Tributes paid to Derbyshire murder victim

Friends and neighbours have paid tribute to a woman murdered in Derbyshire village and her husband left with serious injuries.
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Ambulance crews were called to Langwith Junction, near Shirebook, yesterday, Saturday, at 9.30am, after receiving reports of a couple with serious injuries.

When they arrived at a house on Station Road, they found the woman dead and her husband badly hurt.

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He was rushed to hospital where he is being treated for ‘life-threatening injuries’.

Flowers at the crime scene on Station Road, Langwith Junction.Flowers at the crime scene on Station Road, Langwith Junction.
Flowers at the crime scene on Station Road, Langwith Junction.

The woman who died has been named locally as 86-year-old Freda Walker while her husband Kenneth, a former mayor of Bolsover, sat on Shirebrook Town Council, representing Shirebrook Langwith Ward.

Mr Walker, a retired mining safety inspector who celebrated his 88th birthday on Thursday, remains in intensive care with life-threatening injuries.

A dog walker, who passes through Station Road every Sunday, said: “They were very nice people.

An archive photo of Ken and Freda Walker.An archive photo of Ken and Freda Walker.
An archive photo of Ken and Freda Walker.
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“Kenneth used to be a local councillor heavily involved in the area.

“They were always a nice couple and ready to speak to you. I spoke to Mrs Walker regularly as I walk the dog through here – more so in the summer.

“I just knew them as a inviting and lovely couple.”

A neighbour said: “Ken and Freda were devoted to each other. This has shocked everyone who knew them.”

A tearful well-wisher, who was seen delivering flowers at the property, said: “He [Kenneth] worked in the pit for years. It is very sad.

“They were a lovely couple.

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“They are in a dark area with their house being beside an alleyway.

“That’s where whoever broke-in came from I think. The back of the house is pitch black at night.”

A message on flowers from the same neighbour, said: “To the best friend anyone could ever have had in their lives, I shall miss you so much.

“I can’t believe this has happened to the nicest person on this earth.”