Joan Margaret Shakespeare

Unsolved Murders

Age: 53

Sex: female

Date: 2 Sep 1984

Place: Pembroke Court, Tranmere

Joan Margaret Shakespeare was found dead at a flat in Pembroke Court, Tranmere.

Her body had lain there for more than a month, but her brother, who also lived there, never informed the police.

An open verdict was returned at her inquest.

The Coroner said:

It strikes me as wholly lamentable that in 1984 nobody, in what I can only think is a fairly well inhabited area, went to make any inquiry when somebody had not been seen for at least a month. This unfortunate lady lay there for that period of time and neither any service nor neighbours thought all was not well.

The pathologist said that because of her advanced state of decomposition, that he had been unable to ascertain her cause of death. He added that he thought she had been dead for at least 5 weeks.

He said:

There is no evidence of any violence to the bones, and that is all I can say.

A detective said that he was called to the flat on 2 September 1984 and spoke to her 41-year0old brother, who confirmed that the body he found was that of his sister. The detective said:

He was confused and appeared to be strange in manner.

He said that he later obtained a written statement from the brother who said that he and Joan Shakespeare had lived in the council flat for two years. He said that about the start of August Joan Shakespeare had been in her bedroom watching television and that when he went into her bedroom the following morning he found her lying on the floor near to her bed. He said that he spoke to her, but got no reply, and that when he touched her leg he found that it was cold.

He added:

I didn't know then Joan was dead. I just left her lying there because I didn't know what to do. I just didn't think of contacting a doctor or the police.

Her body was found after a youth heard noises coming from the flat and investigated and found the body in the bedroom.

*map pointers are rough estimates based on known location details as per Place field above.

see www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

see Liverpool Daily Post - Friday 21 September 1984