Pictured...OAP who died after burglars ransacked her home
THIS is the pensioner who died after collapsing during a 999 call to ask for help as burglars ransacked her home.
As detectives released the picture of Maureen Whale, her childhood sweetheart described her as “very shy and private”.
The friend, who did not want to be identified, said: “Me and Maureen go way back, we used to date in secondary school.
“She was very shy and private, even back then, but we’d meet up at the farm with a girl she used to go around with back in the day.
“Maureen was an air hostess – which might seem surprising since she really wasn’t the type – but she was nice and polite and she seemed to enjoy it.”
Last night police said CCTV footage captured three white men in their 20s breaking into the small detached home where Ms Whale, 77, had lived all her life.
Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh, leading the investigation, said experts were working to enhance the footage – captured by a neighbour’s camera – to identify the suspects.
It shows them peering through the kitchen window in Barnet, north London, before two gained access through a side door as the third kept watch. It is believed the gang were disturbed when a next door neighbour accidentally set off his burglar alarm as he arrived home.
As the raiders escaped, the terrified pensioner desperately tried to raise the alarm and was begging for help when she collapsed.
Ms Whale, who suffered with breathing problems, was taken to hospital but died on Wednesday morning.
Anyone with information can contact police on 020 8785 8099, tweet @MetCC, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online.