Elderly woman is found dead in flat
AMURDER investigation has been launched following the death of a pensioner in Rochdale.
The body of the victim, a woman believed to be in her 70s, was discovered at a first floor flat on Balderstone Road, Kirkholt, on Sunday afternoon.
Police say they were called to scene the scene by paramedics at about 5.50pm.
A 55-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody for questioning.
Detectives say ‘enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death’ are ongoing.
A post mortem was due to take place on Monday.
Forensic officers and detectives were at the scene.
On Monday afternoon a police van could be seen outside the two storey block of flats and a Police Community Support Officer sat guard on the landing outside the property’s front door.
Neighbours told the Observer of their shock.
One said: “It’s shocking. I used to live in that block of flats and she was a nice old lady.
“You just don’t expect it on your doorstep, but it seems to be happening everywhere nowadays.”
DCI Liz Hopkinson of GMP’s Major Incident Team, said: “This is a tragic set of circumstances where an elderly woman has lost her life and we have a team of dedicated officers working around the clock to establish what happened.
“While we have a man in custody, our investigation is in its very early stages and we would urge anyone with any information that could assist our enquiries to get in touch.”
Anyone with any information should call the police on 101 or 0161 856 8437, quoting reference number 1798 of 10/06/2018, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.