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9th March 2023
12:21pm GMT
A grandmother who had suffered a stroke bled to death after being attacked by a predator in hospital.
A post-mortem on Valerie Kneale revealed she had died as a result of a violent sexual assault, and not because of a stroke as her family had believed.
The horrifying attack was so severe that she died from her injuries.
Officers have launched a murder inquiry and but have yet to find the attacker and fear they have probably carried out further attacks.
Valerie, 75, had been at home with husband Bill on the evening of November 12, 2018, when she had the first stroke was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
By the afternoon she was sat up on bed and was talking to her children, who thought they were leaving her in safe hands.
That evening, Valerie had another stroke and never regained consciousness. It is not clear if she was attacked before or after the second stroke.
Her family were told the outlook was not good and so made the decision not to go ahead with any further treatment.
She died on November 16, surrounded by family.
They believed she had died from the stroke, but a post-mortem examination revealed the harrowing truth.
An inquest heard Valerie had suffered a horrific internal injury, with the pathologist saying they believed it "was caused by a forcible sexual assault after she was admitted to hospital".
The case was the subject of the BBC's Crimewatch Live programme on Tuesday.
Speaking on the programme, Valerie's niece Lisa Jaffier said the family had not been looking for answers when Valerie died, and expected the post mortem to say she died of a stroke.
She expressed the family's anger that someone could attack her aunt "when she was unable to defend herself."
Lisa described her aunty Val as "such a wonderful, lovely person, she was fun, she loved people, she enjoyed life and was the hub of the family and she had this really lovely skill of making you feel so special and so loved".
She said: "She was checked over and she was doing ok, she was sat up, communicating, obviously she was going to have challenges in her recovery, but we were all hopeful of a positive outcome.
"Her children wanted to stay with her that evening, but the hospital said she was in the best place, there is no need and she is going to be absolutely fine."
"To think that someone did that to a lovely person at a time when she was helpless, at her most vulnerable, where she couldn't shout out, she couldn't defend herself," Lisa added.
Crimestoppers has announced a £20,000 reward for anyone who comes forward with information that leads to a conviction.
Lead investigator in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Jill Johnston from Lancashire Police told Crimewatch she was shocked when she heard the pathologist's findings.
She said: "I couldn't believe someone could be assaulted in this way, such a serious assault, whilst in hospital and I really was truly shocked.
"One of the hardest things in this investigation was telling Mrs Kneale's family, that there mother and grandmother, who they thought had died of a stroke, had actual died as a result of a serious violent attack."
DCI Johnston said they have already interviewed thousands of people who were working in the hospital, visitors, patients to piece together a timeline, but four years later the attacker has still not been identified.
She added: "There's a real worry to the investigation and to the hospital that this could be just one of a number of attacks.
"This may be at the hands of someone who is a predator, who may have committed previous attacks of this nature, and may continue to do so."
DCI Johnston added: “We remain fully committed to finding Valerie’s killer. We know someone will have information key to our investigation. We know someone can help us find the person responsible.
“We believe the reward offer from the independent charity Crimestoppers will help provide that key piece of information to help unlock the case.
“For four years Valerie’s family have been left devastated by her death – they want and deserve justice.
“Please call independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week or use a secure, anonymous online form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
“Crimestoppers cannot trace your call or track your IP address and never ask for or record any personal information.”
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said its thoughts are with Mrs Kneale's family and it is co-operating fully with the police investigation.
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