Detectives are let to make any arrests
Rose Johnston, 68, was found dead in her home in Dovecot prompting a murder investigation
No arrests are yet to be made one month after a murder investigation was launched in Merseyside. The police probe was started after Rose Johnston was found in her home on Ancroft Road in Dovecot on Saturday, October 4, with her cause of death believed to have been a blunt force head injury.
The person responsible for her death is still at large, with police telling the ECHO last month how detectives are “keeping an open mind” as to what had happened. In the days after her death, Rose’s family paid tribute to 68-year-old describing her as “kind, caring, compassionate, friendly, unassuming and gentle. She was so intelligent, funny and sarcastic”.
In the following weeks, Merseyside Police Detective Chief Superintendent Mark Drew issued an appeal.
DCS Drew said: “Since Rose was discovered, we have been working tirelessly to identify lines of inquiry, conducting extensive inquiries in the local area around CCTV and ring doorbell footage, as you’d expect, dashcam footage from vehicles, and speaking to witnesses who live in and around that area.
“In terms of where we are at, we are keeping an open mind, with respect to the investigation, with all lines of inquiry being pursued by our specialist major inquiry team.”
Forensic officers at the scene spent time examining a fence at the back of Rose’s property, with DCS Drew declining to comment on specifics surrounding the case.
Police have widened their appeal for any potential footage to residents living in the streets surrounding Ancroft Road, with people being asked to check their CCTV and doorbells for footage from the days before Rose was discovered, particularly those living in Moss Side, Grant Road, Mossgate Road and Pagemoss Lane.
In a tribute issued by Merseyside Police, Rose’s family said: “Mum was kind, caring, compassionate, friendly, unassuming and gentle. She was so intelligent, funny and sarcastic.
“Mum was a tutor working in adult education for many years and she spent recent years volunteering for the Nugent group working with people with special educational needs and even though she didn’t have very much, would always buy donations for the foodbank every time she did her shopping.
“She was a very private person, but was truly family orientated.
“Mum always looked out for and always cared for her whole family, often putting everyone else before herself. She was a sister, auntie, great auntie, grandmother and great grandmother and my mum.
“She is going to be sadly missed by all of us. We just can’t understand who would want to hurt her this way and can’t understand why after the challenges she has faced in her life would someone do this to my lovely mum.”
A Major Incident Public Portal (MIPP) has since been set up by Merseyside Police where people are able to submit information. It is available here.
Anyone with information on this incident should contact Merseyside Police on @MerPolCC on X and Facebook quoting reference 25000817218. You can also report information via the police website: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or call 101.
Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or pass on information via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.