The chief detective investigating the brutal murder of a well loved grandmother has appealed to the local community in Leicester to come forward with information one year after her death.
Mumtaz Member, 56, was killed in a bedroom in her home in Holmfield Avenue, Leicester, and was discovered with severe injuries at 9.30am on Saturday December 12 2015.
She was found by a family member and a post-mortem examination revealed that she died as a result of head injuries.
Detective chief inspector Mick Graham from East Midlands Special Operations Unit Major Crime Team, told Eastern Eye the circumstances surrounding her death were uncommon.
Her sons Mohammed Member and Shafiq Member, together with Shafiq’s partner Fatima Patel, were charged with murder but the charges were later dropped.
Detective chief inspector Graham believes there are people in Leiecester who have information but are reluctant to go to the police.
The force has also released CCTV images of potential witnesses who were in Holmfield Avenue on the night of December 11 and early hours of December 12.
Crimestoppers is offering a reward of up to £10,000 for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Speaking about the appeal, Graham told Eastern Eye: “She was a lovely wife, mother and grandmother, sister and aunty. She suffered at the hands of somebody, she didn’t deserve what happened to her. Her husband is very traumatised by what happened.
“I’m urging people to look into their conscience and come to us with info. I’m trying to get justice for Mumtaz.
“Any information they do have, we can treat it sensitively, we can deal with it with the right safeguards.
“One year on, the info is still out there. We are determined to get to the truth. This is not about religion, race or colour, this is about a murder of somebody in their own home.”
The detective said Member who had two sons and a daughter, was an outgoing housewife who was very well liked in the community.
He added: “From enquiries we’ve conducted so far we have identified CCTV images of some individuals who were in Holmfield Avenue during the night of Friday 11 December, 2015 and early hours of Saturday 12 December, 2015. We would like to speak to these people as they may be able to help with our investigation. I would like to stress that they are potential witnesses and they are not involved in the incident.”
If you have any information call Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111.