Carole Harrison, 73, was found dead inside her £422,000 semi-detached house in Teddington, south west London Police have released a picture of the church-going former nurse who was murdered at her home — which later ‘exploded’ in flames

Police have released a picture of the church-going former nurse who was murdered at her home — which later ‘exploded’ in flames.

Carole Harrison, 73, was found dead inside her £422,000 semi-detached house in Teddington, south west , in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Her home had been set on fire.Detectives launched a murder investigation after they discovered she had been injured before the blaze.

Neighbours in the leafy London suburb said she had a ‘habit of inviting people in who she didn’t know’.

She was seen befriending a ‘shabbily dressed’ man on Hampton Hill High Street on the Tuesday afternoon before she died.

A neighbour said: ‘He was a middle-aged man and the most noticeable thing about him was that he had an untidy mop of black curly hair.

‘He didn’t look like the sort of person she might have been friends with but who knows.’

One neighbour said she had spoken about wanting to buy a new property using £1million she claimed to have inherited after her brother and sister died. 

Ms Harrison is the 100th person killed in London this year, where gang stabbings and shootings have soared.

One of the youngest victims was seven-year-old Joel Urhie, who died in arson attack on his family home in Adolphus Street, Deptford, on August 7.

With the death toll reaching 100 before September begins, 2018 is on course to see a higher number of homicides than the 116 recorded in 2017.

The investigation into Mrs Harrison’s death is the sixth murder inquiry launched in London in a week and the tenth this month.

Her family said in a statement issued by police: ‘She was a loving mother and caring person who dedicated most of her life to nursing in the NHS and private care homes.

‘She really was a grandmother with character and will be deeply missed for her unique cheeky laugh and comical character.

‘Due to the illness she suffered from, she trusted anyone that she met, sought friendship in many people and was known for being somewhat generous at times.

‘Her illness could make her frustrated at times too.

‘This is a very difficult time for us and we appreciate that there is an ongoing Police investigation and we would ask anyone who knows anything that could help with the investigation to please contact the police. 

‘Particularly if anyone saw her on Tuesday, 21 August.If you have ANY information please contact the police immediately on 0208 721 4622.

‘We ask that our privacy during this difficult time is respected by all.’

The mother-of-five lived alone after her husband Terence, a bus driver, died in 2005 at the age of 64. 

Her eldest son lives in a nursing home after suffering a stroke while another lives nearby and regularly visited her.Her other son also visited from time to time.

She was estranged from one of her daughters, who has children and lives nearby in Whitton, for at least 10 years. 

Forensic investigators scoured the house for evidence today, as detectives continued with their murder investigation.

Neighbour Flo Osmond, 75, moved in next door when Ms Harrison was already a widow 22 years ago.

She said: ‘She got this habit of inviting people in that she didn’t know, she really did not know what she was doing.

‘There was somebody cycling around outside on the day at lunch time.’ 

Another neighbour said: ‘Carole was telling everybody she had money.She even came to me and said she had come across money.

‘She was going around telling people and told me that she had lost a brother and sister and she was getting half the value of their home. I think it was very unlikely that she had it.

‘I’m just wondering if she had been introduced to undesirables.

‘When I look across at night before I went to bed I usually see Carole sitting on the wall but she wasn’t there that night.

‘There were two lights on in the upstairs and normally there’s only one.

‘I think maybe somebody might have been there.I think I went to bed probably around 11 that night.

‘I know her son looked after her really well. He was there several times during the day.

‘Her husband was a bus driver. They were living together when he died.’ 

Close friends claimed she wanted to buy a new home with the money she believed she would inherit. 

One said: ‘She was a nurse at one time.

‘She was a very good friend of mine and I used to enjoy our talks that we had together.

‘I enjoyed she had returned to having Bible studies.

‘This Wednesday she would have her second bible study with two sisters from our Jehovah’s Witness congregation and she enjoyed it.

‘She’s a lovely lady and a good friend and she will be missed in the road.At the end of the day I think she had a kind heart.

‘It is very upsetting, we are going to miss her because we used to see each other quite regularly.’

Another neighbour said Ms Harrison also worked in a local launderette four decades ago.

She added: ‘She kept telling me she wanted to buy a house.She just said that she was left half of two houses after her brother and sister died.’

Speaking of the night of the fire, Ms Osmond added: ‘It was awful because a saw a firefighter bringing her out.She was already dead. 

‘I woke up to someone screaming but it was somebody else on the back.

‘It was when we saw the fire about 12.30am or 1am that we phoned her son.

‘She was very difficult but a character, it’s not going to be the same without her.’

Neighbour Lottie Westgarth, 20, said: ‘She needed a lot of help to do things because there were a couple of times a packet or a jar she couldn’t do herself.She must have been very desperate.

‘I spoke to her for 20 minutes last Wednesday. Her son was coming that afternoon. She asked me to open a packet of tablets for her.

‘She lived alone, she had a son who would come visit her.He came last weekend and took her out. She was very lonely.’

A post-mortem at Kingston Mortuary yesterday failed to establish a cause of death, but police say she had suffered injuries ‘consistent with an assault’ before the fire.   

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Leonard said: ‘Police were called just after 1am on Wednesday August 22nd to a fire at an address on Mays Road in Teddington.

‘Officers attended along with paramedics and London Fire Brigade.

‘A 73-year-old woman was found dead inside the address.Her next of kin have been informed.

‘Although formal identification awaits, police are confident the victim is Carole Harrison who lived at the address.

‘A post-mortem examination was held at Kingston Mortuary on Thursday in which a cause of death has not yet been established and awaits further tests.

‘However, she was found to have injuries consistent with an assault.’

DCI Leonard added: ‘At this stage we are appealing to anyone who saw the Mrs Harrison on the day leading up to the fire.

‘In particular we want to hear from anyone who may have seen her out and about and most particularly if she had anyone with her.Anyone with information should call police immediately.’

Levels of violence in the capital have soared this year, with gang stabbings and shootings seeing the murder rate raise above that of New York in February.  

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