Joy Hewer was sexually assaulted and stabbed in the chest multiple times in the chest 30 years ago
The family of a primary school teacher from Walthamstow who was brutally murdered and sexually assaulted in her home 30 years ago has said they have been in “torment” ever since. Police are appealing for new information which could help them solve the murder of Joy Hewer, who was 52 years old when she was killed.
Joy was sexually assaulted and stabbed multiple times in the chest while at home on the evening of Tuesday, October 17, in 1995. Two fires were then deliberately started in the school teacher’s home.
Her younger sister, Penny Barnes, 72, of Bedfordshire, said: “Thirty years ago, my sister Joy was brutally murdered in her own home. She was a gentle, caring woman who hurt no one, yet her life was taken in the cruellest way.
“Our family has lived with this torment for three decades, and our parents died without ever knowing the truth. Someone out there knows what happened.
“Please, after all this time, do the right thing. Even the smallest detail could finally bring justice for Joy and peace for us, her family. If you know something, however small, now is the time to speak up – Joy deserves justice, and her family deserves peace.”
Joy, a devout Christian, was a much-loved primary school teacher, most notably at nearby Woodhouse Primary School. A reward of up to £20,000 is now being offered for anything that could help police find her killer.
On the day of her murder, Joy had visited the London Healing Mission, in Notting Hill, where she carried out volunteer work. She left the centre at around 3.30pm, before heading towards Pembridge Road, then visiting a chemist close to her home on Wood Street, Walthamstow, at 5.50pm.
A neighbour at St. David’s Court confirmed hearing loud noises or banging coming from the primary school teacher’s flat between 10.30pm and 11pm that night. A call was then made from a male caller at a telephone box, on Fulbourne Road, to the London Fire Brigade at 11.18pm.
The caller reported seeing smoke coming from Joy’s flat. While on the call, he spoke to another person who was queuing for the bus, which would have been heading to Walthamstow Central, route 212, or Leytonstone Station, route W16. Both of these people are yet-to-be located by police.
Joy’s body injured body was discovered by firefighters who broke into the bedroom of her East London flat. They extinguished two smouldering fires, both of which had been started deliberately – one in the bedroom and one in the lounge.
Police were also called to the scene at around 11.45pm. A post-mortem revealed that Joy has been stabbed multiple times in the chest, as well as being sexually assaulted before her murder.
The Met has also released an image of a man they would like to trace, who was captured on CCTV entering the front of St Davis’s Court at around 10.30pm that night. He is described as white, in his 30s, with short hair and wearing a light-coloured jacket.
Anyone with any information is asked to the Met on 07599822129, or, to remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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