A woman stabbed to death at her home in Camden was a “vivacious” character known for walking her Corgi, say her shocked neighbours. Jennifer Abbott was discovered with multiple injuries on Mornington Place last Friday (June 13) after last being seen three days earlier.
The 69-year-old woman found murdered in her flat with tape over her mouth after being discovered by a neighbour who helped her concerned niece break down the door. Police are now treating her death as murder. Investigators fear she may have been killed for her diamond-encrusted Rolex.
She has been described as a ‘lovely, vivacious’ woman by a neighbour. They said: “She was very exuberant, very vivacious. She was a doctor, but she was also an actor and director in America. She’d directed a movie and I looked at it on YouTube and saw her interviewed in Los Angeles. She was a character. She was lovely.”
A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said her son went out to help Jennifer’s concerned niece and the pair made the harrowing discovery. She told the PA news agency: “My son broke the door down. We heard her niece shouting: ‘Somebody help me, somebody help’ and we went out and asked ‘what’s wrong?’
“She said: ‘I haven’t heard from my aunty in four days. Something’s wrong – break the door down’. I was holding the door open downstairs and my son was upstairs and then I heard her niece screaming and saying: ‘Oh my God, she’s been murdered’. She had tape across her mouth.”
Another neighbour said she’s struggled to sleep since Jennifer’s death, with neighbours writing to MPs, the police and Camden Council out of fear. She added: “She [Jennifer] was very kind. She lived alone… going out to take her dog twice a day.
William Currie, a hairdresser who lives over the road from Jennifer, agreed she was a lovely woman, describing her as “kind, polite and well-mannered. She was anonymous. She didn’t look high-maintenance – almost like a recluse, but not a bag lady. Nothing pretentious about this woman.”
Detectives investigating her murder fear she may have been killed for her diamond-encrusted Rolex. Mr Currie added there was a lot of drug activity near their homes, with police and community support often visiting the cul-de-sac.
Dick, a man living across the street, shared there had been some issues around the entrance to Jennifer’s flat. CCTV had reportedly been installed in a bid to cut down anti-social behaviour.
Dick said: “It’s a rich street full of lovely people. Apart from the drug thing, in 32 years I cannot think of anything in the form of a physical assault, of robbery, of noisy behaviour at night.”
The Metropolitan Police is now appealing for information that will lead to lead Jennifer’s killer. No one has been arrested in connection as of yet.
Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart, who leads policing in Camden, said: “We are working closely with our colleagues in the homicide team to establish exactly what happened and it’s incredibly important that we hear from anyone who may have knowledge about how this awful death occurred.
“Were you out in Camden on Friday? Perhaps you had been coming home from work, or at an event nearby? Did you see or hear anything around Mornington Place that struck you as being unusual?
“Someone must have seen or heard something and no piece of information is too small. It could be the crucial clue that leads us to identify Jennifer’s murderer.”
Anyone with knowledge relating to her death is urged to call 101 or message @MetCC on X, giving the reference 6470/13JUN. Information, including photos or videos, can also be uploaded to the Met Police’s appeal page.
Anonymous reports can also be made to Crimestoppers via 0800 555 111.
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