A man has been jailed for life for murdering a woman who was walking her dog near a beach in Birchington. Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss attacked Claire Knights as she walked back to her car from Minnis Bay on 23 August 2023.
Claire, a 54 year old local artist who had no connection to her attacker, was found dead with catastrophic injuries on marshland on 25 August.
Lawrence Van-Pooss was arrested on the day of the murder and charged following an investigation by detectives from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate. The 21 year old, formerly of Birchington, admitted murder at Canterbury Crown Court on 17 December 2024 and was jailed for life at the same court on 28 February 2025. He will serve a minimum term of 25 years and 183 days.
Kent Police was contacted on 22 August 2023 and Lawrence Van-Pooss was reported missing, prompting officers to begin a search for him. Then on 23 August, it was separately reported that Lawrence Van-Pooss had taken an inappropriate photo of a woman at a pub in Birchington the previous day and an investigation into that incident commenced.
After leaving his home, he had built a makeshift camp on marshes near the railway line to the west of Birchington, where he is believed to have spent the night between 22 and 23 August, and bought food and alcohol at a local shop on the afternoon of 23 August.
Police found him that evening near Minnis Bay seafront and he was arrested on suspicion of the voyeurism offence. When arrested, Lawrence Van-Pooss had with him a small brown and white springer spaniel, whose microchip was tested and was found to belong to Claire Knights. Her home was visited and her family said she had gone out that day and had not returned.
Police launched a large-scale search for Claire and her body was sadly found hidden among reeds in a dyke between Shuart Lane, where her parked car remained, at Minnis Bay, where she had been seen with her dog Zeb on the afternoon of 23 August.
An investigation found that Lawrence Van-Pooss had sexually assaulted her as she walked along a path back to her car at around 4.50pm that afternoon. He had then physically attacked her, inflicting catastrophic injuries, and hidden her in water among tall grass and bullrushes in the dyke where she was later found dead.
After the attack, Lawrence Van-Pooss had returned to the shop and bought food for the dog, and food and drink for himself.
When arrested, he claimed he couldn’t remember what he had been doing that afternoon. Detectives found an empty alcohol bottle he had been seen drinking from and an empty sweet packet near to where Claire’s body was found.
Lawrence Van-Pooss was kept in custody and charged with murder on 18 September. He was also charged with the offence of voyeurism relating to the inappropriate images of a woman which he covertly took on 22 August. He later admitted both charges.
Detective Superintendent Kathleen Way said:
‘This has been a deeply distressing case. Claire was murdered purely because she happened to be walking along this path at a time Harrison Lawrence Van-Pooss decided to attack a woman on her own.
‘He would have completely overpowered her and the injuries he inflicted before leaving her for dead were absolutely devastating.
‘My thoughts and those of my team remain with Claire’s family, who have been immensely supportive throughout our investigation.
‘I hope the knowledge that her killer will spend a long time behind bars gives them some comfort as they continue to mourn her loss.’