Video: Murdered pensioner Betty Yates 'may have known killer' The body of Ms Yates, 77, a retired schoolteacher was found in the living room of her remote riverside cottage near Bewdley, Worcestershire, on Jan 4. Police believe she had been stabbed in the neck and killed two days earlier. Mrs Yates's daughter Hazel Costello said that it was possible her mother knew her killer, a thought which she said is tormenting the family. To lose your mum is always dreadful, but to lose your mum like this, when you worry constantly about how frightened she might have been or what she might have felt during such a vicious attack is like a nightmare. At the moment we don't know if it was a burglary or if there was any other reason. It is possible our mum knew who killed her and this only makes things worse.