DETECTIVES are investigating the death of a woman who was found at the bottom of the stairs at her Bury home.

Although they have currently ruled out any third party involvement in the death of Mrs Susan Stephenson of Devon Street, police are trying to piece together how the tragedy happened.

Officers will wait for the results of blood tests and further interviews with friends and family before making any decision about the case.

Mrs Stephenson died from a fractured skull and was discovered by her only son, Jason, on Sunday evening (Aug 25) at the foot of the stairs.

Due to the circumstances in which the grandmother-of-two was found by her son, already covered with a duvet and with her head on a pillow, Bury CID launched inquiries into the tragedy.

Detective Chief Inspector Frank Raggett, head of Bury CID, said: "A post-mortem revealed Mrs Stephenson died from a fractured skull which had been sustained by striking a static object, consistent with having fallen down the stairs."

Mr Raggett confirmed that Mrs Stephenson's estranged husband, Ian, has been questioned by detectives but was released without charge.

He added: "We are struggling to find anything that would confirm Mrs Stephenson's death as suspicious but we will be keeping our options open until we have interviewed people who were with her before she died and have seen the results of blood tests."

An inquest is to open on Tuesday (Sep 3) and will be adjourned to a later date to allow the completion of police and medical investigations.

The family of the 49-year-old catering assistant have this week been comforting each other.

Speaking on behalf of her family, Mrs Stephenson's sister, Carol Siddall, landlady of the Seven Stars pub in Rochdale Road, Bury, told the Bury Times: "We are all totally shocked by this. Her son Jason is devastated.

"There are a lot of questions that still need answering as to who covered her over with a duvet and when this happened but we will have to wait until a full inquest takes place to find out.

"Sue was a warm, gentle and caring woman with a heart of gold. Her family and many friends have suffered a great loss."