Ann Widdecombe suspect ‘a loner who went a bit loopy’ claim neighbours | UK | News
Neighbors of a man arrested on suspicion of Ann Widdecombe’s murder have broken their silence following a police raid. The 28-year-old was arrested yesterday in South Yorkshire, around 300 miles from his home in Dartmoor.
said Courtney Foster, 25, who lives down the road in the town’s Kimberworth Park suburb. Telegram He said the young man arrested rarely left the property. She said: “She rarely leaves the house, her dad would do anything for her and I don’t know what she does for a living. I think she went a bit crazy when her dad died.”
Local residents of Rotherham described the early morning arrest as chaotic and disturbing. Forensic officers entered a terraced house in the Kimberworth Park area on Sunday morning amid a heavy police presence, including marked vehicles, and a cordon around the property.
One neighbor described “a bunch of unmarked police cars” and officers rushing to the house and said the incident made them feel “pretty sick”.
Another resident noted that the suspect had been living at the address for at least a year.
Ms Foster said police also took the man’s dog, believed to be a labradoodle, during the arrest, which he said was particularly noisy and disruptive.
The arrest came after former Tory minister and UK Reform figure Ms Widdecombe was found dead at her remote bungalow in Haytor, Devon.
He was found Thursday morning after suffering serious injuries. Police believe the attack occurred around noon on Wednesday.
CCTV footage reportedly showed a young man leaving a Rotherham address at around 7am that day, then driving south in a red car with neighbors inserting “some sort of wooden stick” into the passenger side.
The journey from Rotherham to Widdecombe’s home on Dartmoor takes around four hours. Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed they were not looking for anyone else in connection with the murder.
At a press conference, Deputy Chief Constable Matt Longman said there was no evidence at this stage that the incident was terrorism-related or politically motivated, but detectives were keeping an open mind. He urged the public to avoid speculation that could upset Widdecombe’s family and friends.
Reform UK has begun reviewing emails sent to Widdecombe in recent weeks and is providing enhanced security for MPs. Nigel Farage said the murder was a “pre-planned” incident as he laid flowers at the scene.
The contrast between the quiet South Yorkshire street and the brutal death of a leading political figure nearly 300 miles away shocked both communities.
Neighbors who once viewed the suspect as a reclusive individual now find themselves at the center of a high-profile national investigation.
