The final WhatsApp messages sent by Ann Widdecombe have revealed a heartbreaking timeline that investigators believe may identify the moment her suspected killer struck.
The former Conservative cabinet minister was exchanging messages with a producer from Channel 5 ahead of a scheduled live television appearance on Wednesday afternoon when the conversation suddenly came to an unexplained halt.
According to WhatsApp messages obtained by ITV News, the producer was discussing Ms Widdecombe’s planned appearance on Matt Allwright’s Channel 5 programme and was arranging for her to join a Zoom call from her home.
The pair exchanged messages regularly between 12:14pm and 12:19pm.
At 12:19pm, Ms Widdecombe sent what would become her final known message.
“Received! Panic over!!”
Records show she read the producer’s immediate reply at 12:19pm, indicated by WhatsApp’s double blue ticks. However, every message sent after that remained unread.
The producer attempted to reconnect with Ms Widdecombe by sending another message at 12:48pm before making several unanswered phone calls.
At 12:55pm, growing increasingly concerned, the producer wrote:
“Hi Ann is everything ok?”
Just over half an hour later, at 1:27pm, presenter Matt Allwright informed viewers during the live programme that Ms Widdecombe had been expected as a guest but had failed to appear.
The production team later contacted both Ms Widdecombe’s agent and her representatives on Wednesday and again on Thursday after they were unable to reach her.
All of the WhatsApp conversations have since been handed over to Devon and Cornwall Police as part of the murder investigation.
Detectives now believe the 78-year-old was attacked at around 12:30pm on Wednesday, just minutes after her final exchange of messages.
Ms Widdecombe’s body was discovered at approximately 11:40am on Thursday inside her remote cottage in Haytor, Dartmoor, after she suffered serious injuries.
Earlier that same morning, she had appeared on TalkTV to discuss the Clacton by-election, with nothing suggesting anything was wrong.
Meanwhile, a 26-year-old man who had been arrested on suspicion of murder has now been released from police custody and is no longer part of the investigation.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Longman confirmed that detectives are continuing to search for a suspect believed to be a white male.
“Our inquiries are moving at pace for a suspect who is believed to be a white male.”
Police have urged the public to avoid speculation while officers continue to pursue multiple lines of enquiry.
Meanwhile, investigators are also examining reports of a suspicious vehicle seen near Ms Widdecombe’s isolated home on the morning of the attack.
A garage manager in Haytor told The Telegraph that a colleague noticed a dark Volkswagen Golf Mk4 parked in an unusual location near the property at around 9am on Wednesday.
The witness said the driver appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties, wearing shorts and a T-shirt while putting on walking boots before heading toward the direction of Ms Widdecombe’s cottage.
“He was doing up his walking boots. He was in his late 20s, maybe early 30s. He was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I remember thinking ‘Why is he parked there?'”
“It didn’t look like he fitted in. You don’t see many late 20s, early 30s men around here. He was heading up in that direction.”
Police later contacted the garage to ask whether CCTV footage of the vehicle existed, but none was available.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime friend of Ms Widdecombe, visited the scene to lay flowers and suggested he believes the killing was carefully planned rather than a burglary gone wrong.
“From what I can see of it, from what I can make out, this was premeditated murder.”
He added:
“Whether it was politically motivated, whether it was somebody with a grudge, I don’t think it pays at this moment in time to speculate.”
Police continue carrying out forensic searches around the property as the investigation into Ms Widdecombe’s death remains ongoing.
