Fresh appeal after arson murder

Police do not believe Mrs Brooke was the intended victim of the attack

Police have made a renewed appeal for information about an arson attack in West Yorkshire in which an elderly woman was killed.

Lea Brooke, an 81-year-old grandmother of 12, died when her home in Sandal Grange Farm in Walton Lane, Wakefield, was attacked on 10 November 2008.

White spirit had been poured through her letterbox and ignited.

Det Supt David Pervin, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "Someone out there knows what happened".

Police believe the mother-of-five was a victim of mistaken identity and the attackers may have been targeting her son.

He ran a construction business from her home and often stayed there.

Mrs Brooke was described by her family as a "gracious lady, a devoted mother and committed charity worker".

'Warning'

Her daughter, Suzanne Brindley, said: "The longer it goes on the harder it is going to be to find the culprit.

"I would like to think they would own up, but maybe that is me being naive."

Det Supt Pervin said he believed the fire was meant to act as a warning.

"I don't think that the person (who started the fire) could ever have envisage the destruction that followed or the death of Lea," he said.

"I feel sure that they would have told someone what they had done. Someone out there knows what happened."

The Crimestoppers charity has offered a £5,000 reward for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of Mrs Brooke's killer.