Overview
- Former MP Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her Haytor home in early July and police say she suffered severe blunt‑force head injuries; Joshua Kerry, 28, was charged with her murder on July 20 and remains remanded.
- The private Requiem Mass was held on Wednesday, August 12, at Buckfast Abbey with family and invited guests only and a small number of official photographs and the homily released by the abbey.
- Counter‑terrorism police have taken a leading role in parts of the investigation and have reopened a line of inquiry into a 2025 attack at Nigel Farage’s London home that investigators say was not fully pursued at the time.
- A court timetable is now set with a plea hearing due in November and a trial listed at the Old Bailey for June next year, keeping the prosecution and forensic work active through 2027.
- The family asked for privacy, asked the public not to bring flowers, and said donations will be split between the Leprosy Mission and Abound/CEH projects in India, while the case has prompted fresh scrutiny of police communications and politicians’ security.