Sharon Gordon: Builder admits murdering client in row over extension

Sharon Gordon was found at her home in Dudley in July

A builder has admitted murdering his client with a hammer in a row over the extension he was building at her home.

Sharon Gordon, 58, was found dead at her home in Dudley, West Midlands, by concerned friends after she failed to turn up to work in July.

She was slumped at the bottom of the stairs with severe head injuries, police said.

Peter Norgrove, from Sedgley, was due to face trial but pleaded guilty to her murder on Monday.

He changed his plea at Wolverhampton Crown Court earlier and will be sentenced at the same court on 26 January.

Blood-stained items were found at an address connected to Peter Norgrove, police said

The 43-year-old, from Brownswall Road, Sedgley, met Mrs Gordon through mutual friends at the same church they both attended, West Midlands Police said.

He was building an extension at her home in Bromford Road which had taken several months and thrown up a number of problems.

After she did not arrive at work on 21 July, her friends went to her home and found her body. She had died the previous day, the force said.

Norgrove told police he had left the property the day before, however blood-stained items were found in a wheelie bin at a family address related to him and further searches revealed a hammer hidden in a shed.

Mrs Gordon, 58, was found by concerned friends after she didn't turn up to work

Det Insp Damian Forrest, who led the investigation, said: "This appears to have been a disagreement over work carried out at the victim's property which has escalated into violence.

"I am pleased the defendant has pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and spared Mrs Gordon's family the ordeal of a trial."