Jane Dawn Elizabeth Andrews (born 1 April 1967) is an English former royal dresser for

Sarah, Duchess of York Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson; 15 October 1959), also known by the nickname Fergie, is a British author, philanthropist, television personality, and member of the extended British royal family. She is the former wife of P ...

, who was imprisoned in 2001 for murdering her lover, and released from prison in 2019.

Early life

Andrews was born in

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England with a population of 29,678 in 2021. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry ...

, Lincolnshire. Her father worked as a

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

and her mother as a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. As a child, Andrews was promising and intelligent, excelling in

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

. But because of the family's debt, they moved to a small townhouse in the nearby

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

town of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes dir ...

, where she attended Hereford Secondary School. Throughout her teenage years, Andrews struggled with various psychological problems including depression,

panic attacks Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, otherwise defined as a rapid, irregular heartbeat, sweating, chest pain or discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, con ...

, and an

eating disorder An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's health, physical or mental health, mental health. These behaviors may include eating too much food or too little food. Types of eatin ...

. At the age of 15, she attempted suicide by overdose after her mother discovered her

truancy Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorized, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will and usually does not refer to legitimate excused absences, such as ones related to medic ...

. Two years later, at age 17, she became pregnant and had an

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

, which she later stated was a traumatising experience. Andrews enrolled in a fashion course at the Grimsby College of Art, and afterward took a job designing children's clothes at

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

. At age 21, she answered an anonymous advertisement in ''The Lady'' magazine for a personal dresser. Six months later, she was interviewed by

; four days after that, Andrews began working for the Duchess at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. With a salary of £18,000 (equivalent to £ in ), she lived a relatively opulent lifestyle and was able to purchase a new flat in

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea, London, Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies ...

. The occupation brought Andrews a higher status and a new circle of friends; she was reportedly involved with several men whom she met through her work.

Marriage and other relationships

In August 1990, after a short

courtship Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage or committed romantic, ''de facto'' relationship. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marri ...

, Andrews married Christopher Dunn-Butler, an

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

executive twenty years her senior. The couple were divorced five years later; Andrews claimed that "pressures of work" led to the couple's split, although Dunn-Butler said that she was repeatedly unfaithful. Andrews did admit to infidelity, saying, "I had a couple of flings. I'm not proud of it." Following her divorce, Andrews met Dimitri Horne, the son of a Greek shipping magnate. When the two broke up acrimoniously, Andrews trashed the flat they shared and fell into a deep depression. She attempted suicide again by overdosing on drugs but survived without seeking medical treatment. During this time, it is alleged that the Duchess was having an affair with Tuscan

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

Count Gaddo della Gherardesca; he supposedly also had feelings for Andrews. Shortly after this alleged fling, Andrews was dismissed from her job as the Duchess's royal dresser. Some believe that this issue led directly to Andrews's termination, but officials at Buckingham Palace state there is no truth in this and that her dismissal was a result of cost-cutting.

New marriage prospect

In 1998, a mutual acquaintance introduced Andrews to Thomas Ashley Cressman (22 October 1960 – 18 September 2000), a former

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

. Cressman ran a successful business selling car accessories and mixed in the upper echelons of London society. Because of her supposed financial hardships at the time, Andrews moved into Cressman's flat in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

shortly into their relationship. She gained employment at

Claridge's Hotel Claridge's is a 5-star hotel at the corner of Brook Street and Davies Street in Mayfair, London. The hotel is owned and managed by the Maybourne Hotel Group. History Founding Claridge's traces its origins to Mivart's Hotel, which was founded ...

in October 1999 as a PR manager but was required to leave after only two months. For the next two years in the couple's relationship, Andrews made it obvious that she had pinned all her hopes on Cressman as her future husband and father of her children.

Murder

In September 2000, Andrews accompanied Cressman on a holiday to Italy and also to his family's villa on the

French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

. She was reportedly expecting Cressman to propose marriage to her during their holiday, but instead, he told her that he had no intention of marrying her. After returning to the couple's

flat on 17 September, they began to argue heatedly. Cressman called police to say that "somebody is going to get hurt", but no police came to his flat. Later that night, while Cressman was sleeping, Andrews hit him with a cricket bat and then stabbed him with a knife. Following the bloody attack, Andrews fled the scene. She contacted her ex-husband Christopher Dunn-Butler shortly after killing Cressman, then sent out text messages to friends inquiring about her lover's whereabouts and well-being. She claimed to have no involvement in Cressman's death and stated that he was being

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

ed. Andrews was untraceable for days until police in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

found her overdosed in her car. She survived the suicide attempt and, after a police interrogation, Andrews was arrested and charged with Cressman's murder.

Trial and imprisonment

On 23 April 2001, Andrews went to trial at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

. Prosecutors stated that the motive for the killing was a woman scorned. Andrews testified in her

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

that Cressman had been

abusive Abuse is the act of improper usage or treatment of a person or thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, ...

during their relationship, citing his alleged sexual obsessions and an incident two years earlier in which she had broken her arm while dancing, stating that Cressman had pushed her. She also claimed that she had suffered abuse during childhood which led her to kill. After twelve hours of jury deliberation, she was convicted of murder and sentenced to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are co ...

. In 2001, the psychiatrist Trevor Turner diagnosed Andrews with

borderline personality disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive, long-term pattern of significant interpersonal relationship instability, an acute fear of Abandonment (emotional), abandonment, and intense emotiona ...

and subsequently said in an ITV documentary that she had been subject to coercive control by the deceased. Andrews started her sentence at HM Prison Bullwood Hall in Hockley, Essex. In November 2009, after having served nine years of her sentence, she escaped from East Sutton Park Prison in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. After three days, she was captured in a hotel room with her family six miles from the prison. She was ultimately not charged with absconding.

Release

Andrews had been considered for early release several times but was repeatedly adjudged to be a danger to the public. On 19 June 2015, she was

released on licence Release on licence in England and Wales can refer to * Release from prison on temporary licence, followed by return to prison. * Release from prison on parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, ...

, with a view to making the transition from prison to mainstream society in a probation hostel.ITV1 Fergie's Killer Dresser: The Jane Andrews Story, broadcast on 3 March 2021 In 2018, she was accused of harassing a former paramour; her licence was revoked, and she was recalled to prison. A police investigation found no evidence of the alleged harassment, and Andrews was re-released from prison on 8 August 2019, initially on the condition that she reside in a designated probation hostel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Jane 1967 births Living people 20th-century English criminals Alumni of Grimsby Institute of Further & Higher Education British female murderers Criminals from Lincolnshire English female criminals English people convicted of murder English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Escapees from England and Wales detention 2000 murders in the United Kingdom Murder in London People convicted of murder by England and Wales People with borderline personality disorder Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by England and Wales People educated at Ormiston Maritime Academy 2000 in London