Family of Natalie Hemming thank Hemel Hempstead community

Natalie went missing after visiting her mother Margaret’s home in Hemel in May last year, sparking a frantic police search to find her.

Little did the family know that jealous Paul Hemming, 43, was beating Natalie to death at their Milton Keynes home in a fit of rage, before discarding her body in the Hertfordshire woodland.

Hemming is now behind bars, and with justice done, the family is moving on.

In the second part of an exclusive interview with the Gazette & Express – their first since the horrific killing – they said the local community had massively helped them.

Natalie’s sister Jo, who is raising two of Natalie’s three children up in Yorkshire, remembers neighbours and friends rallying around.

She said: “They were amazing and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who helped us.”

People set up a fundraising page to raise cash, while others collected a huge bundle of gifts for the children.

She said: “I remember we were all at mum’s house in Hemel one day, still waiting for the awful news about Natalie’s body being found, when a lady dropped off a bag full of teabags, loo rolls and basic essentials.

“It’s little things like that that made a difference and helped us through that nightmare time.”

The family are appearing in a TV documentary, ‘Catching a Killer’, that investigates the murder case on Channel 4 at 9pm today (June 1).