It may forever remain a mystery unless someone blabs! declared Accrington, Lancashire, residents after the savage murder of widowed Mrs. Susan Westwell, who lived alone in Hyndburn Road. Mrs. Westwell,78 and thought to be a little peculiar, used to lend pennies at interest to the working-class people of the area and further augmented her income by supplying hot water and making tea for local mill workers.
On the night of Wednesday, August 24th, 1904, she was bludgeoned by intruders at her home and died shortly after being found lying behind her front door. A neighbour who called earlier that evening saw two young men sitting inside the house, both with their backs to the front door. The house had been systematically ransacked.