It was the crime that left a family heartbroken, and a community shocked and devastated.
A defenceless grandmother battered in her home by a hooded thug in a vicious burglary in Trafford, leading to her death just weeks later.
And the culprit is still at large as detectives launch a fresh appeal on the fourth anniversary of her death.
Her family say they have had precious years with her snatched away and that her killer must have 'no conscience' and 'no morals' if he is able to live with that level of guilt.
A £50,000 reward is still being offered for anyone who comes forward with information that leads to the conviction of the culprit with detectives launching an emotional appeal for people to come forward and 'provide Eileen’s family with the answers they desperately need.'
Eileen Blane, 87, a mum of three, grandmother of three and who has three great-grandchildren, was attacked by an intruder who burst into her home in Stretford, at around 2:30pm on Friday February 3, 2017.
Eileen, described by her family as one of the most security-conscious people you could meet, had seen a window cleaner in the street and given him a friendly wave. When there was a knock at her back door, she believed it to be him and answered. But it wasn't. Instead, the man at the door forced his way in and Eileen's horrific ordeal began.
He hit her on the head several times before throwing her to the floor and snatching the wedding ring from her finger.
The ring was a treasured item to her, given to her when she married her husband David, who died in 2003, and has never been found.
The robber also drop-kicked Eileen's dog, a Jack Russell called Sammy who was barking due to the commotion, before going upstairs.
Eileen bravely managed to escape and raise the alarm with neighbours as he ransacked the rest of her home on Castleton Avenue looking for gold. He left with her ring and just £30 in cash.
Police and paramedics were called and Eileen was taken to hospital.
She was found to have suffered broken ribs, a fractured vertebrae and a number of other internal injuries as well as bruises including to the face, in the attack.
She was discharged by medics eight weeks later.
However, she was sadly found dead at home by her son David on Saturday April 1, 2017, the day after she was discharged.
A pathologist subsequently linked her death to the injuries she suffered and a murder investigation was launched.
In an interview with police a few weeks before her death, Eileen described what happened saying: "He started chucking me about. He just kept hitting me.
“I asked him to stop but he wouldn’t.
“He said he wanted gold all the time. It was just a nightmare.
“He said we wouldn’t get out, he said he would make sure we didn’t.”
She described her attacker as being white, in his twenties, around 5ft 8ins tall, and of slim build. He was wearing a dark coloured jacket with the hood covering his face.
Eileen's son John appeared on BBC's Crimewatch immediately afterwards as part of the extensive efforts to trace the man responsible.
And speaking to the Manchester Evening News today, he spoke of the family's ongoing heartache over her death.
"What it makes it even more difficult is that just prior to the incident, she went to the doctors for a check-up and and he said 'you'll probably have to shoot your mum because she's healtheir than you are!" John said.
"She wasn't infirm, she was active and had all her faculties.
"So it's just a massive shame it happened as it did because I am certain she would have had good few more years ahead of her.
"She has three great grandchildren now but she only ever met one of them as a baby. Its things like that have been taken away from us."
And John said the lack of justice or closure made grieving for Eileen and dealing with her death even more difficult.
"In the early days, you kept looking at people thinking 'is it him?, is it him?' because you kept wondering do we know this person, and was he familiar with our family and our movements.
"As time goes that changes to you just wanting the police to catch them.
"To be honest, now, we find it easier to assume that he's dead.
"When each Christmas comes round I couldn't bear to think of him going to the pub for a pint with his mates or having a nice Christmas with his family, after what he did to our family.
"I don't think whoever did this has a conscience. I couldn't live with myself if I had done something like this. It's been all over the TV, radio and press ever since so I don't know how they can live with that level of guilt. But they have just been carrying on with life. So they must have no morals."
In an update today (Thursday), on the fourth anniversary of her death, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) say they believe there are still people out there who have 'vital and credible' information or know who was responsible, and they have urged them to put themselves in the shoes of Eileen's family and 'do the right thing.'
Detective Chief Inspector Ben Cottam of GMP’s Major Incident Team said: “Over the past four years GMP has been committed to trying to provide Eileen’s family with the answers they desperately need, and this has very much been the driving force behind our investigation into this heinous and devastating attack. Our thoughts firmly remain with her family and although we cannot reunite them with Eileen, we want to ensure the person responsible faces justice.
“This crime shocked and devastated the local community and no one should ever face such brutality in their own home.
"We are almost certain there are members of the public who have vital and credible information relating to the assault or know the person responsible, and I strongly urge you to do the right thing and speak with police.
“If you do hold reliable information or evidence on this attack I appeal to you to consider your own family and how you would feel if they had been attacked in such horrendous circumstances. Help us provide those crucial answers to Eileen’s family and come forward.”
Anyone with any information should is asked to call the police on 0161 856 9283 or alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
