Police are hunting the murderers of two mothers found dead in their homes only ten miles apart in the West Midlands.
The body of 74-year-old great-grandmother, Anne James, was found in Walsall yesterday.
The victim had collapsed at her cottage when her body was found at 6.15pm.
It is believed she may have been killed in a burglary gone wrong and she suffered knife wounds in what police have called ‘shocking, violent attack on an elderly lady in her home.’
The victim, named locally as Anne James, was found collapsed at her cottage in, Highgate, Walsall, West Midlands last night
Police dashed to the property after being alerted by ambulance crews who had also been called at 6.15pm. Forensics at the scene this morning
West Midlands Police have now launched a murder investigation and are hunting the killer
The murder comes just two weeks after another mother was found dead at her home just ten miles away.
On February 16, mother-of-two Sarbjit Kaur, 38, was killed at her home in Wolverhampton.
West Midlands Police are not currently treating the killing of Mrs Kaur and Mrs James as linked.
Mrs James’ heartbroken family today paid tribute to an ‘amazing generous and kind’ great-grandmother.
In a statement issued by West Midlands Police, her heartbroken family said: ‘We are all devastated at the loss of a loving wife, mum, grandma and great grandma.
‘She was an amazing, generous, kind, and much loved part of our family; she will be very sadly missed.’
West Midlands Police have now launched a murder investigation and are hunting the killer.
They believe Mrs James was alone in the property at the time and have not ruled out the murder being a burglary gone wrong.
A force spokesperson said: ‘Early indications are that she has suffered knife injuries.
‘A post mortem examination will take place in due course to establish the exact cause of death.
‘Officers have sealed off the location to preserve evidence and to allow forensics experts to examine the scene.
‘House to house enquiries were conducted last night and specially-trained family liaison officers are supporting the lady’s loved ones.’
Residents living on Sandwell Street, which is adjacent to Doveridge Place, expressed their shock at the murder
The retired nurse is said to have had a passion for collecting antiques.
Mrs James was a director for The Haven charity, in Wolverhampton, which helped vulnerable women and children who were victims of domestic violence.
Her home was on the edge of Caldmore, which is Walsall’s red-light district.
Mrs James was a director for The Haven charity, in Wolverhampton, which helped vulnerable women and children who were victims of domestic violence
According to the Companies House website, Mrs James held three directorships of local charities from 1996 to the mid 2000s.
She was listed as a director at Wolverhampton Clothesline, which helps homeless people, and The Haven Wolverhampton which looks after vulnerable women and children.
Mrs James was also a director of the Walsall Youth Arts until is was forced to close down in 2011.
A former colleague, who did not want to be named, said: ‘Anne was born to help.
‘She did what she could to offer support and advice to people, particularly vulnerable women, who needed a helping hand.
‘No one knows what has happened but if she got attacked by someone she was trying to help then that would be just awful.
‘I really feel for her family. She was just a wonderful person with an absolute heart of gold.’
Her former cleaner said: ‘Anne employed me to clean her home on a Friday morning.
‘She had lots of nice things and I was always very careful not to damage anything.
‘I knew she liked antiques and collected them with her husband.
‘She had two grown-up sons and a daughter and some grandchildren.
‘Anne worked tirelessly to help others. She was an angel really. It’s extremely sad what has happened.’
Detective Superintendent Tom Chisholm, from West Midlands Police Homicide Team, are also appealing to anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in Doveridge Place, where Mrs James lived, to contact officers.
He said: ‘This appears to be a shocking, violent attack on an elderly lady in her home.
‘Mrs James has been described as a kind and loving lady…her family are devastated and can’t understand how anyone could do her any harm.
‘We have conducted house-to-house enquiries and are in the process of seizing local CCTV footage that will hopefully help us build up a picture of what happened yesterday around her home address.’
Mrs Kaur, 38, was discovered unconscious by family members inside the four-bedroom detached property in Wolverhampton two weeks ago
Extra officers have since been brought in to help the investigation into Mrs Kaur’s death.
Mrs Kaur, 38, was discovered unconscious by her husband and step-children inside the four-bedroom detached property in Rookery Lane, Wolverhampton, at 4pm on Friday.
Police said the mother-of-two had been assaulted and was pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived.
West Midlands Police today revealed the family property was left ransacked and that number of items – including jewellery – had been pilfered.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Mallett said ‘Mrs Kaur was attacked in her own home,’
‘This is a shocking and thankfully rare case.
‘We are determined to bring her killer or killers to justice.
‘Forensics experts are methodically picking through items inside the house that could be of evidential value and we will be fast-tracking forensic samples for analysis.
‘We are building up a clearer CCTV picture in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene and are drafting in additional officers to help with the CCTV trawl and examination of footage.
Mrs Kaur was married to Gurpreet Singh, 42, a company director who runs Dhanda Properties UK Ltd.
She was last seen alive be her husband at around 9am the Friday morning, when he left for work at the construction company where he is a director.
Neighbours told how the family, who lived in a large four bedroomed gated home, drove around in a flash Jaguar and Mercedes and had all the mod cons.