A man who murdered an artist after ambushing her while she walked her dog near a Kent beach has been jailed for life.
Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss, 21, must serve a minimum of 25-and-a-half years for killing Claire Knights in August 2023.
The sentence was handed down by Mr Justice Garnham at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday.
Van-Pooss, from Margate, had previously pleaded guilty to murdering the 54-year-old mother.
Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss has been jailed for life
PA
The court heard he ambushed Knights as she walked back to her car from the beach, sexually assaulted her, killed her and then concealed her body.
After the attack, he took her dog to a nearby shop and bought it treats.
Knights was reported missing on August 23, 2023.
Her family discovered her body two days later between St Nicholas at Wade and Minnis Bay while searching for her.
The artist from Upstreet, near Canterbury, had been walking her white and brown spaniel called Zebulon to the Minnis Bay area of Birchington.
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Claire Knights was out walking her dog when the attack occurred
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Mr Justice Garnham said Van-Pooss “launched an entirely unprovoked attack” on Knights.
“I have no doubt she was frightened and intimidated and overborne by you,” he told the court.
The judge added: “I find as a fact you forced her off that footpath and attacked her.”
Van-Pooss then committed a “violent sexual assault” and “beat Knights mercilessly”, causing catastrophic brain injuries.
Van-Pooss also pleaded guilty to an upskirting offence that occurred the day before the murder.
This separate incident on August 22 involved using a mobile phone under a woman’s clothing without her consent for sexual gratification.
He received a one-month prison sentence for this offence, to run concurrently with his murder sentence.
Makeshift camp Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss stayed in the night before the murder
PA
During the sentencing, the court heard Van-Pooss had never provided an honest account of events.
The judge said the defendant had at one stage claimed Knights made a sexual advance towards him, causing him to become angry.
Mr Justice Garnham dismissed this as “untrue and outrageous”.
The judge also stated that Van-Pooss “feigned psychotic behaviour” after the murder.
Stephen Moses KC, defending Van-Pooss, read a statement from the defendant which said: “There’s nothing I can do to make amends but hopefully you can find some solace in the truth and my incarceration.””I am so sorry.”
Moses submitted there was a lack of premeditation in the attack.
He noted the defendant was 20 years old at the time of the offence.
Van-Pooss had no previous convictions, cautions, or warnings, the court heard.
Evidence photos of items located after the murder
PA/Kent Police
Mr Justice Garnham said the targeting of a lone female created “widespread concern and anxiety in the local community”.
The judge added that after the assault, Van-Pooss pushed Knights into a dyke after she lost consciousness from her injuries.
Mr Justice Garnham read part of a statement from Knights’s sister during the sentencing.
The statement said: “Her death and in particular the cruel manner of her death has caused unspeakable pain and sorrow to all who knew her.”
Natalie Smith, from the Crown Prosecution Service South East, said: “None of us can imagine the terror that Claire suffered when she was attacked, knowing that she was alone on an isolated path and being overpowered by a strong and determined man.”
“It was our case that Lawrence Van-Pooss singled out Claire as a lone woman walking her dog who would be unable to fight him off.”
“Women should be free to safely walk on their own anywhere, even in isolated areas, without fear of being attacked.”
Claire Knights
PA
Smith continued: “Male violence against women has no place in our society.”
“The CPS is dedicated to bringing perpetrators like Lawrence Van-Pooss who commit these horrific crimes to justice.”
She added Knights’s family and friends had “shown true resilience and dignity throughout this horrendous time”.
“Today they have finally seen the man who murdered Knights jailed for life and we hope this brings them some small comfort,” Smith said.
The dog, Zebulon, was still with Van-Pooss when he was arrested by police.
The 54-year-old artist was remembered by her family as someone whose cruel death caused “unspeakable pain and sorrow to all who knew her”.