Murder of Claire Tiltman

[2] Claire Tiltman, a Year 11 pupil at Dartford Grammar School for Girls, took a short cut down an alleyway on her way to meet a friend near her home in Greenhithe.

He was charged on the day he was due to be considered for release by the parole board, having served 18 years of a life sentence for the two previous attacks on women.

In a victim impact statement, her uncle said: "The fact they allowed her out on the night of her death caused them a massive amount of pain.”[10] Ash-Smith was already a known violent offender, and was first identified as a suspect in the murder of Claire Tiltman almost 20 years before he was finally convicted.

[14] He denied attacking Claire, and had attended his victim's funeral a month after the killing with his Labour councillor parents, wearing the same beige jacket he had worn on the night of the murder.

[15] He was aged 24 at the time of Tiltman's murder, and working locally as a milkman, and still lived with his parents at their home in Swanscombe.

According to the CPS, Ash-Smith developed a pattern after the murder and set up false alibis on four occasions as well as increasing the ferocity and severity in his attacks.

[2] Colin was denied a Special Purpose Licence to attend his father's funeral after news that he could potentially be allowed a temporary release to do so was met with public outcry on social media.

[15] In November 2015, Ash-Smith launched an appeal against his conviction on the grounds that Mr Justice Sweeney had wrongly allowed "gravely prejudicial" material to go before the jury.

[18][19] Ash-Smith's conviction was among the cases featured in the BBC Four three-part documentary The Prosecutors, which showcases the CPS's work and the legal procedures behind a prosecution.

The large roundabout in Greenhithe by the McDonald's (the white building). Tiltman crossed the road in the distance, just after the roundabout, before entering an alleyway on the left hand side, where Colin-Smith stabbed her 49 times. She staggered back to the road and was found by passing motorists. There remains a memorial to her at the spot she was found. [ 1 ]
Whilst in prison, Ash-Smith told another inmate that he had attacked a girl who he had seen crossing the road on a zebra crossing. This was crucial in helping convict him, as Tiltman had crossed the road at this crossing before Ash-Smith stabbed her, whilst there were no crossings near to the sites of his other attacks.
Bluewater Shopping Centre is located less than half a mile from where the murder occurred.
St Mary's Church, Greenhithe stands across London Road from the alley in which the murder took place.