Ann Widdecombe’s final messages sent minutes before death revealed
Newly released exchanges have revealed that Ann Widdecombe stopped responding to text messages just minutes before police thought she had been attacked.
Police said on Saturday they believed Ms Widdecombe was likely attacked around 12.30am on Wednesday, around 24 hours before she was found dead at her Dartmoor home.
They have since arrested the 28-year-old British national at an address in the South Yorkshire area on suspicion of murder.
According to ITV News, the former Conservative minister was preparing to make a remote guest appearance on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright program when he suddenly stopped responding to a producer.
WhatsApp correspondence seen by the broadcaster shows Ms Widdecombe’s last message arrived at 12.19pm: “Received! Panic over!!”
He and the producer had been chatting and joking regularly from at least 12:14 onwards in preparation for the interview slot that appeared earlier that morning on TalkTV.
The messages show Ms Widdecombe read a reply at 12.19pm advising her to text again if she had any problems, but did not open another message with a time stamp of 12.48 asking her to join a Zoom meeting.
Five minutes later the chat show’s producer tried to call her, followed by a forwarded but unread message: “Hi Ann, is everything okay?”
Two more voice calls went unanswered at 13.05 and 13.14 in the afternoon.
Allwright said Ms Widdecombe was supposed to appear as a guest on her 1.27pm show but did not.
Channel 5 production staff notified his manager on Wednesday evening and followed up on Thursday morning, before ambulance crews found him at his home and notified police at 11.40am, according to ITV.
Devon and Cornwall Police said on Saturday they believed Ms Widdecombe was attacked around 12.30pm, after her last text message and before she stopped opening messages.
Channel 5 presenter Dan Walker confirmed on Friday that Ms Widdecombe was scheduled to appear on Daytime 5 on Wednesday afternoon but “stopped responding to messages and did not appear on the programme”.
“The team contacted his manager and asked them to check on him. This information was passed on to the police as part of the investigation,” he wrote on social media.
Police also said a 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder in South Yorkshire on Saturday. The suspect is a white British national and is currently in police custody.
Police said there was no information that the murder was linked to terrorism or politically motivated.
Cloud9 Management, which represented Ms Widdecombe, announced her tragic death on Friday: “It is with great shock and sadness that today we announce the passing of Rt Hon Ann Widdecombe DSG, aged 78. Cloud9 Management represented Ann for over a decade and she will be greatly missed.”
A timeline of Ann Widdecombe’s last known movements as the murder investigation was launched:
Wednesday, July 8:
08:00: Ann Widdecombe makes her last public appearance with a remote interview on TalkTV.
Afternoon: Ms Widdecombe is in contact with an investigator from Channel 5 before appearing remotely on the Matt Allwright program at 1pm, according to ITV.
12:19pm: Following the exchange of messages, the investigator receives a final message from Ms Widdecombe, 40 minutes before her interview.
12:48pm: The investigator messaged again asking Ms Widdecombe to join a Zoom link. He doesn’t answer. They tried texting and calling again but to no avail. The investigative team contacts his representative and follows up on Thursday.
Thursday, July 9:
11.40am: Police officers were called to Ms Widdecombe’s home in Haytor by ambulance. There are reports that he was found by a gardener or caretaker early that morning.
Friday, July 10:
06:30: Miss Widdecombe’s death is first reported.
5.47pm: Devon and Cornwall police say a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. They identified him as a 26-year-old white British national and arrested him in Newton Abbot, about nine miles away.
Saturday, July 11:
6:30 a.m.: Police say the man arrested Friday “has since been released” and is no longer part of the investigation.
23:36: Police say they have arrested a 28-year-old man in South Yorkshire on suspicion of Ms Widdecombe’s murder.
