A family has paid tribute to a 'kind' and 'beautiful' Canadian teenager who was allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend.

Ashley Wadsworth, 19, who flew to the UK to be with her boyfriend Jack Sepple, was pronounced dead at his home in Chelmsford, Essex, on February 1, after neighbours called the police over a disturbance.

Sepple, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with her murder with a provisional trial date set for September.

An inquest hearing held today heard she died from multiple stab wounds to the chest.  

In a family tribute released by Essex Police today, Ashley's family celebrated her 'spontaneous, witty, kind personality' and remembered her 'unforgettable laugh'.

They added: 'Ashley, you are beautiful to us, and we will miss you very, very, much.'

The teenager, who had travelled to the UK from her home in the small town of Vernon in British Columbia, Canada, was described as 'fiercely loving and loyal to her family and friends'.

Ashley's older sister Hailey said she will always treasure her younger sibling as her 'best friend.'

And her niece, Paisley, called her Aunty Ashley the 'best aunty ever' and thanked her for saving up her own money to buy her a first swing set.

Her family admired the teen's sense of adventure, having travelled extensively within Canada and also to Mexico, California and England.

She developed her desire for life experience while abroad and a love of language - speaking English, French and Spanish.

Ashley had dreams of becoming a lawyer and had been accepted to Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia.

She had also recently found her faith and was excited to share that with others.

The Wadsworth family, who can't travel to Essex at the moment, thanked the people of Chelmsford and specifically the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Helen and the Taylor family who organized Ashley's vigil, for their support.

They said: 'It has touched us so deeply, there are truly no words to express our gratitude.

'They were able to do something for Ashley that we couldn't, and we will be forever thankful.

'How lucky are we to have people from across the world care so much about a family that they have never met?' 

An inquest into Ms Wadsworth's death was opened in Chelmsford on Thursday morning.

The hearing was told that the teenager was found unresponsive and paramedics confirmed life extinct at 4.38pm.

A post-mortem examination recorded her provisional medical cause of death as 'stab wounds to the chest', the coroner's officer said.

Essex's senior coroner, Lincoln Brookes, suspended the inquest proceedings pending the outcome of criminal investigation.

Sepple, from Chelmsford, was not asked to enter pleas at an earlier hearing at Chelmsford Crown Court and was remanded in custody until a further hearing at the court on March 7. 

Ms Wadsworth, originally from Vernon, British Colombia, moved to Chelmsford in November 2021, she wrote on Facebook. 

Earlier this year, she posted photos online of her 'amazing trip to London', where she had been sightseeing.

It comes as the teenager's 'devastated' grandfather Jeff Wadsworth, 66, spoke out  this week about how he encouraged Ms Wadsworth to travel to the UK and thought she would have 'the time of her life'.

He told DailyMail.com he felt reassured because he thought the United Kingdom was a safe place.

He said: 'We're just devastated.

I can't believe it. I encouraged her to go - I thought it was going to be the time of her life.

'I never thought something like this would happen in England - I thought it was the safest place in the world. And it is a safe place - this is such a not normal thing.' 

Ms Wadsworth converted to Mormonism when she turned 18.

She moved to England on November 12 to 'escape small-town life,' and went to live with Sepple, who she had met through an online dating app. 

The pair enjoyed a tour around London landmarks and another one to Kent, both with Sepple's family. 

Ms Wadsworth flew to the UK from Vernon, a city around 273 miles northeast of Vancouver with a population of little over 43,000, according to its authority's website.  

Jeff described his granddaughter as a 'sweetheart' and said the aspiring law student adored winter sports.

He said: 'She was a sweetheart. She was very smart, she had a great attitude. He said she loved sports, especially ringette — a non-contact winter sport similar to hockey.

'She liked skiing; everything reall

/>She was a great kid.'

Ms Wadsworth parents Ken and Kristie were too upset to talk but devastated Hailey paid tribute to her sister when approached by DailyMail.com.

She said: 'We're going to be getting her hom
/>My girl took care of me so much. We did everything together. I don't think I ever went a day without talking to her.'

Mother-of-one Hailey added: 'This has been terrible. I'm so distraught. I've never felt so distraught. I'm los

/>It feels like a piece of me is missing.'

Her friends and 나눔로또파워볼 family have previously taken to Facebook to pay tribute to the teenager who had been a regular churchgoer back in her home country. 

Paying tribute, Great aunt Tova Wadsworth said that Ashley was on the 'trip of a lifetime' after arriving in the UK from her home in Vernon, British Columbia in November last year. 

She said: 'Ashley was a beautiful young lady and full of love and kindness for all in her life.

'This was a trip of a lifeti

br />Nothing of this makes any sense. Her family is heartbroken and struggles to understand.'

Ms Wadsworth was described as a 'woman of great faith' as she joined the Church of the Latter-day Saints aged 18.

Fellow churchgoer Daniel Seaman said: 'She was in England to live with her boyfriend, she was excited to live abroad and she always wanted to get out of the small town life in Vernon, BC.'