By Cara Sulieman
AN ELDERLY lady who was found dead on a Scottish beach had only just moved in to her home 500 yards away, neighbours say.
Residents in the Musselburgh, East Lothian, sheltered accommodation complex where Christina Thomson lived said they suspected the 80-year-old had gone for a walk by the sea.
Her body was found on Tuesday morning at around 9am on the beach at the picturesque seaside town.
Lothian and Borders Police last night (Thursday) said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
“Went for a walk”
Residents in Gracefield Court said that Ms Thomson had moved in just weeks before her tragic death.
A neighbour above the ground floor flat where she lived said he only saw her a few times.
He said: “She has lived here for six weeks at the most. You would never really see her – I saw her go out the flat a couple of times.
“The last time would have been last week or the week before. I never saw anyone coming to visit her either, but that doesn’t mean no one did.”
He also added that he thought she had ended up on the beach after going for a walk.
He said: “I think she went for a walk to the beach – whenever I saw her go out she was walking. But I don’t know if she went out that morning or the night before.
“It’s tragic what happened.”
‘Please knock loudly’
The white door of Ms Thomson’s flat shows signs of her recent move, and how frail the pensioner was.
A yellow post-it note tacked to the door takes the place of a nameplate, with C Thomson written in neat handwriting.
And a brown envelope has been stuck into the letterbox with the note ‘please knock loudly’ printed across it in block capitals.
The tragedy has rocked the quiet cul-de-sac, with many residents only finding out when the police did door-to-door enquiries.
One neighbour, who lives two blocks away from Ms Thomson, said: “The police were around a few days ago asking questions about her.
“They spoke to everyone in the street. They said they were trying to find out more about her.
“I didn’t think anything of it until my neighbour told me she was the lady they found on the beach. It’s a terrible tragedy.”
A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police confirmed that the pensioner had not been reported missing before her body was found.
