Colin Ash-Smith is due to be jailed for life today for the murder of schoolgirl Claire Tiltman in Greenhithe more than two decades ago.

The former milkman showed no emotion yesterday as the verdict was read out at Inner London Crown Court.

The seven men and five women of the jury were sent out by Mr Justice Sweeney to begin deliberating whether Ash-Smith, 46, was guilty of the brutal stabbing of the 16-year-old on January 18, 1993.

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They returned the guilty verdict - finally granting justice for Claire after almost two decades. Sentencing is due to take place at 10am today.

After the verdict, Ash-Smith refused to return to the court dock to hear impact statements from Claire's uncle Roger Tiltman and best friend Lisa Gribbin.

Read out by prosecutor Brian Altman QC, both spoke of the devastating effect Claire's murder had - particularly on her parents, Cliff and Lin.

Cliff's brother, Roger, said all their "hopes and dreams" disappeared the night she was killed.

They had always been over-protective of Claire but felt that having turned 16 just four days earlier, she should have more freedom.

However, Mr Tiltman said that the decision caused "massive amounts of guilt".

He added that he believed Claire's death and the resulting stress led to the couple's early deaths.

Lin was just 56 when she died in 2008 from cancer of the oesophagus and Cliff developed five inoperable tumours before dying at the age of 62 in 2012.

Roger Tiltman, who was not in court, added in his statement: "It is very sad that Cliff and Lin could not be in court today to see the person who killed Claire has finally been brought to justice."

Mrs Gribbin, who was one of Claire's friends who set up the Justice for Claire campaign, wrote of the "beautiful and loyal" best friend with a "wicked sense of humour".

She and Claire were both doing their Duke of Edinburgh Award at Dartford fire station when she was murdered.

"When I went back to school all of her friends would just stare at Claire's empty chair. We were just devastated..." - Claire's friend Lisa Gribbin

"When I went back (to school) all of her friends would just stare at Claire's empty chair," she wrote. "We were just devastated."

Tragedy continued during the trial when Lin's cousin, Len Rumbul, suffered a stroke in court. He is still in hospital recovering.

It took almost 22 years, five weeks of evidence and three-and-a-half hours of deliberation by the jury to bring Ash-Smith to justice.

His parents, Aubrey and Diane Ash-Smith, who live in Stone, were not in court.

Gasps, nods of heads and hushed sobs came from Claire's friends while officers involved in the investigation were visibly emotional.

After the verdict, trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney thanked the jury. "To state the obvious, it has been a very demanding case for any jury to have sat upon.

"The crimes that we have had to consider are appalling."

The court heard that Ash-Smith had waived his right to appear back in the dock today when he is sentenced.

In a statement read after the verdict, the Justice for Claire group said: "It is nearly 22 years since Claire was cruelly taken away from us at the age of just 16. Today we finally know who murdered her. What we will never understand is why.

"We want to thank Kent Police and the CPS for all their hard work on the case and most importantly for never, ever giving up.

"Some of the police officers involved in this case have shown a level of dedication far above and beyond the call of duty for over two decades and we can never thank them enough.

"Like them, we have always believed that one day there would be justice for Claire and today that has at last been done.

"But we should not be here speaking to you today. It should be Claire’s parents Linda and Cliff who both tragically died too soon, after trying to deal with the devastating loss of their only child. This murder destroyed an entire family and the ripples are still being felt today.

"Claire, or Tilt as we knew her, was unique. She drew people to her. She was beautiful, funny and ambitious with an amazing sense of humour which will always live in our memories.

"Today we want to reclaim our friend and remember her for the wonderful person she was rather than what happened to her.

"We are certain that by now she would have fulfilled her ambition of becoming a firefighter. Her murder stopped her achieving that dream, and we can only wonder what else it stopped her from doing.

"She could have had a successful career and saved lives, become a wife and mother. It deprived Linda and Cliff of seeing their daughter grow up and thrive and ensured they never knew the joy of grandchildren.

"We will never get Claire back and we will never forget her. But now both she and her beloved parents can finally rest in peace, knowing her murderer has at last been brought to justice."

The case was one of the largest murder investigation's in Kent Police's history, and involved taking more than 2,500 statements in the months and years that followed the attack.

"Claire was beautiful, funny and ambitious with an amazing sense of humour which will always live in our memories. Today we want to reclaim our friend and remember her for the wonderful person she was rather than what happened to her..." - the Justice for Claire group

Detective Superintendent Rob Vinson said: "This guilty verdict brings to a close a very long and complex investigation to bring Claire’s killer to justice.

"Every single one of the Kent Police officers who have worked on this case over the last two decades have refused to allow Claire's killer to go unaccounted for and escape justice.

"The investigation team has meticulously built this case over a number of years and I'm pleased the jury were able to see that the compelling evidence points to only one conclusion - that Colin Ash-Smith was responsible for Claire's murder.

"I’d like to pay particular tribute to Claire’s parents, Cliff and Linda Tiltman, who are sadly no longer with us to see the man who murdered their daughter brought to justice, to her extended familyand the Justice For Claire group who have campaigned vigorously over the years in honour of their friend, and all the witnesses who came forward in the aftermath of the murder and those who were able to give evidence during the trial.

"I'd also like to thank the all the officers who left no stone unturned whilst working on this investigation over the last 21 years. This verdict is a testament to all their dedicated hard work."

Dartford Grammar School pupil Claire, who had celebrated her birthday just four days before the attack, suffered nine wounds, some measuring up to 15cm deep, to her body before she managed to escape her attacker.

But she collapsed and died on the pavement despite desperate attempts by passers-by to save her life.

A pathologist concluded that the force used was "at least moderate" and that one of her wounds was inflicted by the blade being thrust into her body and then partially retracted before being plunged into her again.

She had left the home she shared with parents Lin and Cliff Tiltman in nearby Woodward Terrace, Horns Cross, at about 6pm.

Both Mr and Mrs Tiltman have since died but statements they made to police at the time about the devastating moment they discovered their daughter had been murdered were read to the jury.

After the verdict, the Crown Prosection Service's chief prosecutor for the south east Jaswant Narwal said: "Today we have been able to bring Claire Tiltman’s killer to justice, ending 21 years of uncertainty for all those who cared for her. Claire’s murder shocked the whole community and her death has never been forgotten.

"Colin Ash-Smith is a ruthless and dangerous man with a history of committing violent offences against women. He believed that he could evade justice for more than 20 years, but he was wrong."

Ash-Smith, who once wrote he would "kill a schoolgirl" because, he said, it sounded impressive, was charged with Claire's murder in February this year after a police cold case review.

He had first been questioned as a suspect into the teenager's death in 1995 after he was arrested for a knife attack on another young woman less than 400m from where Claire was stabbed in a dark alleyway off London Road just before 6.30pm.

A search of his distinctive white Ford Capri uncovered one half of a school tie which police established had been used in the attempted rape, kidnap and attempted murder of a 27-year-old woman in Swanscombe on December 21, 1988.

Evidence seized after his arrest also included handwritten "assault plans" in which he accurately described the attempted rape, kidnap and attempted murder of a woman in 1988 - one of the offences he had pleaded guilty to.

Other offences described in the notes included almost stabbing a woman at Swanscombe train station and visiting a retirement home to carry out an attack which did not go to plan.

On December 20, 1996, Ash-Smith was sentenced to life imprisonment having pleaded guilty to both the 1988 and 1995 attacks.

At the time of his arrest, Ash-Smith denied any involvement in Claire's death when questioned by detectives.

The court heard at the start of Ash-Smith's trial five weeks ago that Claire's killing was carried out by a "ruthless, predatory, armed killer".

Prosecutor Brian Altman QC said Ash-Smith, who was 24 at the time and living with his parents in Milton Street, Swanscombe, attacked Claire "rapidly and stealthily", giving her no time to defend herself. There was no sexual motive or apparent robbery.

"This was a killing for the sake of killing," said the prosecutor.

Claire was heading to a friend's house in Riverview Road, Greenhithe, but was believed to have taken a detour and walked farther up London Road to a shop just off Knockhall Chase to buy cigarettes.

Nine cigarettes in a packet of 10 were later found by police in her jacket pocket.

She then headed back down London Road towards the alleyway.

Ash-Smith targeted Claire after he spotted her on a zebra crossing on London Road near the junction with Knockhall Chase.

Several witnesses claimed to have seen a man in a light-coloured, waist-length jacket walking down London Road at the time.

""Colin Ash-Smith is a ruthless and dangerous man with a history of committing violent offences against women. He believed that he could evade justice for more than 20 years, but he was wrong..." - Chief prosecutor Jaswant Narwal

Ash-Smith, who was described as a knife-obsessed loner, was known to have "habitually worn" a similar jacket and, it was alleged, it was one he wore to Claire's funeral just a few weeks later.

The court heard Ash-Smith phoned police the day after Claire's murder to say he had seen a man on the zebra crossing at about 6.30pm.

However, when police interviewed him as a potential witness a week later, he told officers he had seen "someone" walking down London Road between 5.45pm and 5.55pm and made no mention of the crossing.

He also told police that he had been with his mum, local councillor Diane Ash-Smith, at the time and was back at the family home in Milton Street by 6pm, where he remained for the rest of the night.

The prosecution alleged Ash-Smith contacted police because he feared either he or his distinctive Ford Capri had been spotted that night.

He then changed his account, it was claimed, because he had made a "fundamental mistake" of putting himself in the area at the time of Claire's murder.

It was not, however, until he was arrested for the knife attack on 21-year-old Charlotte Barnard in October 1995 that Ash-Smith was considered a suspect for Claire's murder.

He denied over several weeks of questioning that he was her killer but the jury was told police were able to link him to another unsolved knifing seven years earlier.

In December 1988 a woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was attacked as she returned home from work.

Having been frogmarched at gun and knifepoint to a quarry in Swanscombe, she was forced to strip naked, tied up and had tissues stuffed in her mouth.

Her attacker then repeatedly tried to rape her before attempting to strangle her with a school tie and then stabbing her several times in her back.

The court heard Ash-Smith was linked to that near-fatal attack when police investigating the stabbing of Miss Barnard found part of the same school tie in his car.

He later admitted attempted murder, attempted rape and kidnap in relation to the 1988 attack and causing grievous bodily harm to Miss Barnard in 1995.

The jury heard that it was while in HMP Wakefield for these offences that Ash-Smith "confessed" to a fellow prisoner about Claire's murder.

Ash-Smith told convicted sex offender Stefan Dubois he had seen someone on a road crossing and then "snapped and attacked".

The court was told that the conversation could only relate to Claire's murder as there was no crossing in the areas of either the 1988 or 1995 attacks.

Mr Altman said: "Claire was a target for a completely senseless slaughter of an innocent, young, teenage girl, you might think for no better reason than the warped pleasure he derived from attacking a lone woman and the ultimate power and control it gave him."

Ash-Smith repeatedly denied murdering Claire when he gave evidence.

He candidly spoke about his obsessions with knives and how he used to take regular “midnight walks” armed with weapons.

He also spoke in chilling detail of how he was “an animal” when he attacked his two victims.

Miss Barnard, he told the court, was repeatedly stabbed in "anger and frustration” because he wrongly believed his fiancée was having an affair.

But he told the court that even though he was still carrying knives in January 1993 he “subdued” his feelings towards women for the seven years between 1988 and 1995.

Ash-Smith also denied he was lying to protect his family, who knew the Tiltmans through their membership of the Greenhithe and Swanscombe Royal British Legion Club.

He said the thought that any association with Claire’s killing would cause “irreparable damage” to his parents never crossed his mind.

“It wasn’t an issue because I didn’t do it,” he told the jury.

Ash-Smith also told the court his parents volunteered to help Mr and Mrs Tiltman after their only child’s murder and that the effect on them distressed him.

“I got to know them reasonably well. I saw the effect it had on them and that made me quite angry,” he said.

Asked by his barrister David Nathan QC what he thought of Claire’s killer, Ash-Smith replied: “I wanted to kill them myself.”

The defence argued that the case against Ash-Smith amounted to nothing more than “guesswork”.

They also told the jury that two other men were potential suspects for the teenager’s murder – convicted killer Robert Napper and Dartford BT engineer Peter Rivers.

Napper, now 48, was jailed for life for the killings of Rachel Nickell on Wimbledon Common in July 1992 and Samantha Bisset and her four-year-old daughter in south east London in November 1993.

Mr Rivers tried to strangle his 66-year-old mother Millicent with a toilet chain at the home they shared in Wellcome Avenue, before stabbing her to death in February 1994.

The 44-year-old then slit his wrists and doused himself in petrol before setting himself alight.

An inquest into his death that year revealed he left a suicide note in which he wrote: “Mum was beginning to suspect me of killing Claire.”

Addressing the jury, Mr Nathan said he did not have to prove either man killed Claire, just that they were considered to be “realistic possibilities”.

Video: Colin Ash-Smith is found guilty of Claire Tiltman's murder

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