A jealous co-worker has been jailed for life after murdering a colleague who he developed an obsessive affection for.

Martin Corns, 52, of Denmark Terrace, denied murdering Heather Jordan in Lyngford Park, Taunton on February 18, and claimed it was someone else.

After a nearly two-week trial at Exeter Crown Court, it was revealed how the defendant became attracted to Miss Jordan and became controlling.

The court heard how he often sent her text messages, gifts, letters and talked about marriage but Heather wanted to remain friends.

He was later jailed for life for murdering Heather Jordan in a jealous rage.

Who was Heather Jordan?

(Image: Exeter Court Service)

Heather Jordan, 34, grew up in Dorchester but moved to Taunton with her family months before her death.

She previously lived with her mother and brother and held down several cleaning jobs, including those at Boots and the Co-op.

The court was told about her mental health history and how she suffered from bouts of depression, anxiety and self harm. Previous attempts to form relationships had failed.

Her family described her as a home bird whose main interests were needlework and her six pet cats.

Who was Martin Corns?

Martin Corns, of Denmark Terrace, Taunton, worked as an early morning cleaner at Boots with Heather.

The 52-year-old also had a personal link with his colleague as she rented a room to her father, Alan Jordan.

The court heard he also worked at William Hill and was divorced.

"She said he was very over possessive and was stalking her"

Corns first met Heather when they both worked as cleaners at Boots in Taunton.

The pair started meeting for coffee and went on days out to Bridgwater, Weston-super-Mare and Minehead and played ten pin bowling together.

Heather described their non-sexual relationship as a 'committed friendship' and often walked to work together.

The court heard that Corns became attracted to her and wrote her letters and sent gifts.

Martin also dropped off a card, a teddy bear, and a dozen red roses at the front door of Heather's home in Taunton on Valentine's Day this year.

He sent another letter saying he had fallen for her 'hook, line and sinker'.

Corns also spied on her home and followed her around after they became friends.

Lifelong family friend Michael Duff told the jury the pair discussed Corns with Heather as he gave her a lift back to Dorchester for a Christmas visit.

At that stage she thought he was a 'nice fella' but they were just friends who she saw outside work for a coffee.

Mr Duff said: "She said he was very over possessive and was stalking her. That was the gut feeling I had.

"She said he kept following her around at work. She said he made snide remarks about her having a nice backside and chest.

(Image: Rebecca Blackmore)

"In January she told me she was thinking of leaving Boots. She did not say why but I thought it was because he was getting too obsessive over her."

Michael added he got the impression she was "not happy" with the Valentine's Day gifts.

She had also told Martin she was about to make a complaint about him harassing her when they were working at Boots.

The court heard she planned to lodge the complaint on Monday - the day after her death.

Corns, 52, had become consumed by jealousy and obsessed by the idea she was seeing someone else, namely a supervisor at Boots known as Kevin.

Miss Brunner, QC, said he became controlling and made her agree to a strict timetable in which she allocated a certain number of hours each day to be with him.

How the murder unfolded

(Image: Google)

The 34-year-old left her home in Pickeridge Close at around 5.15am on Sunday, February 18 to walk to her cleaning job at the Co-op in Priorswood - a short five minute journey.

Heather walked through Lyngford Park and encountered Martin. The cleaner told her workmate to leave her alone and ripped up his love letter.

Corns proceeded to overpower Heather and put her into a stranglehold around her neck.

According to Home Office consultant pathologist, Dr Russell Delaney, Heather died from strangulation, probably manual but possibly by being held in the crook of her arm.

A torn up love letter was found strewn around her body and she was later found by dog walkers in a shelter in the park.

Heather's father, Alan Jordan, said he saw him lying on his bed, watching television and smoking shortly after Heather was found dead.

The love letter that Heather ripped and threw onto the ground Police found her body surrounded by scraps of paper which they pieced together like a jigsaw to reveal a letter from Corns proclaiming his undying love for her. It read: "I can't wait to spend my life with you. Hopefully, that won't be too long, my darling. "Remember, I love you so, so much and always will."

He said: "I told him and he said 'you must be joking'."

The aftermath

Martin Corns claimed he was out siphoning petrol in the early hours of the morning when Heather was strangled.

Corns initially told police he had got up at 5.20am and gone straight to work at William Hill.

He told the jury he had no motive to kill her because he was in love with her and hoped they would have a relationship.

His alibi was described as unbelievable by the prosecution counsel at Exeter Crown Court.

(Image: Somerset Live)

The court also heard how he was caught on CCTV walking around the streets of Taunton at 4am, around an hour before the killing.

After the killing, the prosecution believed he went home, changed his shirt, and walked to his job as a cleaner at a William Hill shop near the station.

On the way he went down a path and threw away a bag in which police found the top he had been wearing earlier and a phone which contained some of the messages to and from Heather.

Items from Heather's handbag and a fingerless glove with Corn's DNA on it were found on his route home.

Her DNA was on the red top and his DNA was on the front and back of her jumper.

"You were possessive and extremely jealous and paranoid" - the verdict

(Image: Google)

Corns denied murder but was found guilty by a jury at Exeter Crown Court and jailed for life by Judge Brian Forster with a minimum term of 17 years from the day of his arrest.

He told him: "I have read the family's personal statements. The house is empty, their days are empty. No sentence I can pass can meet that loss.

"You formed a friendship with Heather when she was a work colleague. You were possessive and extremely jealous and paranoid about whether she was committed to the friendship.

"You clearly imagined situations that did not exist. In my judgment Heather ended the relationship and you feared she might complain at work about your behaviour.

(Image: Somerset Live)

"On the morning in question you confronted her in the park and killed her. You intended to kill her and ignored her frantic efforts to release your grip as you strangled her to death.

"You strangled the person you had previously described in your letters as your beautiful Princess. Even after you killed her, you had the presence of mind to try to escape responsibility.

"You tried to make it look as if it was a robbery. The aggravating features are that this took place in a public park in the hours of darkness; you were motivated in part to prevent her making a complaint, and you tried to make it look like a robbery.

"There are no mitigating factors, although I bear in mind that any period of planning must have been short."

"She always put a smile on your face if you were feeling down"

Following the news of her death, tributes poured in for the 34-year-old.

Flowers and cards were left near the scene, with one message stating "RIP sweet angel, fly high" while another from the staff of the local Co-op says simply "RIP".

A card and flowers were also laid by a nearby nursery school.

The local church, St Peter's Church, organised for the community to come together and remember Heather with a candle light vigil.

Reverend Debbi Turley previously said the community was in shock.

Former neighbour Rebecca Blackmore said: "Heather was a very caring person and always there to help anybody.

"She was the most amazing woman I got to meet. She was always there to help anyone in their time of need she was a very caring person.

"She moved up just over a year ago to be with her mum and closer to her sister and brothers also her niece and nephew and will be missed by so many people.

"She always put a smile on your face if you were feeling down and I remember all the times we had a laugh.

"I am glad I got to meet you and you will always be in my thoughts and prayers.

"I miss you Heather. Rest in peace dear friend."

Alice Cover told Somerset Live about Heather's early life, when they were friends as youngsters and how they stayed that way into adulthood.

She said: "Heather and I were good friends when we were small children up until she moved away.

"I have very fond memories of playing at Heather's house and at school. She was on a college course with me from 2000-2001 and also came to visit me in Brighton in 2011.

"I’m so thankful we kept in touch and I feel deeply saddened by her tragic death. Rest in peace Heather."

Sliema Summerlands Mott was a work colleague of Heather and she told us how the news has affected her.

Sliema said: "I was very sad and shocked to hear of Heather's death. We regularly worked together as part of a team looking after vulnerable adults in Dorset.

"She was a very kind and caring person and I know I speak on behalf of all my colleagues in sending my condolences to her family at this awful time.

"I hope the cowardly person who did this to her receives a long sentence."

Parent's heartbreak

The parents of Taunton murder victim Heather Jordan have told of their devastation and grief in moving personal statements. Alan Jordan and Jennifer Rigby both made impact statements which were read to the judge who sentenced killer Martin Corns to life imprisonment.

The statements from his parents were read to the judge and jury immediately after they had delivered their unanimous verdict, almost exactly a day after they started their deliberations.

Alan Jordan revealed that he makes a daily pilgrimage to the shelter in Lyngford Park to honour the memory of his daughter.

He said his life will never be the same without her.

Both parents described Heather as caring and home loving, with an interest in handicrafts and a love of her family and six cats. Alan’s statement explained how he lost touch with Heather when she was six and he separated from her mother but was reunited when she was 18 when she was living with her grandmother in Dorchester.

He said:”I still remember that moment. She had grown up into a beautiful young lady. I was so happy, it was like having a new life and we started having more regular contact.”

He spoke of the difficulties Heather experienced in her life, including depression and self harm.

She lived with him for a while in Dorchester where she spent much of her spare time sewing and stitching while working hard as a care assistant. She moved to live with her mother in Taunton and Heather helped him find somewhere to live when he followed.

Alan told of the anguish of learning of her death on February 18 this year.

He said:”On that day my life felt as if it had fallen through a big hole and part of my life disappeared when I found out her happy life had been taken away from her.

“I think about her every day. Every day I walk past the shelter and say good morning and talk to her as if she were there. It eases me emotionally. I know she is not there but it is the last place she was.

“I will continue to go every day for the rest of my life. I cannot how devastated I am that she has been killed by someone who had no cause to harm our family.”

Heather’s mother Jennifer described her as a loving and caring daughter who would do anything for anybody and loved her family, her cats.

She enjoyed work and spending time playing cards, reading, watching horror movies and crafts such as embroidery. Jennifer told of the moment she learned of the killing.

She said: ”Her death was a huge shock. The police came to my door and told me she was dead. I was upset and crying and had to tell the rest of the family she was dead.

“It did not seem real. She had been playing cards with her brother the night before. I notice the quietness of the house without her. I wake up at 5am expecting to hear her going out to work but the door doesn’t open or close.

“It has caused me to become depressed and take time off work. I used to travel to and from work with her on the bus and now I have to go on my own. Her grandmother and her brother Matthew have been affected massively.

“The impact has hit every member of our family. She cannot be replaced. I have to come to terms with it but I cannot accept or forget.”

Both parents were witnesses at the trial and made their personal statements after giving their evidence. Alan told the jury that he told Corns about Heather’s death on the morning of February 18 and he seemed unconcerned.

Jennifer said the pressure which Corns exerted on her daughter had made her unhappy and anxious and that she planned to lodge a complaint about him at work. She said she only met Corns once, when he came to their house to deliver a chair, but formed the instant impression that he was ‘creepy'.

Got a Taunton or West Somerset story to share? Email me at michael.taylor@reachplc.com or call 01935 709742.

Want more news?

To keep up to date with our latest news, follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Find our Bath Facebook page here or Somerset's can be found here

Alternatively, follow us on Twitter - @BathLive and @SomersetLive