The murder of a kind-hearted father who was murdered in his bookstore in 1982 continues to baffle police 42 years later.
Edmund Simpson, from Manchester, was 58 when he was beaten to death with a blunt object in Burns’ bookstore, where he worked for 36 years.
Known locally as “Mr Kindheart”, Edmund was loved by locals, and his murder, which occurred in daylight, shocked the community.
His bookstore business partner, Eric Burns, found Edmund on the floor with serious head injuries in a pool of blood and he was rushed to Salford Royal Hospital.
Edmund clung to life for two days on a life support machine, but died from his injuries, leaving behind Norma, his wife of 30 years, and their daughter.
Four decades later, Edmund’s family is still fighting for justice and police still have no leads as to who killed the family man.
While Edmund’s passion lay in selling railway and military books, he and his business partner revealed that more profits could be made by selling top-notch soft porn ‘girl magazines’.
The staff became accustomed to “strange men” coming into the store to buy the magazines, and they believe one of the customers beat Edmund to death for his wallet.
Despite appeals for witnesses and information from police, one detective described the public response as “appalling”.
Eric told the Manchester Evening News at the time: “He was a good Samaritan, one of nature’s knights.”
“He never deserved an ending like this. I would do anything for anyone. If you were in trouble, he would be there in a minute.
‘If you had seen his wounds, you would never forget them. It will haunt me forever.
Police later discovered that Edmund died for £65 (the equivalent of £289 today) and a driving license in a folding wallet that had been stolen from him.
Surprisingly, two years before his murder, a man armed with a knife robbed him at the store.
Chief Superintendent Jack Ridgway said at the time: “I am particularly keen to trace anyone who may have been in the vicinity of the store between 1.30pm and 3.30pm yesterday afternoon.”
“I can assure you that you will be completely anonymous if you have anything to tell us.”
Edmund Simpson, from Prestwich, Manchester, was 58 when he was beaten to death with a blunt instrument in Burns’ bookshop, where he worked for 36 years, in broad daylight on August 9, 1982.
Despite police appeals for witnesses and information, one detective described the public response as “appalling”.
Police suspected that Girlie Mag magazine customers knew much more about Edmund’s death, but no one was willing to reveal it.
Edmunds’ business partner Eric, who was 70 at the time of the murder and who founded the store with his brother, Dennis, then 67, said they became accustomed to the occasional “odd” customer looking for the magazines.
Eric had planned to close the bookstore years before, the lease on the premises was about to end and the building was under demolition order from the city.
However, he resisted closing it, partly due to Edmund’s anxiety about being out of a job after being released from the RAF years earlier.
Such was his dedication to the business that Edmund became co-manager of the bookstore.
Eric offered a reward of £500 (the equivalent of £2,200 today) in an attempt to catch the killer, but he was never caught.
A witness described a man aged between 20 and 30, in a “distressed state”, fleeing the scene with dark hair, wearing jeans and around 5ft 9in to 6ft.
In 2015, detectives from Greater Manchester Police’s cold case unit reopened their investigations into the brutal murder.
It is still hoped that improvements in forensic technology, along with new information, can help police finally unmask the killer.
Chief Detective Jack Ridgway, who led the investigation, at one point criticized readers of women’s magazines for not helping solve the murder.
It was revealed that minutes before the Edmunds attacker entered his shop, he recorded two £5 sales at the checkout, but that customer never turned up.
In 2015, police reopened the case.
Detective Sergeant Julie Adams of the unit said in a news release in 2015 that the case “was not closed” and that they were “considering new forensic opportunities.”
Edmund’s daughter is obviously still very distraught over his murder and for the sake of herself and Edmund’s grandchildren to find answers and justice, I would ask anyone who may have information about what happened, or who may know the identity of the murderer , contact the police as soon as possible on 0161 856 5961 or