Appeal over brutal killing of sisters 30 years on
THEY were the Birmingham step-sisters killed for a bottle of Tia Maria and boxes of chocolates in a murder that has never been solved.
Now police are set to make a 30th anniversary appeal over the deaths of pensioners Alice and Edna Rowley, who were found brutally murdered at their corner shop in 1987.
Edna, 77, and 87-year-old Alice had devoted their lives to each other and the business they had run for more than 50 years in Greswolde Road, Sparkhill.
But their lives were brutally ended on December 23, 1987, when a killer came calling. Police discovered Alice in the living room of a flat adjoining the shop. She had been strangled. Edna, who was suffocated, was found in an upstairs bedroom. There was no sign of a break-in.
Police put massive resources into a murder hunt and took the unprecedented step of putting up their own £10,000 reward.
The motive for the brutal murders was quickly ascertained – theft.
Christmas paper was scattered about the rooms and a cassette radio, boxes of chocolates and a bottle of Tia Maria were stolen.
A neighbour later told detectives he had seen a man at the store at 7.30pm on December 22, knocking on the internal glass door.
Numerous TV appeals followed and the response was overwhelming. In the five months following the murders more than 5,000 individual inquiries were completed and more than 1,600 statements were taken by investigating officers.
It was only when all avenues of investigation had been exhausted that the inquiry was eventually scaled down.
West Midlands Police have confirmed they are now planning a fresh appeal for information on the 30th anniversary of the double murder – with officers hoping finally for a crucial breakthrough.