The locals in Stokes Croft, Bristol, used to say that Gertrude Dorothea O’Leary, who ran an off-licence in Thomas Street, was loaded with cash. Her killer, no doubt driven by such stories, called in at her shop on Thursday, JUNE 30th, 1949, beat her at least 20 times, strangled her, yet walked out with only her watch and a pendant worth £25.

Gertrude, 65, was described as “top-heavy,” and unstable on her feet. Her ferocious killer was thought to be the same man seen acting suspiciously in the street the day before – short, tanned, slim, and middle-aged.

Police interviewed 114 suspects, took statements from twice as many people, and made one brief arrest – but it all came to nothing.