One of Essex's oldest murders remains an unsolved crime, with loved ones still missing the justice they deserve decades later.

Ivy Davies, 48, was battered to death at her home in Holland Road, Westcliff, in February 1975, but despite several leads the culprit has never been brought to justice.

The mum-of-seven was found at her home in Holland Road, Westcliff, in February 1975. She had been battered to death with a steel engineering tool, found near her body.

The horrific crime became known as the Orange Tree murder, after Ivy’s Westcliff cafe. 

She was battered to death at her home in Holland Road, Westcliff, in February 1975, but despite several leads the culprit has never been brought to justice.

In March 2017, Officers were set to investigate claims Ivy met an escapee from Runwell Mental Hospital who visited her Orange Tree café, under the Westcliff arches, shortly before her brutal murder.

He is said to have posed as a charming doctor escorting a group of patients- who also turned out to have absconded from the facility.

In total, detectives collected 963 statements and also interviewed a woman who volunteered to be questioned in connection with the incident.

A 68-year-old Basildon man was arrested on suspicion of murder in November 2006 after allegations surfaced that Ivy had been killed during a domestic incident.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge him on the grounds of insufficient evidence and he was released from bail.

It is understood that detectives had three potential suspects- all of whom are still believed to be alive.