A family has suffered a double heartache after their beloved grandad died following an alleged break-in – but cops have said no crime happened.
Lesley Capewell was found covered in blood on his living room floor beside a shattered TV by his son Carl Capewell, 60.
The grandfather-of-six, 95, had been lying there for two days unable to reach his emergency button.
He was rushed to hospital where he was treated for a head injury.
He told Carl and granddaughter Skye, 29, that two men had ransacked the home and taken £5,000 from a bag in his wardrobe.
Tragic Lesley passed away two weeks later.
“I was on my way home from a holiday and my dad called,” Skye said.
“Dad said that he’d been round and someone had broken in.
“Grandad was covered in blood, both sets of his teeth and hearing aid had been knocked out and he had an injury on the back of his head.
“When we got to the hospital, grandad said that ‘two men had come in’.
“He said there was £5,000 missing that was usually kept in his bag in the wardrobe but my dad found it empty on the bed.
“We don’t know if he caught someone and fought back because that’s something he would do.
“He said he’d been there for a day and a night.
“If my dad didn’t go round to pick him up for dinner, he would have died there.”
Carl was due to pick Lesley up from his home in Alfreton, Derbyshire, to attend their weekly father-son dinner.
He had expected to go home so the family cleaned up the living room and replaced the TV.
Skye said: “We had CCTV put up outside his house but then we got a call saying he was passing.
“It was a huge shock. If this hadn’t happened, then he’d still be here.
“This could have been avoided. I think he died from shock.
“It’s so devastating because he had so much more life left.
“He got on with his own life and he was really independent, active and fit for his age.
“He’d go into town from 9am and carry his own shopping home.
“We’d always joke that he’d outlive us all.
“When I see pictures of him, it all comes flooding back and it makes me angry.
“He had such a happy life and this has been his ending.
“Grandad even said to us in the hospital that he would have been fine if this hadn’t happened to him.”
The family are sharing their story in the hopes that anyone with information will come forward, as reported by Need to Know.
Skye added: “There’s been no justice for him.
“We’re trying to close the chapter because it’s been taking such a toll on us.
“I have two children and I couldn’t focus on anything.
“I was awake at night playing all of the scenarios in my mind. I would think about him laying there on his own.
“He was an amazing grandad, so silly and would always make jokes.
“Grandad was such a soft, caring person and he was really old school because of his age.
“He was such a big part of the family. We’ve felt such a loss since he’s been gone.
“We all loved him so much.”
A Derbyshire Police spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Capewell’s family following his death and we understand that this will have been a traumatic event for them.
“The incident, and subsequent investigation, involving Mr Capewell has been reviewed by a number of senior officers and there remains no evidence that there was anyone else in the property with Mr Capewell before he was found injured.
“The initial attending officers found a significant amount of cash, in plain sight, which had not been taken and there was no further indication of anyone else having been in the property.
“This incident was therefore treated as Mr Capewell suffering a medical episode and falling.
“Further information was received after concerns were raised about potential third-party involvement – and further investigations, including CCTV trawls of the local area were completed.
“However, there remained no evidence of any third-party involvement.”
He died last September but the force has only just concluded the probe.
But Skye said the family are “annoyed” by the police’s findings.
She added: “The house looked like a murder scene.
“My grandad was frail and there’s no way he could have caused that damage himself.
“He was a very proud man and his house was always tidy with nothing out of place.
“He was in shock, but he wasn’t confused. When he was in hospital, he even remembered that he had an appointment with his opticians.
“His story about two men coming into the house never changed.”
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