Reward offered in unsolved murder 10 years after woman found dead at her home surrounded by ‘burnt newspaper’

A SIZEABLE reward has been offered in an unsolved murder of a pensioner who was found dead at her home surrounded by “burnt newspaper”.

Una Crown, 86, was found lying in a pool of blood in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, in 2013.

Police had initially believed she had accidentally set herself alight but later apologised after it was established she had been killed.

The charity Crimestoppers has now put up a £20,000 reward in an attempt to catch the killer.

A neighbour found Una’s body on January 13, 2013 and cops established she had spoken to a friend on the phone at 5pm the night before.

Her death was initially treated as unexplained but a post-mortem examination revealed she had died from stab wounds to the neck and chest and a murder inquiry was launched.

Police said her clothes had been set alight in an attempt to disguise her injuries and destroy evidence, however, the fire didn’t spread to the rest of the house.

Det Ch Insp Iain Moor, who is making an appeal on the BBC's Crimewatch Live programme, said: "Ten years on from this tragic case, Mrs Crown's murderer has not been caught and we have not been able to get justice for her family.

"We continue to seek opportunities for new lines of inquiry and this TV appearance, and subsequent reward of up to £20,000, will give us another chance to re-appeal to the public and keep the case in people's minds."

He added officers still believed the answer to the case “lies within the local community” and asked anyone with information to come forward.

The money is being offered for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of Una’s killer or killers.

Annabelle Goodenough, Crimestoppers' South East regional manager, said: "This is a truly awful, shocking and sad case.

"Our thoughts are very much with Una's family and friends, who remain desperate for answers and justice."