TAUNTON MAN JAILED FOR STRANGLING WOMAN AFTER REJECTION
Martin Corns killed Heather Jordan, 34, after she rejected his advances and tore up his final love letter.He lay in wait and strangled her as she crossed Lyngford Park in Taunton on her way to work at a cleaning job at 5:15am on Sunday, February 18, 2018.
He tried to make the attack look like a robbery by stealing her purse and dropping some of its contents nearby.
She had told her family and colleagues that she was going to lodge a formal complaint of sexual harassment against him on February 19.
He started spying on her home and following her around after they started working together as cleaners at Boots and became friends.
A love letter he had written her, which she had torn up, was found scattered around her body before police put it back together.
The letter said: “I can't wait to spend my life with you.
Hopefully, that won't be too long, my darling.
Remember, I love you so, so much and always will.” Corns, a divorcé, wanted a sexual relationship with Jordan and offered to marry her, but she said she only wanted a ‘committed friendship’.
She ended their relationship by text two days before her death.
Corns bombarded her with more than 2,000 texts and calls, watched her home, followed her around at work, and became increasingly possessive and jealous.
The court heard that Corns was convinced that Heather was seeing her Boots supervisor and refused to accept her denials.
A life sentence was handed down at Exeter Crown Court, with a minimum of 17 years before parole could be considered.
