Police find key witness during Jane Hings murder inquiry

Jane Hings (pictured) was discovered by a carer on Sunday morning

Police have located a key witness they were hoping to speak to in relation to the death of a 72-year-old woman.

Jane Hings was found dead in her bungalow in the village of Fleckney, in Leicestershire, on Sunday morning.

Police initially said her death was unexplained after a post-mortem examination proved inconclusive, but began a murder inquiry after finding signs of a disturbance at her home.

A car was seen speeding away from her home late on Saturday night, smashing into other vehicles in the street as the driver made a getaway.  

A 25-year-old man has been in custody since Tuesday while a 15-year-old boy arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released with no further action.

The located witness is not thought to be involved in her death.

Detective Chief Inspector David Swift-Rollinson from East Midlands Special Operations unit major crime team is leading the investigation. 

Police have tracked down the witness they were keen to speak to after Miss Hings' death. He is not thought to be involved

Police have tracked down the witness they were keen to speak to after Miss Hings’ death. He is not thought to be involved

Police initially said her death was unexplained after a post-mortem examination proved inconclusive, but began a murder inquiry after finding signs of a disturbance at her home

Police initially said her death was unexplained after a post-mortem examination proved inconclusive, but began a murder inquiry after finding signs of a disturbance at her home

He said: ‘The 25-year-old man we arrested in connection with Miss Hings death on Tuesday (26 September) remains in custody on suspicion of murder. We have been granted a magistrates extension giving us more time to question the suspect further.

‘Despite the arrest our enquiries into the death are very much continuing and the scene remains cordoned off. Earlier this afternoon we issued CCTV footage of someone we wished to identify and trace who we believed may be able to assist us with our enquiries.

‘He has been identified and is now assisting officers with their enquiries. We’d like to thank everyone who shared the appeal and helped us identify him quickly.

A 25-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder remains in police custody

A 25-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder remains in police custody

‘From enquiries we’ve conducted so far in the local area, we believe items may have been stolen from the victim’s home in a black bin liner. 

‘We would ask local people to check their gardens and around their outbuildings for any bin bags. If you find anything, check the content briefly and if the items look like they may be stolen please do not handle them but contact us immediately.

‘We would like to thank the public who have spoken to officers in the last week for their assistance and as proceedings are now active in this case, it would not be appropriate to go into any more detail about the investigation.’

A post-mortem examination has so far failed to identify her cause of death and the results of further medical and forensic tests are awaited.

Anyone with any information that may assist the police is asked to ring 101 quoting incident 233 of 24 September. 

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