Floral tributes at the spot where Natalie Jarvis died in Swanley Village

by Keith Hunt

A young man is today facing a lengthy jail term for murdering his girlfriend in a quiet street in Swanley Village.

Adam Whelehan, 23, is due to be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court after slitting the throat of Natalie Jarvis.

The BT apprentice engineer hatched a plot to kill the 23-year-old - whom he believed to be pregnant - because he saw it as the only way of ending their relationship.

He will be sentenced today after yesterday being convicted of murder - when jurors acquitted his friend Thomas Fuller, also 23, of the same charge.

The court heard the starting point for Whelehan's sentence will be 25 years' imprisonment.

Whelehan, of Roseberry Avenue, Sidcup, and Fuller, of Oakley Drive, Eltham, were jointly accused of murdering Natalie (pictured right) on October 3 last year.

Maidstone Crown Court heard during a three-week trial that Whelehan collected Natalie from her Swanley home at about 10.30pm and drove her to Button Street.

Fuller was hiding in the boot of the Renault Clio. Having pulled up in a quiet area, Natalie - who was wearing pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers - got out of the car and walked off down the road with Whelehan.

Whelehan then slit her throat and left her to die. Natalie suffered more than 20 knife wounds to her neck, as well as defensive injuries.

Whelehan had accepted he killed Natalie, but claimed he acted in lawful self-defence.

He claimed she repeatedly lunged at him with a multi-tool he used for work before grabbing it from her.

Adam Whelehan will be sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court

Kwame Inyundo, defending, said in mitigation that Whelehan had for most of his life been of positive good character, coming from a good family and doing well at school.

After working at Morrison's supermarket, he became a BT engineer and was trusted to work in people's homes.

"Things changed for him in July and August 2012 as a result of his relationship with Miss Jarvis - the circumstances he was under, the pressure and distress," he said.

"It impacted on him in the summer of last year. He became a changed man as a result of what happened in his personal life."