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Woman, 53, shot dead in home before man stabbed to death - the two latest murders in Merseyside
A 53-year-old woman was shot dead in the chest in her own home.
She has been named locally as Jackie Rutter, 53, after the attack at around 1:45am on Sunday, October 30, in Moreton, near Liverpool.
She has been described as a grandmother-of-five who weighed just five-and-a-half stone and the "sweetest woman you could meet" by relatives.
A man, 79, who police said was known to the victim has been arrested.
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "Detectives have arrested a man on suspicion of murder following the death of a woman in Moreton in the early hours of Sunday 30 October.
"At around 1.45am, police were called to an address on Meadowbrook Road to a report that a body of a woman in her 50s had been found inside. Emergency services attended and she was sadly pronounced dead at the scene with an injury to her chest consistent with a gunshot wound.
"Officers arrested a 79-year-old man, who is known to the victim, on suspicion of murder. He was taken into custody and will be questioned by police.
An investigation is underway... CCTV and house-to house-enquiries are being carried out in the area."
Chief Inspector Derek Riley said: “Although a man has been arrested following the tragic death of this woman in Moreton we are still in the very early stages of our investigation and enquiries into the incident are still ongoing in the area.
“I would ask anyone who was in the area of Meadowbrook Road in the very early hours of this morning who saw or heard anything or thinks they have captured anything significant on their doorbell camera or dashcam to contact us as a matter of urgency.
“I would also encourage anyone who has any other information which they believe could assist with our investigation to get in touch as this could be vital to our enquiries.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact @MerPolCC on Twitter or ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’ on Facebook or call 101 with log 096 of Sunday 30 October.
You can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111, or their online form at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.
Three hours later at around 4:45am police received a report that a 50-year-old man had been stabbed in the chest at a property on Bridge Road, Litherland, Sefton, Merseyside.
The victim was taken to hospital with a serious life-threatening injury and sadly died later that day.
Merseyside Police said a woman was arrested and a postmortem examination will take place to establish the cause of death.
A Merseyside Police spokesman said: "A 42-year-old woman from Litherland has been arrested on suspicion of murder. She is still in police custody for questioning.
"Witnesses, CCTV and house-to-house inquiries are being conducted in the area."
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Caton said: “This was a tragic incident in which a man has sadly lost his life.
“An investigation is now underway, which is in the very early stages as we seek to establish what has happened which has led to this tragic incident.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police CC. You can also call 101 quoting incident reference 242 of 30 October.
You can also pass information via the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.org.