Susan Henderson: Husband of kind Sheffield grandmother 'knows who is behind unsolved hit-and-run killing'

Susan Henderson was knocked down and killed outside her home on Foxhill Crescent, Birley, on February 15, 2020, during the height of Storm Dennis. She was 64.

She had just dropped off her husband, Michael, at the pub before taking a gift to a friend who was expecting a baby.

Amid incredibly heavy rain and when it was very dark, Sue parked near to her house, stepped out of her car, locked it, and took approximately four steps into the road before she was hit by a silver or grey Volkswagen Passat.

CCTV shows how, after pausing for a moment, the car drove away from the scene towards nearby Lyminster Road.

Emergency services were called at around 5.50pm but Sue was pronounced dead at the scene at 6.15pm.

Michael discovered the scene when he came back from the pub to find a police cordon outside their home.

At Sue’s inquest today (February 23), family members told assistant coroner Katie Dickinson how Sue was a “beautiful person” who “held the family together”.

“She was the one anyone would turn to first,” said her daughter, Katie Ashton. “It’s completely shattered our lives.”

Sue was a born again Christian and worked as a eulogy writer. Her husband, Michael, told the court how she was a “happy go lucky person” who volunteered constantly for Hope City Church, where she ran the ‘We Are Women’ group.

The married couple of 47 years had planned to take a cruise that was only two weeks away when Sue died. Sue had even written eulogies for them both in case anything ever happened. Her eulogy was used at her funeral.

Husband Michael told The Star how things had “gotten easier” in the three years since her death, and that he was supported by “a strong network of people”.

But despite two appeals on Crimewatch and extensive CCTV footage, no one has ever been prosecuted over Sue’s death.

The inquest heard how, in the hours that followed, the silver or grey Volkswagen Passat linked to the scene was discovered burnt out on land over a mile away off Crowder Avenue. In fact, police were able to trace the car’s movements in Sheffield the day before the crash, how it left the scene, and even how it arrived at the place where it was dumped less than an hour after the collision.

Two men were seen the leave the car before three people returned within an hour and set it alight using a jerry can.

Detective Sergeant Mark Brady, of South Yorkshire Police, said the sudden fireball was caught on CCTV.

When police found the car, there was damage to the front bumper consistent with a collision. It is understood the Passat, registration YG60 FYD, had over 304,000 miles on its odometer.

Officers were even able to trace the movements of the car on CCTV, not only on the day of Sue’s death but the day before – but, not once was the driver's face caught on film.

Two men were arrested in a subsequent investigation. However, they were not prosecuted due to insufficient evidence.

But today, Sue's husband Michael told the coroner: “I know who did it, basically.

“I saw them driving around two weeks after Sue died. I got a picture and looked up the licence plates they were using. They were untaxed, uninsured and had no MOT.

“If I went out and did that I would get a letter in the post within two weeks, but somehow these two just carry on. I sent the information to South Yorkshire Police.

“It’s so frustrating. I know who did it but the police can’t do anything.”

Michael told The Star after the hearing: “I saw them on the day Sue died, driving erratically.

“When we went to leave the house, Sue had to stop when she was pulling out – because he drove past too fast, in that car. This is my area. I've lived in that house all my life. I know who did it.

“But it’s so frustrating. I’ve seen the CCTV myself of them setting fire to the car – they may as well be ghosts in that video.

“I saw him drive around the area soon after her death with a T-shirt over his face to hide his identity. Then, one time, I saw him slow down as he drove past my house and look up at me.”

The coroner delivered an inquest conclusion that the death was multiple injuries caused by a road traffic collision.

Michael says it’s “gotten easier” in the three years since his wife’s death.

"I used to not be able to talk about it at all,” he said.

"February 15 was three years to the day she died. When I came home someone had left a few bouquets of flowers by the house. That really touched me.”

Michael and Sue were a couple for 50 years and married for 47. They had planned to retire when she turned 66 this year – but he says he has had to continue working to avoid “being in the house too much”.

Michael says he has not given up hope that Sue's killers will be caught, and feels new evidence will come to light in time.

If you have any information that could bring Sue's killers to justice, call South Yorkshire Police on 101, or alternatively, you can ring Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111.