Nora Tait

Nora Tait was beaten to death in her home shortly after having gone out to buy some fish and chips on 12 October 2005.

She was found dead the next day by the son of one of her close friends who had found her door open.

It was thought that she had been killed in her dining room. On a table nearby there was an uneaten meal of fish and chips that she had just bought from the fish and chip shop. Her purse was found to be missing.

The post-mortem stated her cause of death to be head injuries caused by repeated blunt force trauma delivered with a weapon. The pathologist noted that her hands had been fractured which indicated that she had attempted to defend herself whilst being attacked, probably by putting her hands over her head.

At the inquest, one of her children had said, 'She would have put up a fight. She was quite a feisty lady for her age, she had a temper'.

She had been seen in CCTV at Doncaster Royal Infirmary less than two hours before the time that police think she was killed.

The police said that nine suspects had been arrested in relation to her murder but they didn't have enough evidence to charge anyone.

It was noted at her inquest that the police had failed to find a man known as, 'Knock-Off Lad' who used to call on her and sell her food stuffs that were thought to have been stolen.

Nora Tait had been a retired seamstress.