Police hunting the barbaric killer who set a retired postmistress on fire in her home today revealed they have found the knife used to repeatedly stab her.
Una Crown, 86, died after she was stabbed in the neck and chest during the attack at her bungalow in Wisbech, Cambs.
The tragic pensioner was discovered shortly after 11am on Sunday after she was last seen alive the Friday before.
Police are treating her death as murder and revealed a man delivering newspapers discovered a knife in a street close to Una’s home this morning.
A post mortem examination revealed Una died from stab wounds and following the “brutal assault” was set alight.
Detectives say they believe the killer set Una on fire in an attempt to hide her injuries and destroy evidence.
The fire did not spread to the rest of the house because it self-extinguished.
Detective Chief Inspector Jon Hutchinson, from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, said: “We were made aware of the discovery of a knife in a street near to Magazine Lane this morning.
“The knife has been seized and we will be carrying out tests to see if it has any link to Mrs Crown’s murder.
“It is still very early and we are keeping an open mind as to the relevance of this discovery.
“We are continuing with searches of the area around Magazine Lane and house-to-house enquiries are ongoing.
“We hope to jog people’s memories and would urge people to think back to what they were doing last weekend.
“Were you in the area of Magazine Lane? Did you see anyone acting suspiciously?
“Any information could prove to be vital in catching whoever is responsible for this terrible crime.”
Una’s husband Jack, known as Ron or Ral, died on Boxing Day, 2009, at the North Cambs Hospital, Wisbech, Cambs., after the couple had been married for 60 years.
The couple did not have any children, but Una had family living locally and her neighbours, who spoke to her regularly, also helped look after her.
HM Coroner for Cambridgeshire William Morris opened and adjourned an inquest into Una’s death this morning.
Its very sad that someone would do something like that