Sixty-two-year-old Sheila Egner was born Sheila Elsie Margaret Yeomans on February 21st, 1929, in Derbyshire, England. She married Geoffrey Allan Egner in 1954 at St. John’s Church in Aldercar. The couple had one son, David. By 1991, Sheila was a well-liked employee at Yeomans Army Stores, a family-run business on Mansfield Road in the Basford area of Nottingham (now often associated with Sherwood or Carrington districts). Known for her pleasant demeanor, she was working alone that day, which was her day off, covering for colleagues.
The attack occurred sometime after two p.m. on Friday, July 26th, 1991. Earlier, around one fifty p.m., a couple entered the store looking for trousers and chatted with Sheila, describing her as “quite happy and cheerful.” Shortly after they left, the killer entered.
Witnesses later reported seeing a “rough-looking” man with messy hair exiting the shop around two fifteen p.m. He was carrying a bundle under his arm, later believed to be the cash register drawer wrapped in a green curtain from the store’s changing booth, and walking toward Nottingham city center. A woman on a passing bus noticed him particularly because of the parcel he carried. Several other people spotted the same man in the area.
The store’s door was found locked from the outside, suggesting the assailant had engaged the lock on their way out, a deliberate act to delay discovery.
It wasn’t until about four fifty p.m. that a concerned neighboring shopkeeper, worried that the store appeared closed during normal hours, alerted the police. Officers arrived to a horrific scene: Sheila Egner lay dead behind the counter, having suffered multiple severe blows to the head. The weapon, thought to be a hammer, bottle, or similar blunt object, was never found. The motive appeared straightforward: robbery. The cash register drawer, containing around £250, was missing.
Nottinghamshire Police launched a major inquiry. The case featured prominently on BBC’s Crimewatch UK in October 1991, with a detailed reconstruction of events, including the suspect’s description and sightings. Detectives appealed for information about the disheveled man seen fleeing the scene, but despite generating leads and some arrests over the years, no one has ever been charged or convicted.
As of 2025, Sheila Egner’s murder remains unsolved. Advances in DNA technology and forensic techniques have reopened many old cases in the UK, but so far, no breakthroughs have been publicly announced in this one. Nottinghamshire Police continue to review unsolved homicides and urge anyone with information to come forward.
Crime Immemorial 