Woman found battered to death

Oct 3 2007 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Daily Post

A MURDER investigation was launched yesterday after a woman’s battered body was discovered by police in her ground floor Liverpool flat.

Police were called to the property in Chiselhurst Avenue in Belle Vale, at 5pm on Monday, after a member of the public raised the alarm.

They discovered the victim, understood to be in her 40s, with fatal injuries and detectives launched a murder investigation.

A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering the woman, named locally as Bernie.

The woman has yet to be formally identified by police but police confirmed her relatives had been informed.

One neighbour said: “I was at the house visiting a friend at the time, and when I returned there were six police cars outside.

“She was on the verge of being rehoused to a different area.

“She was a quiet lady who loved animals.

“I used to walk my dog with her on a regular basis.”

Another added: “Police spoke to us on Monday and were asking all sorts of questions

“It is a real shock.”

The area around the house was sealed off yesterday as forensic experts searched the property .

A phone box at the junction of Childwall Valley Road and Hedgefield Road, was also cordoned off by police, but it is not known if this is connected with the murder inquiry.

Police said the woman was understood to have suffered a severe and obvious injury, but how it happened is less clear.

A post mortem was carried out yesterday but detectives would not reveal the exact cause of date until her family had been informed.

The man remains in police custody after officers secured a warrant for his further detention.