation
of trees. And I seem tothink by the age of the trees,
I'm a tree special I should n'tstand. But you know they're not dead
old, if you see what Imean. I think it was like done

(14:11):
when the path was dawn, whenthe yeah, and all that. So
it's quite an isolated it's quite anisolated place. I think, well,
we walked down it, didn't weighI thought it was quite isolated. Did
we walk down that one? Ithink so because I remember you saying it
to me, Yeah we did,Actually didn't we Yeah? Yeah, it's
like a little like ditty Yeah,but you know, now it's in the

(14:31):
middle. The path is in themiddle kind of of the trees. Now
it used to be to the lefthand side or to the right, and
I remember you saying it would havebe the right hand side when jar was
coming back from where obviously the lefthand side when she was going to work.
But now it's kind of in thepath where she would have got over
to walk straight on on the oldpath, as jar would know. That's
kind of been the style. It'sbeen like it's just got a fence there.

(14:56):
Now whether that's because of what happenedthere or I don't see, as
it would be no idea, justinteresting. Um. So that was a
route that you know that job wouldobviously know very very well, and it
would cut off probably m probably likea third off a journey time. It's

(15:24):
a short yeah, yeah, itis because where Thornton's is where she worked,
it's kind of at the bottom ofthe industrial state. Do you remember,
Rachel when we went to walk there. So it's quite a war before
you even get to the yeah,the industrial state, you see, because
you come off the other side ofimportance, get on your left. Yeah,
yeah, So she would have donethat this journey loads and loads and
loads of time. However, thatday, so she was last seen as

(15:48):
I say about the watchman or doyou call them security amount or whatever,
and that was it. She that'sthe last time she was seeing alive.
Now that's obviously she never got home, never returned home. Now, her
husband Matthew, who I think Imentioned, he was hopefully he still is.

(16:11):
I don't know, you know,a music teacher, I think to
secondary school and you know, Idon't know what time he time to teachers
finished and know what times classes?I don't know, Say you got home
R five, that's you know,she wasn't there, and obviously is thinking
what where is she? Um?Now, you know, obviously he would

(16:37):
have tried ringing her in a response. I don't know who he knew,
who else he knew, any kindof work colleagues and stuff. But initially,
as quite often this happens, doesn'tit to rule the person closest to
them suspicion fellow Matthew and I rememberlistening to this. I remember being on
the news at the time. Youknow that he'd been questioned whether it's actually

(17:03):
rested or whether he kind of voluntarilyI mean, you've got nothing to wide
you would voluntarily? I would,yeah, of course. I was like,
yeah, you can do whatever youwant. Isn't my phone, isn't
whatever? You know, do whateveryou want with it. Yeah, And
they'll always look at like, youknow, boyfriend or well I think I
think I think suspicion's got a littlewere kind of heightened, And I remember

(17:25):
this being imported as well. Wasthat the night before, so Matthew would
not seen his wife John until sincethe night before and they slept apart following
some kind of argument. Matthew wouldstayed in the travel lodge at Alfreton,
which is obviously you know where thatis staying. It's still there, yeah,

(17:51):
near the yeah yeah, yeah,yeah, basically just a few miles
away. He stayed there the nightbefore and then after some kind of argument.
You know, everyone has arguments,certainly, and then he although must
have been a bit of a bigone, although it depends on their tolerance
of do you know to me somepeople's tolerance in arguments, Maybe I have

(18:11):
told you to go down to thePremier. I mean, I mean,
we've got premier in down here,and I'd be living there permanently if my
tolerance if tolerance for Obviously he wasinterviewed by Darbish Constabulary, but he was
subsequently quite quickly cleared of any wrongdoingat all. Surely he had an alibi

(18:32):
as well if he was at work, well he yeah, I mean obviously
if if yeah, I mean,well that's it, I mean, if
if matt Matthew, because he wouldn'thave had enough time to like, no,
I mean he was probably someone probablysaid, well, he didn't leave
work till quarter to five, andthen I don't know where he lived.

(18:53):
He might have worked worked, hemight have works forty five minutes away,
and then it would have been possible, you know, but there again,
what time did your are anyway,Biddy was cleared, So after Matthew was
completely cleared of anyone doing at all, obviously missing person investigation began. Unfortunately,

(19:14):
three days later, Joe's body wasfound in the plantation of trees to
the left of the path as Idescribed earlier. And a surprise, it
took three days to be honest,there's a mountain rescue team actually that well,
they would have just been opening withthe it's not mountainous, but it
would have just been oping with thesearch, wouldn't it, is what I
mean, it's just more hands onthem. It is quite a surprising that

(19:38):
actually, because the sleem awards whereshe was, where the path cuts through
is is I mean, it's easyto say this. I was going to
say, it's not very big.I guess if he's searching for it's probably
bigger than it seems. When hesearching for something but and surely that would

(19:59):
have been one of the firs placesto search the world have known that anyway
anyway, Um, so it's inthe plantation of trees, should be physically
assaulted. Um. And her injurieswould describe our police as horrendous to her
head and chest. Um. Itwas thought that the injuries that Jar sustains

(20:22):
were from kicking and punching, whichis actually no sexual element at all.
To the to the death, tothe to the to the murder. But
the actual cause of death was actuallyI mean, this is horrendous. Was
one of the one of her ownatria in a chest basically crushed, you

(20:42):
know, Um, so she wouldhave cardiac arrest, she would have it
was actually ruptured. Um yeah.Um. And then police said, you
know, it looked as though,you know, it'd obviously made some kind
of attempt to have a shit attemptthere into it. I mean he tried

(21:03):
to sort of cover air up andthen belonging just strewn everywhere and chaos.
It wasn't very well something maybe wouldn'tit, So understandal and Matthew was absolutely
devastated, calling Jars quote pocket princesssnap. Jar was only a very petite
lady. She was only four footten six stone, so tiny, Yeah,

(21:27):
all of you. I'm five oneand a half the half, it's
very important and five one and ahalf so yeah, so she's very small,
onesn't she? Yeah, And evenso it would still surely still took

(21:48):
quite a bit of pressure to Yeah. Yeah, I mean I've never I've
never tried. I'd imagine Jesus.So she only had a little size two
feet size too, size too,Yeah was she she was a small age.
So Matthew added that jar was atotally selfless person and she would she

(22:11):
got a kick out of helping others, encouraging others. So obviously now started
a full on murder investigation with ninetypolice officers on the case. And I
do remember them being several roadblocks inthe area at the time, but it
kind of appeared to be sort ofstopping just seemingly random cause at the time.

(22:33):
So sure there was some method toit, yeah you well, yeah,
I mean, I'm not a policeofficer frommer It didn't look like there's
any method to it. But it'shard to know where to start with that
though. Well that leads me onsegues into so there was some CCTV from
a nearby pub called the Coats Park, which is kind of at the top

(22:56):
of the kind of middle of anindustry of the state, just up from
Thornton's. Now, the CCTV wasfrom the evening of the murder. They
established that she was murdered on thatevening. Yeah, so you know she's
the bodish been found by now,so they know exactly when she was died,
well near enough so to our knowledge, and obviously with the ironsight that

(23:21):
now we know who the killer isthat obviously we're going to talk about the
man that was on the CCTV.I mean, God knows who he was.
He never came forward and he certainlywasn't the man who killed him.
And he didn't look like anything.He didn't look he doesn't look with the
grainy CCTV footage, he doesn't looklike a man whom so he was kind

(23:41):
of aren't the equation really, buthe's as I say, he's certainly not
the murder of m Paige. Butobviously you know that that if it's on,
if he's a pub just up theroad, you're certainly going to go
with that, aren't you. Idon't know why because we're not privy,
are we to all the information thatthe police, all their rationale why they
thought that was worthy of looking at. You know, maybe it was a

(24:04):
man that the Boar staff never metbefore, didn't know who was. Maybe
he was acting what they termed asbizarrely, but then there's a lot of
people around either and bizarrely they yeah, well, you know, an idea.
So now on the day of themurder as well, obviously this information

(24:27):
came to like when Joe's body wasmurdered. Now the path where job walked
and the woods near you know,it's quite a popular dog walking place as
well. You know, it's it'sideal, really, isn't it. Now.
A dog walker or dog walkers onthat day described seeing a blow a

(24:49):
man and I think he's described aslike thick sets, quite tall, and
he was he looked I think theysaid, he looked disheveled or possibly homeless.
And when and apparently when the thisman spotted these dog walker or dog

(25:12):
walkers looking at him, he kindof nipped back in the in the world,
trying to kind of keep out ofso waiting for something well perhaps well,
well we'll so he was definitely somebodythat the police wanted to speak to.
Very interesting in speaking to now andagain, I'll kind of come onto

(25:33):
this, but the artist impression thatwas issued at the time was a pretty
good one actually, as it turnsout, of the bloke. Yeah,
usually they're Shier's face. Yeah.You know, when I was a kid,
they used to do these photo fitthings where they're like the eyes were
like different than Dick these eyes.When I was almost I guess who or
something, Yeah, yeah, that'sthat's that's sort of I was on it,

(25:56):
and I remember I don't know ifanyone ever remember this, but when
I was I couldn't been very oldat all. There was this program I
think it was about Off six andit was called I don't know what it
was on in actually more ever listenedto us. But if she can remember
this or whatever she says, shedoes find out there's a program with a
bloke called Shure Taylor. Any personI've ever known that's Christian was sure.

(26:22):
But it was called Police five theprogram, and I remember having these photo
fits songs. I think it wasabout Off six in an evening or once
a week or whatever. I rememberthinking like that was anyone going to recognize.
This was when I was a kid. Has anyone going to recognize?
I digress but police five. I'msure it's on YouTube. I mean before

(26:44):
my time coming the kind of ohgod, yeah yeah, yeah, yeah
yeah. But people have a youknow it certain age one. Whether the
police at this time and any otherI'm sure they did have other inquiries of
inquiry, but they were they weredefinitely concentrating the efforts on the person seeing

(27:07):
in the woods on the evening ofJaws Murder. Now police were able to
take DNA from Jaws body and belongingsum. And it's written in several places.
Actually when I did the research forthis episode that police search a homeless
register as the war because you know, it was this bloke homeless and I

(27:30):
didn't know there was a register.No, I didn't. That's what I
say. That's no coffin. It'sjust sort of teething Rachel Any. He's
only two months older. That's fun. He's the yawning. Actually we had
yawning before that to be there.So so this homeless register, you can

(27:52):
register office homeless at the council.We are we bad parents for speaking about
such going interesting anyway, Yeah,saw a homeless register I've never heard about.
Yeah, because if you imagine,if you think, when some people
get discharged from hospital, yeah,get ald to go on registers homeless.

(28:12):
So fair enough. So anyway,it threw up the name. I don't
know it threw up the name.I don't know if he entered homeless man
looking like a homeless or hygiene becauseobviously if you're homeless, it's going to
be the last thing on you bloodymind into it. I mean, your
bush in your air means more aboutkeeping warm and drying it. So anyway,

(28:40):
I suppose it brought up all thenames as well. But one such
name that it came up was aname of David Simmons. David David Simmons,
remember that name. That's a naughtyman's name if I ever heard one.
All this fuckers are very nawt JesusDavid Simmons. So he was twenty
one years old at the time,and he was often nicknamed Smithy. And

(29:03):
the James Corden's character from Gavin Stacey. I hate that program. I'm not
massive fan of James cordon I mean, I'm sure he I'm sure he won't
wouldn't give a toss or. Ithink. I'm sure it's a lovely blown
I just I's finding really annoying.Oh no, I like her. I
think he's got more annoying since he'sgone to America. Albeit, this David
Simmons that we're talking about in here, he was six foot one, who's

(29:26):
like a six foot one version andnineteen nineteen one nine stone, although to
be for James Gordon, probably hisnineteen I know he's an away, Oh
he did, but I think he'sput on again. Anyway, we're not
fat shaming anyone. I'm I'm justsaying, well, no, I'm just
saying he's a big I'm saying thatthis David Simmons is nineteen stone. I'm
kind of mentioned in his weight becauseI'm listened to her. That's absolutely ginormal.

(29:51):
Well he's not. He's he's areal odd man. Inte. He's
nineteen stone, six foot one,she's four foot ten and six stone.
Gone your own side, so there'sno wonder that anyway, we'll come onto
it. So obviously as well,you know, he did fit ish the
artist impression, and it was alsoknown that he had been to What we're

(30:17):
saying in the UK is sign on, so he was in all Briton,
which he just let their own onthe same day. So he was in
the vicinity. So they knew.They didn't know for definitely that it was
you know, Daniel Thornton's on thefootpath, but they knew he was in
that vicinity. I think his momlived in Hina, which is about six
miles away. They knew. Andwas he homeless then, well, I'll

(30:40):
come onto that a little bit.But he had readist as homeless. He
was still on that kind of readistbut technically he had been dossing somewhere.
But I'll well, i'll contar.So, yeah, he was claiming job
seekers allowance and it had been tosign on the Alton Job Center, which
is you know, from the footpathwhere job was on, probably a couple

(31:03):
of miles. So he was definitelyno So he was placed in the vicinity
and now he'd been living. Justanswer Rachel your question about was he homeless?
Was he technically he was on aregister for being homeless, but he'd
been kind of dossing or living abovethis Indian restaurant on I think it's an

(31:25):
Indian on Derby Road in Heina,which I think is also where his mother
lived, not above the She didn'talso live in the bedsit thing above that,
but she lived in Heina And asa you know, it's about six
seven miles away in at Hina fromso there was Alfredton job center would be
the closest job center, wouldn't it? Sor would makes sense that he went

(31:47):
to Alfreton. We have to goto a particular one, right, So
maybe where he was living before hewas made homeless, maybe he was living
nearer that one. That's why hegot designated. He had to go to
off for two. Yeah, Idon't know that. Yeah, but was
he living at that one in Hinaofficially? Was it just like chucking a
few quid to the restaurant staff?Yeah? Disclaimer, I don't know if

(32:09):
there any restauran stuff, know anythingabout or whatever. I'm just Indian just
saying. I'm just saying what personor a meal. So obviously police they
wanted to speak to him. Um. He denied any involvement at all.

(32:30):
Um And of course yeah, heit had been as I said, moment
didn't He had been kind of driftingfrom job to job, but he was
currently I don't know if he wasdoing a bit of like cashing and work
in the restaurant. I might bejust making that up. Obviously the restaurant,

(32:54):
they they they what it's illegal.They didn't know anything about what he'd
you know, kind of done orwhatever. Now there's a DNA match and
he was arrested on the fifth ofMay twenty eleven. It were charge of
meader on the sixth of May,and he was old on remand DNA was

(33:14):
found. Then was it like onher belongings? Well, there was,
there was DNA on the phone.The phone was snapped in two on a
bag you know where they chucked itand on the body. No, no,
so it was old on Remander thevery grim indeed, Nottingham prison.
I just wanted to school with someonethat he was. I think he was
done for defraud in a company orsomething. Jesus and I think he I

(33:39):
think he went to Nottingham for abit before he went to an open prison
and he said it was horrendous.Obviously it's prison. I'm all for it.
Well, yeah, I embraced alot then tough. So during the
police, you know, obviously gettingall the information together for the trial,
Simmons was found to have gone heactually went to a fish and chips takeaway

(34:00):
on the evening of Jars Murder,and he made mention to the staff when
when he when he went in thefish and chip shop that he I think
he had scratches on his arms andhe hands. And obviously, you know,
the staff aren't going to say whetherwe knew this staff on speaking,
you know, like just chat levelsor what. I don't know, but

(34:22):
he kind of made a point ofsaying, oh, you know, these
scratches here, and he kind ofmade it was kind of like you were
the hero for breaking up a fightor something, so he kind of,
yeah, um, it was onhis mind. Clearly he would be on
it. So whether we you know, we're never going to know, are
we, unless he decides to say, But were these scratches Were they from

(34:45):
jar fighting back or were was itfrom him? You know? Or the
trees and the bushes, because thesethese this plantation, yeah, there are
from what I remember, Yeah,the kind of I think they're kind of
like ash trees, and but they'renot very they're not it's not a very
mature. Yeah, they're not verydead. No, but I think there's

(35:08):
some light bushes in as well thatyou could kind of scratch itself. I
mean, we don't know doing.I know it's only a minor point.
But um, but as we saidearlier on, I mean there's probably you
know, blessed, probably not alot of fighting. But because the size
of this twight compared with jar,I mean he was three times away.
So eventually admitted to the murder.Now a search of his belongings in this

(35:30):
bedsit come dost or what. Idon't know what it was, this little
plat thing. I remember driving byand looking at it. It's like a
little light window where he lived in. Um right, looks a bit grim.
There was a letter addressed to hismum and his belongings saying that sorry
everyone in your life. Although therewas no such note to you know,
sorry everyone taking your life, jobor sor ever in your life Matthew or

(35:53):
do you know what I mean?It was a true His more So eventually
played guilty at Nottingham Crown Court,and on the twenty ninth September twenty eleven
he was sentenced four. Oh Iguess, oh that's quite price. That
es actually in a good way,Oh, in a good way, okay.
Um. Twenty year twenty eight years. Oh shit, Yeah, I

(36:15):
thought that was I thought that wasgood. That parole as part to that.
No idea whether he saves off forthat, I mean, that's for
just think that our time goes onif he saved off and I don't know
if this is the case, andno idea, and presumably he's going to
get parole into depends what he's like, I mean, on his behavior.
But but obviously sometimes people get sentencedwith no chance to say, you've got
to save your sentence or a minimumall. Yeah, I guess they'd look

(36:37):
at like, had he previous offensesand yes, certainly he didn't have any
other previous offenses anything like this.Yeah, it was it was this was
like the first being Oh god,yeah, yeah, you know, I
think but if he did have tosave fourteen years twenty twenty five, that's
five years. That's not long.Is it taking someone's life? You know?
Anyway, we won't get onto thatbecause I think we've mentioned that before.

(36:59):
Detectives Superintendent Terry Brannon of Dobbs Policeso he called Simmons quote an habitual
liar, and he kind of hemade every attempt, you know, denying,
trying to give them false information andtrying to and I think that together

(37:20):
with um kind of the ferocity ofthe attack probably didn't help his and deny
and denying it for quite a longtime. Why why why? What was
what was the Well, there's somediscussion about that. I mean, you
know, it tempted to be there'sthere's some discussion about that and didn't appear

(37:40):
to be any motive. Now whatthey think was that? You know,
was it robbery gone wrong? Washe was it well, I mean,
obviously it was the wrong place onetime for jaw But was he hanging down
there to rob someone? Was hejust hanging out down there? It was
an opportunist? Did he intend tokill as he turned to rot but then
he went too far and she foughtback? And maybe maybe maybe he's not

(38:08):
said, certainly not reported that he'ssaid, whether he's whether he has now,
whether he will when he when hewants to maybe get parole and you
know, play the system. Whoknows? Who knows? Matthew so Jars
husband. You know, he wassaying basically I'm paraphrasing here, but he

(38:30):
was kind of not looking forward tothe trial, but he was he wanted
the trial to come around. Itwas about six months after Job died,
and he wanted to try and getsome kind of closure and he said he
but he said that you know,no sentence is ever enough. And he
said that he'd try and you know, live his life. How he knew
that Job would want him to.You know, they spoke together before about

(38:52):
well, they said about having children, said that that was never going to
happen. But dimensioned about if youhad mentioned before about wanting to be worked
to be a head teacher of aschool and maybe progresses music qualifications, you
know as music teacher, would takethat further. And you know, he

(39:15):
said, Job I was very encouragingof that. Yeah, you can do
it. You know, you cando it, do whatever you want to
do. And and obviously it's wellnine just over nine years since she was
murdered. It is very sun whereMatthew, whether Matthews still living where he

(39:35):
did live or where they lived.I mean, they don't know why that,
I mean that must be um.I don't know, you'd kind of
want to stay in the same assbecause it's where you had all the good
memories. But then is it toomuch? But then you wouldn't you feel
bad like moving as well? Ithink that's how I'd feel, like,
yeah, I said, well,because it's something that you'll never get back,

(39:55):
is the house, how it workedand everything. But then you know,
it's like if you lose anyone,but then you want it to be
like become a shrine to you know, it's hard. Into it, it's
hard, and it's different for everyone. No, and with a dying in
that it's not like she don't getme wrong, must be hard enough if
the if somebody dies of a terribleillness, but when he died in that,

(40:19):
you know, in that in that, in that violence, and it's
only like two miles up the roadwhere she died, I mean would I
don't know of a life literally likea reason makes it better, but like
literally that I mean, you know, it's Jaw's life first and foremost,
and mum in China. She cameover the trial you know obviously Matthew and

(40:47):
it's it's awful, isn't it.I mean, so I hope wherever Matthew
is, maybe he's still there.I hope he did achieve or he's working
towards achieving some of the goals thathe having. Jaw spoken, blessom.
So you've enjoyed this episode of Mador Bad and what is a very sad
case? Actually, has I've beencovered by any other podcast? I've never

(41:09):
I mean, look, there thereare loads of there are loads of bloody
true camp podcasts, very point notany that well obviously, I mean we
listened to similar ones, don't we? Not any that I've listened to,
and I know I've never heard ofit before you told me so. Um
yeah, we will see you intwo weeks time for a long episode again,

(41:35):
Thank you, goodbye. As always, catch us on Facebook dot com
forward slash mad or Bad. Youcan catch us on Twitter. Our handle
is at mad or about the pod. And also we now have a Patreon
account, so please go look usup at us Patreon dot com forward slash
mad or Bad. You can accessexclusive content. We have exclusive episodes only

(41:59):
available two patron supporters, so umyeah, go find us