New Sighting After Crimewatch Plea On Betty Yates Murder

Police hunting the killer of Betty Yates at Bewdley are today (Friday, 27 January) following up new information after the investigation was featured on Crimewatch last night.

The detective leading the murder inquiry, Detective Chief Inspector Neil Jamieson, has thanked those who did respond to the televised appeal. He has also made a fresh appeal for people to come forward who visited Betty's cottage between her birthday on 28 December and the evening of the Bank Holiday Monday, 2 January, when it is believed she was killed.

After Crimewatch there were less than a handful of calls to the studio and Major Incident Room at Stourport Police Station and despite it being a focus of the appeal police still do not know the authors of two anonymous letters sent last week. However one of the calls that were received related to a new sighting of a car which was being driven in Dowles Road early in the evening on 2 January and that is now being followed up.

DCI Jamieson said: "The car is believed to have been a silver coloured Audi estate which was being driven towards Button Oak and we really need to identify who was in that vehicle if only to eliminate them from our inquiry. They could also be potential witnesses as we seek to establish who else was in the area around that time, so I would ask anyone who thinks this might be them or knows who might have been driving that car to contact us.  

"It is only one of many lines of inquiry but one important detail we have not yet established is whether anyone visited Betty Yates at her cottage between her return from spending Christmas with relatives on 28 December and the evening when we believe she was murdered.

"She was very sociable, knew a lot of people and was involved in many local groups. Yet, surprisingly, we have not found or heard from anyone who saw her at home either for her birthday on the 28^th, the day she got back, or in the run-up to and during New Year, including the Bank Holiday Monday. If anyone went to see her at Riverscroft between those dates, even if they were there for only a few moments,  then it is vital that they come forward. This is a huge inquiry and knowing who else has been at the cottage could prevent officers wasting time and resources that could be focused on other parts of the investigation."

Mrs Yates was found stabbed to death at her riverside cottage, which is off Dowles Road, on 4 January. She had also been attacked with one of her own walking sticks.

It is believed that the cottage was locked up afterwards using her keys attached to a black, pencil-case size purse which is still missing.

The Major Incident Room can be contacted on 0300 333 3000 and a reward of up to £10,000 is still on offer to from Crimestoppers for anyone who calls the independent charity on 0800 555 111 with information leading to an arrest and conviction of the killer or killers.

Issued: Friday, 27 January 2012