A 51-YEAR-OLD woman from Malvern has been cleared of murder following a second trial.

A jury has acquitted the woman, who had been accused of murdering a man who was found dead after suffering serious head injuries.

Wendy Marklew, whose last known address was at Geraldine Court in Malvern, appeared at Birmingham Crown Court accused of the murder of David McTighe, who was known as Simon.

An initial murder trial started on Wednesday, October 4 and lasted 12 days but the jury could not reach a majority verdict.

So a second murder trial begun on Tuesday, October 24, and Ms Marklew was acquitted by a jury after six days.

Afterwards, a spokesman for the Criminal Prosecution Service told the Worcester News that the jury “could not be sure she had committed the act of murder”.

Mr McTighe, who was 43, was found dead at his Redditch home on Monday, June 13 last year.

Police were called to the property by the ambulance service at around 1.40am.

Ms Marklew, aged 51, was charged with murder on Thursday, December 8.

This followed West Mercia Police extending the time that they were allowed to question Ms Marklew, after officers arrested her on Tuesday, June 21.

A post-mortem examination had found that the cause of the injury which killed Mr McTighe’s was suspicious, prompting a police investigation.

Ms Marklew appeared before his honour Judge Robert Juckes QC at Worcester Crown Court on Friday, December 9.

At that hearing, Ms Marklew, who wore a dark coat, wept at one point and put her hands over her eyes.

Distraught family members and friends paid tribute to Mr McTighe after his death.

They told the Worcester News of their shock and described McTighe as a “top bloke” and “legend”.

It is not yet known whether police will start a fresh investigation into the death of Mr McTighe.