Possible arson evidence halts inquest into death of Paddock woman Annie Vaseer

Dec 10 2009 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

He told the court: “She was a drinker and a smoker.

“The house was not in a tidy state, with many cigarette butts around the house.”

Det Sgt Keith Skarz, who investigated the fire, told the court he was satisfied there were no suspicious circumstances to the fire.

He also said that the police had no record of complaints from Mrs Vaseer.

But a member of Mrs Vaseer’s family told the court she had found envelopes with crime numbers written on them in Mrs Vaseer’s house after her death.

Mr Whittaker adjourned the inquest to give police time to investigate the fresh evidence. The inquest is expected to restart in the New Year.

Earlier the court had heard a written statement from Mrs Vaseer’s daughter Lesley Norton.

She said: “My mother had a drink problem for years which is something she always denied. It caused a rift between us. She would ring me up early in the morning while drunk to talk about trivial things.

“It was too much for me. Eventually I gave up and distanced myself from her.”

Mrs Norton said she used to visit her mother on special occasions, but would not be allowed into the house.

She said: “I would visit her on her birthday. She would open the door a fraction and take the present and card without letting me in. I think it was to stop me seeing the state of the house.

“She was very manipulative, difficult and domineering. She was reclusive, virtually living in her bedroom.”

The court also heard that Mrs Vaseer was taken to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield after the fire with burns on 54% of her body.

She died on June 1 after four operations.

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