The murder of an 80 year old lady who was still trying to make a living running the shop she had looked after since the 1930s. The body of Miss Emily Pye was found in her property in Gibbet Street.
In those days there was no May Day or Spring Bank Holday and on June 8th (a Saturday) people were celebrating the Whitsuntide holiday. Miss Pye's niece and her husband had arranged to meet her and go out for the afternoon but when they called for her they found the shop locked up and got silence in response to their repeated knocking. They contacted the police and eventually a constable broke in, only to find Miss Pye dead inside with severe head injuries. A small amount of cash was found to be missing from the shop but around £100 in cash (a large amount in those days) was still upstairs at the property (also Miss Pye's home).
The local Chief Constable, Gerald Goodman, quickly called for assistance from Scotland Yard and two detectives were sent to run things. Over the coming weeks, local police, including the well-known Det. Insp. Paddy Ryan, conducted door-to-door interviews trying to find possible witnesses who may have seen the murderer entering or leaving Miss Pye's shop. They were unsuccessful and by Christmas 1957, the investigation was wound down. The killer was never identified.
I lived in that area and can vividly remember the police doing their door-to-door enquiries. The weather was pretty hot and I was amazed to see the detectives, with their sore feet, wearing, not shoes, but slippers!
Tony Martin
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