By Arthur Parashar, Alastair Lockhart, Tom Bedford, Natasha Anderson, Andy Dolan, Simon Trump
Updated March 30, 2023 02:21, March 30, 2023 02:55
Police believe an escaped mental patient beat his 86-year-old grandmother to death in her home.
Beryl Purdy, a church warden, was found beaten to death in her country home where the police were called in for a burglary in progress.
Avon and Somerset police said the suspect had been reported to them as a missing person before Mrs Purdy was found dead in her home in Bloomfield, a small Somerset village near Taunton. It was confirmed.
A police spokesman said the arrested man, in his 30s, is missing from a mental health unit, which is not safe.
Doctors ruled him unfit for questioning or police custody over the murders.
He was segregated under the Mental Health Act and transferred to a safe mental health unit.
The quaint village of Bloomfield, near Taunton, Somerset, was put on lockdown yesterday as police continue to investigate the murder of Mrs Purdy.
Witnesses said Mrs. Purdy had “clearly been hit hard on the head” and was “on the ground motionless in a puddle of blood”.
Mrs Purdy, who everyone knows as Bez, is believed to have been attacked inside a farmhouse across from the village church.
It is understood that her assailant tried to break into a car outside and the sound alerted people living nearby.
The person who found the broken car window noticed that the house looked unsafe.
The villagers then called their neighbors, and the two decided to enter the Bloomfield Village grounds in Somerset’s Quantock Hills.
A witness who requested anonymity said: “She was clearly hit in the head.
“She was just lying on the ground, not moving in a pool of blood. It was a shocking sight.
“There is no doubt that she was dead at the time. Paramedics were present, but we do not know why she is said to have died later at the scene.
Villagers say they were “angered and disgusted” by the sudden death of a working pensioner who was at the center of village life.
One resident described Mrs. Purdy as “an absolute pillar of the community.”
The pensioner who presided over the reservation for the village hall served as head of St. Mary and All Saints Church for 20 years. When she resigned two years ago, her parishioners staged a collection for her.
A third local resident said, “Bez was a local church leader and she was a lifeguard.
“It’s terrifying to think that something like this could happen in such a beautiful and secluded place.
“I couldn’t imagine being so far from the crime-ridden city streets. It’s so idyllic and peaceful.
According to locals, Mrs. Purdy was also the primary caregiver for her husband, who has severe mobility problems. The couple also do household chores to support their daily lives.
As one villager told MailOnline:
“Bez helped run the village hall and I had no idea she was in her mid-eighties.
“I don’t know what happened, but people are outraged and disgusted that a woman of Bez’s age has lost her life.”
Police cordons were adorned with flowers along with the message, “Bez, there are no words…our thoughts are with you and your family.”
The couple have a 55-year-old son, Nick, and a daughter-in-law, Teresa, who console Mr. Purdy, who has been described by locals as “distraught.”
The murder of Mrs Purdy is the second tragedy to hit her family. The couple’s daughter, Alison, an Avon and Somerset police constable, died in a horseback riding accident in 2012 when she was 46.
A huge police cordon was erected yesterday around the family’s red brick country cottage in Bloomfield village near Taunton, Somerset.
A mobile police station was set up next to St. Mary and All Saints Church, where the police investigative team and criminal investigators were at the scene in the couple’s garden, and Mrs. Purdy was the church warden.
Barriers have been placed at three entrances to villages partially owned by the National Trust. Even local postmen had to hand deliveries to policemen stationed at roadblocks.
Mrs Purdy was found seriously injured at her home in Bloomfield, near Taunton, Somerset, at 5:45 pm on Monday.
Police called in for the robbery tried to save her, but she was unable to revive and died at the scene.
Police were notified Monday afternoon by two men who found Mrs. Purdy’s body. Her attacker, who had already left the scene on foot, was pursued by a police helicopter and dog squad and arrested three hours later in a nearby wooded area.
“We are all very disgusted by what happened,” said Reverend Mary Stiles, who cares for four local churches, including St. Mary’s Church and All Saints Church.
“As a church, we are there for those who seek comfort, and we are trying to come together as a village as people work through their grief.”
A local resident, who lives about 800m from the scene, said he last witnessed a robbery two years ago in a rural area about 8km from Taunton.
Bloomfield is a postcard-perfect place with a handful of period pieces clustered around a church and village hall in an area of great natural beauty.
Nearby is the historic National Trust property of the Fine Court, believed to have been visited by poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
They were the guests of Andrew Cross, the scientist who brought rock mites to life in experiments with electricity that harnessed thunderstorms and is believed to have inspired Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein.
Former Clash frontman Joe Strummer, who died in 2002 at the age of 50, also lived in the village. He was found dead in a farmhouse outside Bloomfield. Doctors later confirmed that he had an undiagnosed birth defect in his heart.
Pictured with Dr. John Ogle after receiving a £2,000 grant check from Allchurches Trust towards a £50,000 conservation and restoration project for the 800-year-old St Mary’s Church in Bloomfield, December 2020 it was done.
A bouquet of flowers left at the scene read: “Bez, there are no words. Our thoughts are with you, Peter and your family.
Avon and Somerset Police Chief Inspector Justin French said: “A cordon has been set up while the investigation is ongoing.
“Police activity will be increased in the area while a full and thorough investigation is conducted by our Serious Crimes Investigation Team.
“While such incidents are rare, we understand that they can cause anxiety and distress in our communities.
“Anyone with concerns is advised to consult with officers on high-profile patrols in the area.”
Avon Police and Somerset Police referred the case to the Independent Police Action Service. Mandatory action referrals relate to actions taken following a missing person report made earlier in the day.
An IOPC spokesperson told MailOnline: The IOPC is currently evaluating the inquiry to determine what action should be taken.
Mrs Purdy’s murder occurred on the same day another pensioner died following a robbery at his home on the other side of the country.
In a separate case, great-grandmother Joy Middleditch, 82, was robbed of her pension on Saturday by masked intruders in Lowestoft, Suffolk. I was able to explain.
A woman who lives about 800 meters from the scene, speaking on condition of anonymity, said today that her local village had not been robbed for at least two years.
“It’s a very nice place here, it’s usually very quiet, and I don’t think I’ve seen a police car in months,” she explained.
“I am really worried about what happened, but I am happy to have found a suspect.
“If the suspect they have isn’t a suspect, he could still be there, so that’s really worrying.
She claimed that the last time the village experienced a robbery was “a few years ago and nothing like this had happened.”
“The police came and took fingerprints, but I’m pretty sure no one was hurt,” she said.
Ch Ins French said police operations would be stepped up in the area while a “full and thorough investigation” was conducted.
He added: Alternatively, you can contact your local neighborhood police team.
Anyone with information to assist in the investigation is encouraged to call 101 and cite reference number 5223071427.
