Pensioner murder: family speak out

The family of a 68-year-old murder victim who lay in her bed for two years have issued a statement to the media.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Oct 2017, 11:54 BST
Updated 12th Dec 2017, 11:35 BST
The death of a woman whose body was found in a Belfast flat is being treated as murder, police have said. Marie Conlon, 68, was discovered in the flat in Larkspur Rise in the west of the city last Friday. The murder inquiry was launched by detectives from the PSNI's Serious Crime Branch. Photo: Presseye/Stephen HamiltonThe death of a woman whose body was found in a Belfast flat is being treated as murder, police have said. Marie Conlon, 68, was discovered in the flat in Larkspur Rise in the west of the city last Friday. The murder inquiry was launched by detectives from the PSNI's Serious Crime Branch. Photo: Presseye/Stephen Hamilton
The death of a woman whose body was found in a Belfast flat is being treated as murder, police have said. Marie Conlon, 68, was discovered in the flat in Larkspur Rise in the west of the city last Friday. The murder inquiry was launched by detectives from the PSNI's Serious Crime Branch. Photo: Presseye/Stephen Hamilton

Marie Conlon, 68, was discovered on Friday by officers after concerns were raised about her welfare.

A man aged 23 was arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police in Northern Ireland had forced entry to her Larkspur Rise home and discovered her dead in bed.

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The PSNI said tonight that it had been asked to issue the following statement from the Conlon family.

“We are shocked and heartbroken to learn about the loss of our beloved sister, Marie Conlon,” it said. “The tragic circumstances of her death make it all the more difficult to comprehend and accept. Marie was very much loved by her family and will be mourned greatly.

“She was a very independent person. Numerous attempts had been made to contact her in person, and by other means, over the course of the past two years but at no point were suspicions raised that she had been deceased. It is only with hindsight that the unimaginable now seems possible.

“We have been working closely with the PSNI to bring this devastating situation to an end. We hope and pray that justice will be done and ask for privacy as we grieve the loss of our sister. The family of Marie Conlon.”

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Sinn Féin councillor Séanna Walsh said that there were occasions when members of the family did come down and knocked on her door. He told UTV: “They were saying ‘she is in there... we know that she is in the house but she won’t answer.”

She didn’t have any children and never married, he added.

Related topics:PSNIPoliceNorthern IrelandSinn Fein