Family of ‘beloved mum, grandmother and great-grandmother’ from Liss welcome sentence of man who admitted her murder

The family of ‘beloved mum, grandmother and great-grandmother’, 96-year-old Emma Finch from Liss, have welcomed the sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum of 26 years, handed to 27-year-old Joshua Powell at Portsmouth Crown Court today (Friday 14 November) after he admitted her murder.

On Friday 17 May 2024 at 4:29am, Hampshire Fire and Rescue attended a fire at an address in Mill Road, Liss after a carbon monoxide alarm was triggered. The police were called and arrived shortly thereafter.

Upon officer attendance, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire & Rescue Service confirmed that the body of 96-year-old Emma Finch had been found at the scene.

Joshua Powell of Elmfield Court, Lindford was subsequently charged with murder on Wednesday 22 May and was remanded in to custody.

Appearing at Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday 16 May 2025 Powell admitted the charge of murder.

As part of the investigation undertaken by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Major Crime Team we established that Emma had been found deceased in her bedroom, on the floor next to her bed. The fire itself had started on the bed and spent matches found at the scene were different to a match box found elsewhere in the house. A post-mortem examination carried out on Monday 20 May revealed that the cause of Emma’s death was neck compression. She had no Carboxyaemoglobin (COHb) in her blood indicating that she had died before the fire started.

We identified that Emma was close with her grandson Joshua Powell who visited her every week to do her food shopping and play Scrabble with her. Officers initially spoke to Joshua on 17 May when he stated that he didn’t leave his address during the relevant times and was asleep. However, he was arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday 19 May, as CCTV enquiries showed his vehicle had left his home address shortly before 02:00am on the Friday morning and was in the Liss area, which directly contradicted his initial account. Phone and social media data subsequently showed that Joshua was active during this time and his phone was connected to his car. The notes on his phone additionally showed the code to the key safe at Emma’s address had been entered weeks earlier, despite him claiming to not know the code.

Our enquiries showed that Joshua had stated to friends that he was in debt and had hoped his grandmother would pass soon as he stood to inherit. He was avoiding his landlord and ignoring debts that were being chased, further suggesting a financial motive. Statements obtained as part of our investigation also identified that Joshua had confided in a friend the following morning that he had a nightmare that he had killed his grandmother.

Forensic examinations linked Joshua to the injuries on Emma’s neck, the wheels on the key safe, and also from a belt recovered close to the scene which also had traces of Emma’s blood. In addition a knife was recovered close to the address which matched the set from Emma’s house and was missing from the set.

The strength of the evidence that had been collated enabled us to secure a charge for murder. Joshua admitted the offence the following year in court.

Following the sentencing today, Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Howard Broadribb said: “This is a tragic case that has had a significant impact on Emma’s family. My thoughts and those of all of the officers who have worked so hard to secure this conviction, remain with her relatives.

“Joshua’s callous actions took advantage of Emma’s trust in him. His subsequent denials when faced with mounting evidence against him showed a total disregard for Emma and her family. His subsequent admission at court spared them from having to endure a trial, but that is little comfort when compared to the loss that they have suffered. I hope that this sentence gives all of Emma’s relatives the opportunity to grieve their loss in the knowledge that justice has been served.

“We are committed to ensuring those that commit the most serious harm in our communities face the consequences for their actions, and that we support victims to secure results like this significant sentence for them at court”.

Following the sentencing Emma’s family said: “Today we stand outside court having received justice for the murder of our beloved Mum, grandmother and great grandmother due to the cruel and senseless actions of her grandson, Joshua Powell.

“There are no words that can soften the pain we as a family have endured over the last 18 months since those tragic events on the 17^th of May 2024, but today’s conviction will finally help to ease that pain as we finally come to terms with Mum’s untimely death.

“We as family would once again like to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved in securing today’s conviction, your tireless professionalism to ensure justice has been served has provided us much comfort and for that we remain forever truly grateful.

“We would like to say a special thank you to the Prosecuting Counsel - Joanna Martin KC and Berenice Mulvanny.

“In addition our thanks go to DCI Howard Broadribb, DS Andy Panter, DC Dan Leese and the wider team from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary including our family liaison officers - DC Chris Hudson and DC Josephine Hill.

“To our wider family, friends and work colleagues the support you have shown to our family has enabled us to navigate the most difficult and unimaginable painful period in our lives, more so by the depraved actions of a family member.

“Mum throughout her amazing long life showed great courage and perseverance, we as a family must now do the same as we begin the process to rebuild our shattered lives with her ever in our thoughts and prayers. Mum can now finally rest in peace knowing that justice has been served and her grandson will now spend a significant period of his life incarcerated for her murder.

“We kindly ask that our family is given the time and privacy to finally be allowed to grieve our loss. Thank You.”