Watch on Shots! TV: The chilling unsolved murders of Birmingham sisters Edna and Alice Rowley in 1987

Fionnuala Bourke
By Fionnuala Bourke
Published 19th Feb 2024, 13:18 BST
Updated 19th Feb 2024, 13:21 BST
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Sisters Alice and Edna Rowley were murdered in 1987 in the corner shop they had run for half a century in Birmingham - but their killer has never been found

The shocking murders of elderly step-sisters Alice and Edna Rowley at their corner shop in Birmingham still concern the community today.

No one has ever been brought to justice for the brutal 1987 crime at Greswolde Stores in Sparkhill just before Christmas Day - on Saturday, December 23.

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Alice, aged 87, had been strangled with a scarf or towel, while 77 year-old Edna was smothered. The only items taken were two boxes of chocolates, a bottle of Tia Maria and a radio cassette player. The liquor and chocolates were the step-sisters’ Christmas presents to each other.

The pair had run the busy corner shop together for more than half a century. When West Midlands Police officers entered the property they found an untouched meal on the table close to the bodies.

One of Birmingham’s biggest ever manhunts was launched. More than 1,600 statements were taken and more than 5,000 inquiries were made. But the murder has never been solved.

Edna and Alice Rowley murdered in 1987 in Sparhill, BirminghamEdna and Alice Rowley murdered in 1987 in Sparhill, Birmingham
Edna and Alice Rowley murdered in 1987 in Sparhill, Birmingham