A man charged with killing Yellow Brick Road murder victim Jia Ashton worked for the same company as the economics graduate, it was claimed yesterday. David Simmonds, 21, is believed to have previously worked at Thorntons chocolate factory, where Miss Ashton was employed as a management trainee.
The man, whose family home is just a few feet away from where Miss Ashton was brutally battered to death, was at a nearby Indian restaurant when he was arrested.
Police raided the Spice Inn restaurant in Heanor, Derbyshire, on Thursday, where Mr Simmonds is believed to have worked as a waiter.
Residents described him as a pleasant and polite young man who was usually smartly dressed and had a shaved head.
Mrs Ashton, 25, was murdered eight weeks ago as she walked her usual mile-and-a-half route home along a path known locally as the Yellow Brick Road in Somercotes.
Her body was discovered on March 13 covered in twigs and brushwood after a search and rescue team checked nearby woods.
Her husband Matthew Ashton, 26, a primary school teacher and piano instructor, was originally arrested for her murder but was later released without charge.
He referred to his wife as his ‘pocket princess’ – a reference to her standing just 4ft 10in tall. Read More
