Murder hunt after widow ‘Little Linda’ is found strangled

DETECTIVES launched a murder inquiry yesterday after a widow who was just 4ft 10in tall was found dead in her seaside home which had been apparently set ablaze.

Linda Hood, 68, who was nicknamed ‘Little Linda’ by neighbours, had been strangled.

The alarm was raised just after 9am on Friday by neighbours in Gorleston, near Great yarmouth, Norfolk, who opened Mrs Hood’s front door to find the house full of smoke. Firemen called police after finding a body.

A post-mortem examination found the pensioner died from ‘compression of the neck’. One neighbour said: ‘ She was a lovely lady and would always say hello to everyone. She had lived in her house for around 40 years and everyone around here knew her.

‘I can’t imagine what has happened and why anyone would want to harm her. It is just awful.’

Describing the incident, the neighbour said: ‘Her next door neighbour’s daughter heard the sound of Linda’s smoke alarm going off. She ended up knocking on my door because I have her spare key. I opened the door and there was a lot of smoke.

‘ I don’t know how long the fire had been going for.’ She added: ‘Her husband Alan died around five years ago and they did not have any children. The only close relatives she had were a brother in London and her husband’s sister.’

A neighbour in an adjoining house was said to have smelled smoke when she woke up on Friday morning, suggesting the fire was already alight.

Floral tributes left at the scene included one which read: ‘To Little Linda, we hope you are at peace with the angels, God bless you.’

Forensic officers were yesterday seen at the twobedroom terrace home.

Detective Inspector Lewis Craske, of the Joint Norfolk and Suffolk major investigation team, said: ‘This is a tragic incident and my thoughts remain with her friends and family. We continue to work alongside specialist investigators to establish the exact circumstances leading up to the fire.’

He said detectives would like to speak with anyone who was near the address before the fire on Thursday or Friday last week, particularly those with dashcam or CCTv footage of the area.

‘Everyone knew her’