Man sentenced for dog walker murder

Harrison Lawrence-Van Pooss, a 21-year-old from Margate, Kent, has seen his sentence lengthened following intervention by the Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. This legal measure allows for the review of sentences deemed insufficiently punishing for the crimes committed. The Court of Appeal responded to the referral and deemed the original penalties inappropriate given the circumstances surrounding the brutal attack.

In August 2023, Claire Knights from Canterbury was walking her dog near Minnis Bay in Birchington when she became the victim of a violent and random assault. As she was returning to her car, Lawrence-Van Pooss attacked her, pushing her off the path. In a horrifying sequence of events, she was violently sexually assaulted before being beaten around the head and pushed into a dyke, where she ultimately drowned. The tragic ordeal concluded with her body being discovered two days later by her son and his friends, having been concealed by reeds and grasses.

The investigation revealed alarming details about Lawrence-Van Pooss’s behaviour leading up to the attack. Authorities discovered that he had previously been caught upskirting another woman just a day prior. Following that incident, he evaded arrest and spent the night hiding near the beach before assaulting Claire. When law enforcement ultimately apprehended him, he was found with Claire's dog, which he had taken to a shop to buy treats after the attack.

The Solicitor General Lucy Rigby KC MP expressed her condemnation of the crime, stating, "Lawrence-Van Pooss’ attack on Claire Knights was horrific. He assaulted and brutally murdered her, in a totally random attack. I welcome the court’s decision to increase Van-Poos’ sentence and I would like to express my deepest sympathies to Claire’s family and loved ones."

On 28 February 2025, Lawrence-Van Pooss was originally sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years and 183 days after pleading guilty to murder and voyeurism at Canterbury Crown Court. However, following the Solicitor General’s appeal, this sentence was quashed on 25 July 2025, resulting in a more severe minimum term of 31 years.