Woman in 40s who died in shooting named locally as Silke Hartshorne-Jones

A woman in her 40s who died following a shooting in Barham has been named locally as Silke Hartshorne-Jones Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN (Image: Archant)

Police were called to reports that a woman had been shot inside a property in Barham, near Ipswich, shortly before 4.45am on Sunday, May 3.

On arrival, officers discovered a woman, aged in her 40s, had suffered serious injuries. She was taken to Ipswich Hospital by ambulance in a critical condition, and died a short time later.

A 51-year-old man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder and was taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

Mrs Hartshorne-Jones was named locally as the victim of the shooting earlier today. She lived there with her husband Peter Hartshorne-Jones, understood to be a gun dealer.

Silke Hartshorne-Jones, who died after she was shot on Sunday, May 3 Picture: Silke Hartshorne-Jones/Facebook (Image: Archant)

She was a German national who had children and worked as a corporate solicitor.

According to her Linked-in account, Mrs Hartshorne-Jones studied for a degree in Law at Heidelberg University, located around an hour south of Frankfurt, Germany where she also went to high school.

She then moved on to the University of New South Wales in Australia to complete a master course before relocating to London.

After moving to the UK in 2008 she worked as a legal assistant before then working for K2 Partnering Solutions, becoming general council for the company across Europe.

A polic cordon remained in place yesterday evening in Barham after a man was arrested on suspicion of murder Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN (Image: Archant)

Mrs Hartshorne-Jones and her husband moved into their grade II listed property, Chestnut Farm in 2015.

Members of the local community have expressed their sadness at the news.

Stephen Carr, chairman of Barham Parish Council, said he was totally shocked by the news of the woman’s death, which happened in a “close knit” area of the village.

“It’s a very quiet place,” said Mr Carr.

Uniformed police officers and forensics attend the scene of a shooting at a house in Barham Picture: SARAH LUCY BROWN (Image: Archant)

“We were totally surprised. It’s not normal in Barham.”