Hull woman admits killing neighbour Susan Atkinson

Susan Atkinson was sadly found dead in her garden at her home in The Ryedales on Sunday, October 21 having suffered a severe head injury.

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Appearing at Grimsby Crown Court on Tuesday March 12, Sherry Moore, 55, also of The Ryedales, admitted to her manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The court heard Sherry Moore had suffered with mental health issues for a number of years and had been receiving treatment in the community.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Curtis, who led the investigation, said: “Susan’s tragic death devastated her family and shocked her friends and neighbours in this quiet Hull community.

“Susan was a much-loved member of the community, who had spent the previous day doing voluntary work in the city with friends.

“On Saturday, she was supposed to spend the evening with one of those friends but she never arrived.

“At the time her friend thought nothing of it, believing something must have come up. However, when she was still unable to contact her the following day she raised the alarm and Susan’s body was sadly found a short time later.”

An investigation was launched and officers at the scene noticed Moore’s home was insecure.

When officers went to check everything was okay, Moore was found inside the house with blood on her hands. She was quickly arrested and remanded into custody.

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DCI Curtis added: “Thankfully, incidents of this kind are extremely rare in our area and we were very quickly able to identify Sherry Moore as being the person responsible for Susan’s death, ensuring no one else was at risk of harm.

“Our thoughts remain with Susan’s family. They have asked that their privacy continues to be respected and we’re continuing to support them at this very difficult time.”

The case has been adjourned for psychiatric reports to be prepared, ahead of sentencing on Tuesday, May 21.