manchester news
Thursday, 15th December 2005
Woman froze to death after night out
Adam Derbyshire
It is believed she passed out after trying in vain to get into the back of her house in Margaret Street, Ashton.
Her partner Jeff Heal, 78, arrived the following day to pick up Sandra for the couple’s Sunday morning trip to the Salvation Army in Old Street.
When he let himself in, he realised the house was empty.
Worried, he phoned Sandra’s friend, Kath Fletcher. She had been drinking in the Wellington pub with Sandra the night before, but had not seen her since.
Mr Heal grew increasingly concerned. As darkness fell, a group of youngsters knocked on the door.
"They asked if I’d been looking for Sandra," he told the court.
"One said ‘I think she’s dead’."
Discovery
The children had stumbled across the body while playing in the alleyway behind the house.
"They led me outside. She was lying on her back on the floor. I just broke down," said Mr Heal.
Her handbag was missing and detectives sealed off the scene, fearing she had been murdered.
But she had left it at the pub and her friend Kath had taken it home with her after the pair became separated.
Sandra — a recovering alcoholic — was put her into a taxi by the landlord.
She had no money to the pay the fare but driver Irfan Akhtar agreed she could settle up another time. Realising she had no front door key, she made her way round the back where she collapsed.
A post-mortem investigation revealed she was almost four-times the drink-drive limit.
Speaking afterwards Mr Heal, of Ashworth Avenue, Audenshaw, said: "We met in January 2004 at the Salvation Army and I proposed a month later."
Verdict: Accidental death
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