Wealthy businesswoman who was beaten to death and set on fire may have gone on secret date which cost her life

• The body of Diana Lee, 54, was discovered in the garage of her £500,000 house in the village of Cranage, near Holmes Chapel, Cheshire
• She appeared to take a 42 minute mystery detour in her car after leaving friends in a restaurant the previous night
• Police have issued an e-fit of a man they wanted to question over the killing. He fled after being spotted attempting to torch Mrs Lee’s car

A wealthy businesswoman who was beaten to death then set on fire may have gone on a secret late night date before she was killed.
Diana Lee, 54, appeared to take a 42 minute mystery detour in her car after leaving friends in a restaurant to return to her luxury home.
The following morning her badly burnt body was discovered in the garage of her £500,000 house in the village of Cranage, near Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, after a postman saw the building had been engulfed by fire.

Mystery: Diana Lee, 54, whose burnt out body was discovered in her home in East Cheshire. Cheshire Police have released this e-fit of a man detectives want to trace in connection with the killing of a woman found dead in her home by firefighters

Today Cheshire Police issued an e-fit of an 'athletic but weathered' hooded man they wanted to question over the killing.
He was seen attempting to torch Mrs Lee’s car and was seen riding away on Mrs Lee’s pedal cycle before that too was dumped and he escaped on foot across fields.
It emerged Mrs Lee had suffered fatal head injuries following a savage beating at her up market cattery at a large gated property, flanked by high hedges and trees in the heart of the countryside.
The dead woman’s silver Vauxhall Corsa was later found ten miles away on a country lane the nearby village of Mobberley after attempts were made to set it on fire too.

 

The victim’s house had no signs of a break in - yet had also been set on fire in a bid to destroy evidence.

Killed: It emerged Mrs Lee had suffered fatal head injuries following a savage beating at her up market cattery at a large gated property, flanked by high hedges and trees in the heart of the countryside

Det Supt Martin Cleworth of Cheshire Police said today: 'Detectives believe the person responsible may have been a friend, an associate, or in some way knew Diana as there was no sign of forced entry at her house.
'We also believe that the person responsible is likely to have knowledge of the area swell and most likely will have been acting differently since her death.
'Detectives are keen to reiterate that we do have ways to forensically eliminate people from this investigation and would appeal for anyone with information to come forward so we can piece this complex jigsaw together.'
Mrs Lee had operated the Parklands Cattery, a former hospital unit, with her partner Neville Barrett after buying the property in 2008.
Two years ago they opened the cattery where cats were accommodated in a lap of luxury, including separate rooms and their own television and stereos.

Discovered: The dead woman¿s silver Vauxhall Corsa was later found ten miles away on a country lane the nearby village of Mobberley after attempts were made to set it on fire too

The pair featured in a local newspaper profile, where they talked of how cats were 'pampered' in the cattery for just £9 a night.
But the couple split up after a series of rows and 48-year old Mr Barrett moved to an address in Hale.
It was also believed Mrs Lee was known to police after she had contacted them three years earlier complaining about her safety.
Neighbours reported that the couple had been having unspecified 'problems' in recent times.
On the night before she was found dead on August 9, Mrs Lee - described by police as 'shy but sociable' had gone to a restaurant with friends in Knutsford for dinner.
She left at 10.15pm, but her Corsa was caught on a police CCTV camera at 10.35pm heading North out of Knutsford towards the Altrincham area instead of South towards her home in Cranage.

Crime scene: The areas is coronded off as investigations are conducted after the discovery of Mrs Lee's body

Her car registration number SA59NOU was spotted again heading home at 11.17pm.
Police said the Corsa car was then seen leaving Mrs Lee’s home at 10am the following morning shortly before her body was found. At 10.30am the car ended up at Mobberley where a man was spotted trying to set it alight.
After being disturbed by a witness he rode off on Mrs Lee’s blue womens pedal cycle. He abandoned the bike in Pepper Street some 600 yards away and then left the area on foot across the fields.
Mr Cleworth said: 'Diana had joined friends for dinner in Knutsford and she was described as being happy and sociable during the evening and raised no concerns amongst her friends.
'What is of interest to us is that Diana was in fact heading away from her home, north out of Knutsford after she left the restaurant. Some 42 minutes later at 11.17pm, Diana was heading back towards her home address in Cranage, south on the A50.
'We consider Diana’s final movements as significant - we do not know where she went between these times or who she may have met.
'I would ask anyone who knows Diana, or indeed anyone who may have knowledge of her movements that evening, contact us as a priority.'
Police arrested Mr Barrett shortly after the discovered of Mrs Lee’s body but he was freed on bail pending further inquiries.
None of the 12 cats at the premises were injured in the blaze and were transferred to another cattery.