Last updated at 12:22 PM on 15th May 2011
- Suspect Deyan Valentinov 'believed he was the prophet of God'
- Mother-of-two described by daughter as 'generous of heart'
- Attacker reportedly told onlookers 'this is my treasure' as he clutched head
- Woman had earlier ran crying from killer who had been following her
Tragedy: Mother-of-two Jennifer Mills-Westley who was decapitated in the Tenerife supermarket
A woman horrifically decapitated in a Tenerife shop was named tonight as grandmother Jennifer Mills-Westley.
The retired mother-of-two, from Norwich, Norfolk, was living on the popular tourist island, her family revealed.
She was allegedly murdered by Bulgarian Deyan Valentinov, 28, who paraded the severed head through the streets of Los Cristianos.
The attacker apparently believed he was 'the prophet of God'.
A former road safety officer, Ms Mills-Westley had spent her retirement travelling between Tenerife and France, her daughter Sarah said.
She described her 62-year-old mother as 'generous of heart' in a statement released tonight.
She said: 'Mum retired a number of years ago and was fully enjoying her retirement travelling between Tenerife and France where she spent time visiting her daughter and grandchildren, and her other daughter in Norfolk.
'She was full of life, generous of heart, would do anything for anyone.
'We now have to find a way of living without her love and light and we would ask at this difficult time for some privacy as we try to come to terms with our loss.'
Initial reports had suggested the murder was random with no relationship between killer and victim.
But tonight the Tenerife and Canary Islands website, newsinthesun.com, reported eyewitness' accounts that a tearful Ms Mills-Westley earlier sought refuge from the killer who had been following her.
It was claimed she entered an employment centre not far from the shopping centre and a security guard sent the man away.
Minutes later she was dead.
Today the shop where the tragic victim was brutally hacked to death had re-opened – just 24 hours after the killing.
Shoppers strolled around the tourist store just hours after the brutal murder of the British woman.
Business as usual: The shop where a British woman was stabbed to death and beheaded was trading again yesterday less than 24 hours after the killing
This is the shop where the British woman was decapitated on Friday. Yesterday it had opened its doors again
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirmed that they were providing consular assistance to the family and offering condolences to them.
Consular officials in Tenerife are in contact with the local authorities.
Today there was no evidence left of the horrific attack which happened in the popular tourist town.
The killer paraded down the street clutching the head before dropping it as he was bundled to the floor.
Murder scene: The shop was described as a 'cheap' store. It had been claimed that the murder weapon the knifeman used could have come from the shop
Witnesses claimed he may have picked an ornamental blade off the shelves - as security guards would have spotted if he walked through the door with it.
Local mayor Jos Revern said the alleged killer was a bizarre individual who was known to police and had a history of intimidating passers-by on the street before yesterday's horrifying attack.
He was reportedly released from a psychiatric hospital in February and had a history of violent behaviour before the brutal killing.
He apparently admitted to the psychiatric unit after knocking a stranger's teeth out on the street.
Deyan Valentinov was reportedly released from a psychiatric hospital in February and had a history of violent behaviour before brutally killing the 62-year-old Briton in a shopping centre in Los Cristianos yesterday, it was alleged.
After the attack, the man reportedly ran out into the street covered in blood, carrying his victim's head and telling passers-by: 'This is my treasure'.
Murder scene: Shop was selling clothing, belts and hairbands just hours after the horrific killing
As Mayor Revern said the incident was 'the most horrific crime to hit the resort in recent years', questions were raised about why Spanish authorities had allowed the attacker to wander the streets.
After the attack, the man reportedly ran out into the street covered in blood, carrying his victim's head and telling passers-by: 'This is my treasure'.
He also shouted: 'God is on Earth,' according to local news site CanariasalDia.com, quoting Mayor Revern, who said the killer lived in a 'semi-abandoned' house.
Wine merchant David Scott, 41, said the attacker spent most days sitting 50 yards from the scene of the attack 'talking to himself and gesticulating wildly'.
'He was very disturbed and intimidating, the sort of person you would cross the road to avoid,' he added.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are aware of reports that a British woman has died in Tenerife and we are urgently investigating.'
A Norfolk County Council spokesman said: 'Our deepest sympathies go to Jenny's family and friends following this terrible news.
'Jenny was a popular and well respected member of staff, who during her time with Norfolk County Council worked as a road safety officer - working with many schools and children to teach cycling safety training and make Norfolk's roads safer.'
Los Cristianos is located in the heart of the most popular tourist region of Tenerife, in the south of the island.
Colin Kirkby, a 50-year-old British journalist who witnessed the attack, told MailOnline that the man probably picked up the knife inside the shop – and there was no apparent motivation.
Horror: The man lies on the ground after being tackled by security guards as he ran down the street
Wrestled to the ground: The man had been running through the town brandishing the woman's head before being tackled by a motorcyclist
'A middle-aged English couple in the shop said it came out of the blue and there was no real disturbance, there are security guards in the centre that would have been on the scene quickly,' he said.
'The shop sells cheap souvenir sword-like blades and I think if he had walked into the shop with the blade he would have been stopped by security and that's what people are thinking.'
Mr Kirkby added that it was so surreal he thought the 'scruffy' man, aged in his 20s, was carrying a 'joke' head.
'I could hear people shouting and screaming and the guy was walking along the footpath slowly muttering to himself carrying the head – it was very surreal,' he said.
'I couldn't hear what he was muttering and seemed to be oblivious to everything around him and was sort of rambling.
'He was holding the head by the hair and I couldn't help but think of the image in the Clash of the Titans where a man is beheaded.
'One of the things was there wasn't a lot of blood everywhere and there was no weapon on him.
'He was not the smartest looking of guys and not well groomed, I don't know if he was sleeping rough.'
The Bulgarian is apprehended by police after Ms Mills-Westley's killing
Haunting: The victim's head lies on the ground covered only by a sheet as stunned crowds held back by police tape look on
Gruesome: The victim's body is carried away on a stretcher from the shop where she was decapitated. Police arrived on the scene and sealed off the area
Help me out here. So when is it supposed to reopen; on the announcement of the next British Royal Weddding?!? - Mark Rosmar, Romford, Essexistan (pending immigration), What a nasty piece of work you must be to make such a disgusting comment. Do you seriously think that profit should come before compassion (oh yes, obviously you do or you wouldn't have said that.) Apart from closing it for a day or two as a gesture of respect to this poor poor woman and her family, I would have thought that forensics would would require it be treated as a crime scene for a little longer than 24 hours.
- Liz, London, 14/5/2011 22:59
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