THE niece of murdered pensioner Irene Hawkes has told how she and her children were just “a key turn” away from finding her battered body.

Eighty-two-year-old Mrs Hawkes’ body was found by police in her home in Wakely Road in Kinson, Bournemouth, on Tuesday, May 6 this year.

David Towers, 51, was handed a life sentence for her murder and ordered to serve a minimum of 18 years before being considered for parole at Winchester Crown Court.

Susan Mitchell, Mrs Hawkes’ niece, said: “I’d been trying to contact her. One day I rang up and there was no answer. I tried every day that week but there was no contact. I was a bit suspicious then because there was trouble brewing. I went to visit.

“The curtains were closed. I had an intuitive feeling. I almost tried (to get in) but the key wouldn’t turn. I was with my two young kids. We were only a key turn away from finding her ourselves.

“I reported it to police and asked them to break in.

“Then they found her.”

After the grim discovery Susan said she and the rest of the family felt “numb” and “a feeling of absolute disgust that anyone could do such a thing.

“Especially to someone who is vulnerable and who you know you’re going to have power over”.

Susan described Mrs Hawkes as “a very generous person” who had been an amateur opera singer in her heyday.

Born in Dun Laoghaire near Dublin, Mrs Hawkes would visit family in Ireland for a holiday every year.

She added: “She was a very generous person, very sociable. She loved her friends and she loved socialising and shopping.

“She absolutely loved her garden and in her prime she was a member of the Fuschia Society. She probably lived in Bournemouth going on for 15 years. I used to go and visit her.”

The trial was “extremely upsetting” for the family but now they finally have some closure, she added.

“I’m very happy with the verdict.

“It’s about what I expected.

“Now we can all move on.

“Everyone in the family has been extremely supportive of each other. We are a very close family,” she said.

The family also wished to thank everyone who had offered support during their “difficult ordeal” added Susan.

“We would very much like to thank the investigating police team for their excellent detective work which has ultimately led to David’s conviction.

“DS Pete Yeates and DS Helen Davies were exceptionally attentive and kind to us all at court. Thank you too to the witnesses, jury and lawyers who helped put the pieces of a complicated jigsaw together.

“Irene’s neighbours and friends have supported her through many difficult times and were always there for her.”