A forensics officer outside Ann Widdecombe’s house in Devon (Image: Getty)
The world of politics has been rocked this week by the death of much-admired political giant Ann Widdecombe who was found dead at her home sparking a police murder investigation. It’s been revealed that Ann, 78, who lived alone at her remote bungalow in Dartmoor, Devon, was discovered covered in blood in the kitchen after sustaining a serious head wound.
A 26-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murdering the former Conservative MP and Brexit Party MEP has now been released from custody and is no longer part of the investigation, Devon and Cornwall Police said.
The ex-Tory prisons minister was found dead at her home in Haytor on Dartmoor on Thursday, July 9. Miss Widdecombe was most recently a Reform UK spokeswoman.
She also found fame outside politics after starring in Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother. On Saturday, Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed the man’s release from custody, following his arrest on Friday.
The release of the suspect means the police investigation may be back to square one and here we take a look at five key questions that seemingly remain unanswered.
Ann Widdecombe inside her home. She was found dead on Thursday (Image: Shutterstock)
WAS THERE CCTV OF THE ATTACKER?
It’s clear from photographs of Miss Widdecombe’s property that she appeared to have a doorbell camera device and it’s likely given her position as a former MP and prisons minister she would have been advised to install CCTV around the property.
Police are yet to release any images of a suspect from any footage taken at the home, but they have said they are looking for a “white male”. The fact they know their suspect is white suggests they have some CCTV evidence.
HAVE THEY RULED OUT ANN DID NOT DIE BY ACCIDENT?
Ann was a 78-year-old woman and while no health issues have been reported, police you would assume have made sure they could rule out that she died from a fall or some other form of accident.
One theory that has been reported is that she could have died in a burglary gone wrong, though police have not officially commented on this.
Ann was last seen alive during a TalkTV appearance on Wednesday morning (Image: TalkTV)
DO WE KNOW IF A WEAPON CAUSED HER INJURIES?
Despite reports of Ann being covered in blood and suffering severe head injuries, the police have not released details of any item or weapon which could have been used in an attack.
Forensic pathologists are certain to have been working to establish exactly how Ann died.
HAD ANN RECEIVED ANY RECENT THREATS?
It’s not known if Ann had reported any recent threats to the police. In her position as an outspoken supporter of Reform UK and as former prisons minister the idea of an attacker having some motive to attack her has probably not been ruled out by detectives. She had revealed in the past that she had received death threats and that it was a sad reality for politicians.
The Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has recently said he will need security for the rest of his life because of the threats he’s received for years.
Police have, though, said that they don’t believe Ann’s murder was politically motivated.
Perhaps the most significant detail police have to work with, as it may isolate when an attacker could be picked up on any CCTV.
It’s been reported Ann was due to appear on Channel 5’s Matt Allwright show at 1pm on Wednesday, July 8. She was last seen alive on a remote interview on Talk TV at around 8am the same day.
Before Ann’s scheduled appearance on Channel 5, a researcher had been in text conversation with her about the details of the show. A last message from Ann was received at 12.19pm, but when the researcher sent a message asking Ann to join a Zoom link at 12.48pm she received no reply.
The minutes between those two text exchanges, if Ann was the person sending all the messages, could prove crucial to the police investigation.