Ashley Howland is a thirty-nine-year-old American national who was the subject of an astonishing investigation by tabloids in the United Kingdom. Ashley was working for a firm that would access the private information of thousands of individuals in order to help them find an event or to gather data on their ethnicity; however, Ashley’s innocence was finally proven when a serving officer found her with the body of a twelve-year-old boy; it was later discovered that Ashley was actually the victim of a hit and run incident that occurred in her own town. Ashley was subsequently arrested and charged with this crime, which would place a large dent on her marital prospects. However, her case would also turn out to be something of a turning point in the long history of identity fraud cases that involve the participation of a police officer. This was because Ashley was found to have been working as an accomplice to a murder; though she strenuously denied any involvement, a jury eventually saw her as being liable for the crime, and she was given a custodial sentence after a brief trial in a London court.
Ashley’s case was one that was picked up by the British government as it looked to tackle crime within its borders; this, in fact, was the impetus for her case becoming something of a cause cable. It was subsequently proved that Ashley had forged the identity of a man called Will interim, in order to get cash from the lottery scheme he was involved with. Will was found dead in a hotel near Heathrow, where he had gone there to retrieve his belongings after losing his job. Ashley was implicated alongside him and was later quizzed by the Police after his body was found.
Ashley was working as a nanny for the Halsbury family; however, following her arrest she decided to change careers and become a thief. She had no previous experience of this kind, nor was she licensed to work as a thief, despite having had work experience as a caretaker in a hospice. Ashley took three years studying finance at University in London, and although she was not employed as a consultant, she was still able to work while undertaking her studies. It is believed that she may have been using her title as an excuse to work whilst being legally permitted to do so.