Widow’s death becomes Met’s 100th murder case this year
‘She went round telling everybody she had inherited lot of money’
SCOTLAND Yard launched the 100th murder inquiry in London this year after a kind-hearted pensioner who claimed to have inherited £1million was found dead in a house fire.
Detectives believe former nurse Carole Harrison was battered before the blaze started at her home in a leafy suburb.
The 73-year-old widow suffered injuries “consistent with assault”, according to an inconclusive post-mortem examination.
Tests are being carried out to establish the exact cause of her death.
Officers from the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating the death in Teddington, south-west London, in the early hours of Wednesday.
One neighbour said: “Carole was telling everybody she had money. She was going around telling people that she had lost a brother and sister and was getting half the value of their home.”
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard said: “We are appealing to anyone who saw Mrs Harrison on the day leading up to the fire. In particular we want to hear from anyone who may have seen her out and about and most particularly if she had anyone with her.”
The murder inquiry is the sixth launched in London in a week and the 10th this month.
Earlier this year, a series of gun and knife murders linked to the drugs trade pushed London’s murder rate above that of New York. But a clampdown ordered by Commissioner Cressida Dick and spearheaded by the new Violent Crime Task Force has slowed the wave of violence.
Ms Dick, who inherited a budget cut of £1 billion when she took over the Met last year, has made tackling street violence her top priority.
Many factors fuel the surge in gun and knife crimes including the drugs trade and poverty. Ms Dick acknowledged the reduction in police officers as a result of spending cuts has also played a part.
Mrs Harrison, who had three sons and two daughters, has lived alone since the death of her bus driver husband Terry 22 years ago.
Neighbour Andrew Connolly, 47, said: “Carole was a normal, everyday person. She spoke to people but kept herself to herself a lot of the time.
“She would help anyone out and loved the kids. She would always buy them little gifts. She had a kind heart.”
Another neighbour said he had been looking forward to joining Mrs Harrison for a bible study this week.
He said: “She had some health issues and got upset when her medication ran out but she had a heart of gold. We all respected her around here. She had a panic alarm in case she fell over but hardly ever wore. I’m so sad.”
Neighbour Flo Osmond, 75, said: “She got this habit of inviting people in that she didn’t know. She really did not know what she was doing.
“She was a character. It’s not going to be the same without her.”
A man of 65 has been charged with the murder of mother-of-two Rosina Coleman, 85, the capital’s 62nd victim, found dead at her home in Romford on May 15.
And ex-soldier Desmond Sylva, 40, will go on trial in the new year accused of murdering his girlfriend, tragic nurse Simonne Kerr, 31, the 87th victim, who shot to fame on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent as part of the NHS choir B Positive.
She was knifed to death at her home in Battersea. Her son, Kavele, six, died from sickle cell disease in 2015.