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TOOELE -- Tooele Police have a new lead in the murder of an elderly woman who was found dead in her home last week.
Detectives uncovered her cell phone in Kearns Wednesday. It appeared to have been tossed in a bush near the corner of Stone Flower Way and Ridge Brook Way, a little over a block away from where 70-year-old Evelynne Derricott's stolen car was found Saturday night.
"We suspect whoever was in the car parked the car, got out of the car and was on foot at the point of disposing of the phone," Tooele Police Lt. Paul Wimmer said Thursday.
Neighbors in Kearns witnessed what they described as a large police search Wednesday. Some witnesses were questioned about what they saw last week.
"Oh yeah, we were scared to death wondering what was going on," said Lisa Sa'u, who lives across the street from where the cell phone was spotted. "It's scary because we've got kids out everywhere, I mean, you don't want someone who has committed a murder out in the neighborhood."
We suspect whoever was in the car parked the car, got out of the car and was on foot at the point of disposing of the phone.
–Paul Wimmer
Police continue to hope for new leads, but investigators are not saying what they found in Derricott's home, or how she died. They are waiting for further answers from the medical examiner's report.
"It's frustrating because right now we're looking at a broad spectrum of possible suspects," Wimmer said.
Police are looking further into one theory that Derricott may have startled a burglar. They aren't sure if that is what happened or whether it was something else.
Derricott was found dead in her home Oct. 7 when a friend knocked at the door and didn't get an answer and could not reach Derricott on her phone. The friend called police, and discovered Derricott deceased inside.
Several neighbors Thursday said they had heard of problems in recent months with car burglaries in the area and even on the street, but nothing like this.
"I just wish they'd catch who done it," neighbor Lori Roth said. "It's kind of scary knowing they're still out there."
Email: aadams@ksl.com
