Una Crown: Reward of 20k offered in 2013 unsolved murder

Una Crown, pictured with late husband Jack, lived alone in her bungalow

A £20,000 reward has been offered in the search for the killer of an 86-year-old widow 10 years after the discovery of her body at her home.

Una Crown was found surrounded by burnt newspaper and lying in a pool of blood, in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, in 2013.

Police initially thought she had accidentally set herself alight, and later apologised after concluding she had been killed.

The money has been put up by charity Crimestoppers.

Mrs Crown's body was found by a neighbour on Sunday, 13 January, 2013 and police established she had spoken to a friend on the phone at 17:00 GMT the night before.

The death was initially treated as unexplained but a post-mortem examination concluded she had died from stab wounds to the neck and chest and murder inquiry began.

Police said her clothes had been set alight in an attempt to disguise her injuries and destroy evidence, but the fire did not spread to the rest of the house.

'Shocking' case

Det Ch Insp Iain Moor, who is making an appeal on the BBC's Crimewatch Live programme, said: "Ten years on from this tragic case, Mrs Crown's murderer has not been caught and we have not been able to get justice for her family.

"We continue to seek opportunities for new lines of inquiry and this TV appearance, and subsequent reward of up to £20,000, will give us another chance to re-appeal to the public and keep the case in people's minds."

Una Crown was found dead at her home in Magazine Lane

He said officers still believed the answer to the case "lies within the local community" and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

The reward is offered for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of Mrs Crown's killer or killers.

Annabelle Goodenough, Crimestoppers' South East regional manager, said: "This is a truly awful, shocking and sad case.

"Our thoughts are very much with Una's family and friends, who remain desperate for answers and justice."

Crimewatch Live is available on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.