A man arrested on suspicion of murder after a mother-of-three was found stabbed to death in her home in one of Britain’s ‘poshest villages’ has been released under investigation.
The body of Clair Ablewhite, 47, was found after officers were called to a cottage in Colston Bassett, Nottinghamshire, shortly before 6.30pm on Saturday.
A postmortem examination revealed she suffered knife wounds in the attack, which is thought to have happened on Friday night or the early hours of Saturday morning.
A 48-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder but has now been released while enquiries continue.
Colston Bassett is based in the picturesque Vale of Belvoir on the Nottinghamshire-Leicestershire border and has a population of around 400. The average house price is around £800,000.
Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin, of Notts Police, has been in ‘close liaison with detectives leading the investigation and kept abreast of all the lines of enquiry’.
He said: ‘My instinct and experience tells me that at this stage there is certainly no cause for wider alarm in the community. My thoughts are very much with Clair’s family and specially trained officers will continue to work closely with them as the investigation progresses.
The body of Clair Ablewhite was found after officers were called to a cottage in Colston Bassett, Nottinghamshire, shortly before 6.30pm on Saturday
‘I completely understand how an incident like this will have shocked the local community, which is a very quiet rural area where violent crimes, particularly of this nature, are extremely rare.
‘But I would like to reassure people that the investigation is moving at pace with a team of experienced detectives following up a number of leads.
‘As you would expect we have deployed a huge amount of specialist resources into this from Nottinghamshire and the region.
‘Local residents can expect to see lots of police officers in the area – uniformed officers and detectives.
‘The investigation is still in its very early stages but there is lots of activity taking place and many lines of enquiry being pursued, including CCTV, forensic examinations and searches and we are speaking to lots of people who are providing very helpful information. All of this is helping us piece together what happened.’
ACC Griffin said he believed there may still be people who have not yet come forward who could have information that could help the investigation.
‘Were you in and around the area on Friday night and the early hours of Saturday?’, he said.
‘If you knew Clair, did she confide in you or share anything that could be relevant? If you have the slightest bit of information, even if you think it might not be relevant, please let us know because we will leave no stone unturned.’
In a statement on Monday, Nottinghamshire Police said: ‘The death of a woman at her home in Colston Bassett is being treated as murder, police have confirmed.
‘Mother-of-three Clair Ablewhite was found dead after officers were called to the property in Hall Lane, shortly before 6.30pm on Saturday.
Police cordon off Hall Lane in Colston Bassett, Nottinghamshire on February 26, 2022
‘A Home Office post-mortem examination has since been carried out and confirmed the 47-year-old suffered stab wounds.
‘Officers arrested a 48-year-old man on Sunday morning on suspicion of murder in connection with the investigation and he remains in custody as enquiries continue.
‘Police have been carrying out forensic investigations at the property, as well as house-to-house enquiries and checking CCTV in the area. A cordon is likely to remain in place for some time and officers will be in the area as they continue their investigations and provide reassurance to local residents.
‘Family liaison officers are working closely with the family and providing support at this difficult time.’
Detective Inspector Mel Crutchley of Nottinghamshire Police, who is leading the investigation, added: ‘Our thoughts remain with the family as they deal with the impact of this tragedy. They have been left devastated by her loss.
‘Our investigation is now in the stages of very carefully and painstakingly building up a picture of what happened before, during and after the murder and as people can probably imagine, this process can take time as the evidence we gather makes things clearer and clearer.
‘I understand that in a quiet, close-knit community like this it is shocking for an incident like this to happen and people will be talking but I would urge people not to speculate, respect the family and please trust the judicial process to find the truth in due course.
‘I would also ask anyone who has information that may help the investigation to contact Nottinghamshire Police as soon as possible.’
Simon Robinson, leader of Rushcliffe Borough Council, said: ‘It is very unusual to see this happen. and we send the woman’s family our condolences.
‘It’s a shock for this to happen in such a rural area. The woman who died was very well known in the community.’
Colston Bassett is the home of traditional Stilton and Shropshire Blue cheeses. Its dairy has been making cheese for over 100 years and is one of only five nationwide that are permitted to name their blue cheese ‘Stilton’.
Colston Bassett’s pub, the Martin’s Arms, is a frequent award winner renowned for its fine wine and cuisine.
