This is the moment a murderer stayed silent while being questioned by police after he sneaked into his grandmother's house while she slept and strangled her.
asserted
she → stay → her
Joshua Powell, 27, killed Emma Finch, 96, and then set fire to her bungalow in the quaint Hampshire village of Liss in the early hours to gain money from her will.
The fire service was alerted at about 4am on May 17, 2024 by an automatic alarm triggered by the activation of a carbon monoxide monitor at Ms Finch's house.
Firefighters had to force entry to the house, where Ms Finch was found dead on her bedroom floor in what at first glance might have appeared a tragic accident.
uncertain
what → kill → glance
But as investigators entered the scorched room, they quickly noticed that the fire appeared to have been unusually contained and realised it had been staged.
They also discovered that a key safe outside the back door was open, with the key missing.
asserted
key → enter → door
The combination to the safe was later found in a note on Powell's phone.
asserted
combination → find → phone
Attention focused on Powell, given his close relationship with his grandmother, and he was interviewed by Hampshire Police after being arrested on suspicion of murder.
asserted
he → focus → murder
Video clips from his questioning feature in the latest episode of Channel 5 crime documentary 'Murder Scene: The Incident Room' which airs at 8pm tomorrow.
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which → feature → tomorrow
Emma Finch, 96, was found dead on the bedroom floor of her bungalow in Liss, Hampshire
Joshua Powell, 27, is interviewed by police officers after being arrested on suspicion of murder
But he refuses to answer any questions from detectives – including one asking: 'Can you tell me if the last thing your grandma saw was you attempting to strangle her?'
Powell is also asked: 'Did your grandma suffer when she died, Josh?
asserted
she → find → her
Was that at the hands of you, was that at the hands of the grandson that people describe as her favourite, the one that makes the effort to go and see her, the one that spends time with her, the one that visited her on a day off?
asserted
that → describe → day
'Did you do all of those things and make all of the effort because you loved your grandma, or did you do those things because you saw a financial gain for yourself?'
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you → do → yourself
Police do not reveal their knowledge of Powell's movements during the interviews, allowing him to give his own account – but he decides to remain silent.
asserted
he → reveal → account
Senior Investigating Officer Howard Broadribb tells the programme: 'If someone chooses not to answer the questions, I appreciate that's their legal right - they don't have to answer questions, they can stay silent.
asserted
they → tell → questions
'But I think, I always struggle, to think if you're not involved in murder, why wouldn't you tell me that and why wouldn't you give answers to those questions?
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you → think → questions
Mr Broadribb adds: 'Has he killed her or has somebody else done this?
asserted
somebody → add → this
Because this doesn't really make sense to me that a grandson who was so doting on his grandmother would do such an act towards her.
asserted
who → make → her
Detectives established that the fire had started on Ms Finch's bed, and spent matches found at the scene were different to a matchbox discovered elsewhere in the house.
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matches → establish → house
A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as neck compression – and a lack of carboxyhemoglobin in her blood indicated she had died before the fire began.
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fire → give → blood
Clips from Powell's questioning feature in Channel 5's 'Murder Scene: The Incident Room'
Joshua Powell was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years in November last year
Police also soon found that Powell was close with his grandmother - whom he called Oma – and would visit once a week to help with food shopping and play Scrabble.
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he → feature → Scrabble
Officers initially spoke to Tesco cashier Powell in the hours after the fire and he claimed that he did not leave his home during the relevant times and was asleep.
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he → speak → times
But he was arrested on suspicion of murder two days later after CCTV video showed his car had left his home at about 2am on May 17 and was in the Liss area.
uncertain
car → arrest → area
This directly contradicted his initial account – while phone and social media data showed he was active during that time and his phone was connected to his car.
asserted
phone → contradict → car
The notes on his phone additionally showed the code to the key safe at Ms Finch's home had been entered weeks earlier, despite him claiming to not know this.
asserted
him → show → this
He had, at the time of the incident, switched off the location finder on his phone, but police were able to track his movements in his car.
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police → switch → car
Powell, who lived in nearby Lindford, owed his landlord £2,500 and was also in about £8,000 of debt to various other companies.
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who → live → companies
Weeks before Ms Finch's death, he is said to have told friends he 'hoped that his nan died soon because he was skint and that he thought he was the only one getting money in the will when she died'.
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she → say → will
On the day of her death, he spoke to a work colleague about the prospect of inheritance and how much he understood his grandmother's estate to be worth.
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estate → speak → inheritance
Detectives established that the fire had started on Ms Finch's bed at her bungalow in Liss
Fire crews found the blaze appeared to have been unusually contained and had been staged
He also confided in a friend that he had a nightmare that he had killed his grandmother.
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he → establish → grandmother
Forensic examinations linked Powell to the injuries on Ms Finch's neck, the wheels on the key safe, and also from a belt recovered close to the scene which also had traces of his grandmother's blood.
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which → link → blood
A knife was also recovered near to the home which matched the set from Ms Finch's house and was missing from the set.
asserted
which → recover → set
Joshua was charged with murder on May 22 and admitted the offence at Portsmouth Crown Court almost exactly a year later in May 2025.
uncertain
Joshua → charge → May
In November last year, he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years.
asserted
he → jail → years
He called his grandmother the 'one constant in my life that I could count on', in an apology letter he wrote to the court.
uncertain
he → call → court
Powell wrote: 'The word sorry does not even begin to cover how I feel for the unforgivable, truly horrible crime I committed.
'
asserted
I → write → crime
Oma was the one constant in my life that I could count on.
uncertain
I → count → that
She was there for me no matter how good or bad I behaved as a child.
asserted
I → behave → child
She was a wonderful, caring, loving, happy woman who when entering a room suddenly brightened it up tenfold.
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who → love → it
CCTV video showed Powell leaving his flat with a belt which he later discarded in bushes
Senior Investigating Officer Howard Broadribb told the programme there were questions over why 'a grandson who was so doting on his grandmother would do such an act towards her'
'
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who → show → her
Forgiveness is not something I expect from any member of the family.
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I → expect → family
Not even I forgive the actions I took on that fateful day.
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I → forgive → day
The guilt is something I will have to learn to live with.
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I → have → ?
It eats away at me, gnawing my brain and thoughts every single second each day.
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It → eat → brain
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
