UK - Claire Knights, 54, diabetic, last seen a.m. Upstreet village, nr Canterbury, Kent, later in Minnis Bay, 23 Aug 2023 *arrest*

There also has been a young male who was missing the night of the 22nd August in exactly this area, appeal put out by Kent Police. He has since been found.

This is the man who has been charged.

An article in The Isle of Thanet News gives confirmation of the fact that he had been found, together with other personal details.

The Isle of Thanet News website artcile

At the time the article was written, there was nothing to officially link him to Claire's murder, although I suspect that one or two of us here had made the link in our own minds.
 
There's a picture of him on the right here in an earlier news article about his employer.

 
Today Lawrence-van Pooss, from Margate, appeared via live link at Maidstone Crown Court from the NHS Trevor Gibbens mental health unit in the town where he spoke only to confirm his name.

His Honour Judge Julian Smith, Honorary Recorder, set a Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing for December 19 at Canterbury Crown Court.

He also listed a provisional date for a three week trial to begin at the same court on June 3 next year.

Lawrence-van Pooss was remanded in custody.

 
In a hearing at Canterbury Crown Court on Tuesday, Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss pleaded guilty to Ms Knights’ murder. The 21-year-old, of Margate, also pleaded guilty to using a mobile phone under a woman’s clothing without her consent for the purpose of sexual gratification in a separate incident the day before the murder on August 22.
The pleas comes ahead of a trial set for the case in March next year, after it was pushed back from June this year. It also follows a number of medical reports and mental health assessments
 
The murderer of a dog walker in Thanet is to have his life sentence reviewed by the Court of Appeal.

In February, Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss was sentenced for the sexual assault and murder of Claire Knights.

The 54-year-old local artist was reported missing after walking near Minnis Bay, in Birchington, in August 2023.

Her body was found two days later by her son and his friends, hidden by reeds and grasses in the dyke.
 

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