Joy Middleditch murder: Cause of death still not yet known

Two masked robbers forced their way into the home of Joy Middleditch and knocked her to the ground, before stealing her handbag and fleeing.

The masked men left her injured and "helpless on the floor" of her bungalow on Grayson Avenue in Pakefield, Lowestoft at some point overnight between Friday, March 24, and Saturday, March 25.

Mrs Middleditch was found lying on the floor by her family, injured but conscious, on March 25 but a murder investigation was launched after she died at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston in the early hours of Monday, March 27.

Now, a month on, and with the cause of death having not yet been established, witnesses, CCTV footage and anyone with doorbell cameras in the Pakefield area are sought amid the ongoing murder probe.

Floral tributes left for Joy Middleditch in Pakefield. Picture: Denise Bradley (Image: Denise Bradley)

Police said a post-mortem examination is pending further inquiries.

Two teenage boys - aged 15 and 14 - were arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday, March 31 and later released on bail, pending further enquiries, until June 7.

The stolen handbag was later recovered nearby on Nelson Road but, police said, her purse was missing.

Senior officers described the attack as "cowardly".

With street lights - which are normally turned off between 11.30pm and 6am in Lowestoft - kept on "for a prolonged period" during the investigations, Suffolk County Council said: "the lights have now returned to their default setting at the request of the police".

In heartfelt tributes the family described Mrs Middleditch as a "loving person who was sadly taken from us too soon."

Anyone with doorbell cameras or CCTV footage, or any motorists with a dashcam fitted in their vehicle driving in the vicinity of the B1532 London Road in south Lowestoft between 6pm on March 24 and 7am on March 25 is urged to call the Major Investigation Team on 101 quoting the crime reference number 37/17537/23.