A long-term resident of the street on the Nottinghamshire border where an elderly woman was brutally murdered says he didn't expect her killer to be picked up on his security camera. A jury in the trial of Vasile Culea at Derby Crown Court has found him guilty of murdering Freda Walker, but cleared him of the attempted murder of her husband Ken.
The trial heard that 34-year-old Culea sneaked into the Walkers' home on Station Road in Langwith Junction, Shirebrook, to steal £30,000 in cash that he heard was hidden at the property. He assaulted the couple, tied them up and put a bag over the head of Mrs Walker.
Mrs Walker, 86, was pronounced dead at the scene after being found by a concerned neighbour on January 15. Mr Walker, 88, suffered serious injuries in the incident. He died died several months later, with his death listed as being of as natural causes. Following the jury's guilty verdict on Tuesday (October 25), Culea will now be sentenced on Friday.
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People living on Station Road say that the community is still in shock from the "sickening event." Douglas Steel, 78, who has lived in the house opposite Freda and Ken Walker's former home for 51 years, described the morning that they were found. He said: "We had a parcel being delivered that morning so my wife was up and about and it was at about 8 and the paramedics were already there, but that was before two ambulances came, five police cars and a forensic vehicle and we were cordoned off for about 14 days.
"It was a horrible thing and neither of them deserved anything like that at all. The house itself is empty now and I know they've been stripping it out - it was absolutely awful."
One man who had lived on the street for just over 40 years said that detectives picked up Vasile Culea walking down Station Road on his security camera. The man, who did not want to be named, said: "You don't expect a killer to be walking along your street but detectives took away a box with the footage and they managed to pick him up walking outside.
"All I can say is that Freda would have easily made 100 if this hadn't happened because she was still so fit and she was always doing things like gardening. It was sickening and it has left a sour taste in the mouth for everybody around here, I heard that Freda had just gone to put the cat out when this man sneaked into the house.
"I'm just glad that the jury has returned a guilty verdict and that they have obviously managed to see through this man. I think it's something that a lot of us feel is best forgotten now."
Russ Kirby, 65, who also lives on Station Road, said: "It is usually a quiet area and there was never anything like this before. I didn't know Ken and Freda myself but my wife knew Freda and they were a lovely couple by all accounts. It's obviously good that there has been this verdict and the family will now hopefully be able to try and move on with their lives."
A man who was visiting friends in Langwith Junction and who had been told about the incident said: "It is horrific when anything like this happens and of course it's the affect that it has on the community involved. I wasn't aware of the incident at the time but I was being driven through the area and the street was pointed out to me where this happened - it was shocking to hear."
Speaking outside Derby Crown Court, Ken and Freda Walker's niece, Sandra Bunting, said of Culea that he was "calculating, cruel, and had no conscience." Andrew Baxter, deputy chief crown prosecutor from the CPS, offered his sympathy to the Walkers' loved ones and said that the incident had left "a family grieving and a community in shock."
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