Man guilty of murdering ex-girlfriend in car park knife attack
A warehouse worker has been found guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend in a shopping centre car park after they met on Tinder.
The jury took less than four hours to convict Joshua Stimpson at Maidstone Crown Court on Tuesday after he stabbed 23-year-old Molly McLaren more than 75 times in Chatham, Kent, on June 29 last year.
The 26-year-old showed no emotion as the verdict was read out and there were gasps from Ms McLaren's family who burst into tears as they sat in the packed public gallery.
The university student dated Stimpson, of Wouldham near Rochester, for seven months but ended up reporting him to police.
She ended their relationship less than two weeks before he carried out a frenzied attack with a kitchen knife as she sat in her car outside the Dockside retail outlet.
Before standing trial he pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility but denied murder.
Judge Adele Williams said she wished to commend the courage of passerby Benjamin Morton who tried to save Ms McLaren from the attack.
He will be sentenced on Tuesday afternoon.
