Murder probe on Wolverhampton burglary death

Wolverhampton murder victim Hester Mottershead died of a suspected stroke after burglars targeted her home, police said today.

The three raiders spent half an hour ransacking the property for valuables after conning their way inside, police revealed.

The 90-year-old was a former headteacher at Wolverhampton Girls High School and former Bilston High School.

She collapsed minutes after reporting the raid at her home in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton. Officers arrived to find the pensioner "very distressed".

Detectives launched a murder inquiry after she died at New Cross Hospital on Saturday morning.

Police are still investigating whether anything was taken in the burglary. A white tent was erected in the garden of the house, in Saxonfields, yesterday as forensic teams worked.

Superintendent Mark Payne said Miss Mottershead had managed to relay crucial information about the gang before she was taken ill.

Three men in their late teens to early 20s showed up on her doorstep at around 2pm on Friday, all dressed in blue overalls.

One of the men convinced her to open her door by pretending he was from the now-defunct water board – and when she did, he and two others barged past.

Mr Payne said there was evidence of their search in every room.

"This was a despicable act. A woman has lost her life in the most distressing of circumstances," he said.

Neighbours said Miss Mottershead moved into the street around a decade ago with her friend Brenda Thompson, a former deputy headteacher, who died three years ago.

By Charlotte Cross and Mark Mudie