Grandfather, 68, dies after brutal attack as he walked to church to play the organ at Midnight Mass

An organist has died after he was attacked while on his way to his local church to play at Midnight Mass.
Devout Anglican Alan Greaves, 68, was found collapsed on the pavement with multiple head injuries late on Christmas Eve.
He suffered brain damage and died in hospital on Thursday night.
The ‘gentle and well-respected’  pensioner had been due to play the organ at Midnight Mass at St Saviour’s  Church in High Green, Sheffield.

 

Police have begun a murder investigation and are appealing for witnesses
Last night Mr Greaves’s wife Maureen, who spent Christmas Day praying at his bedside, said she was devastated by the ‘evil’ murder of her husband of 40 years.
‘We are bewildered and we are struggling to understand how this has  happened,’ she said.
‘Alan was soft and caring and would have avoided confrontation at all costs.’
She described her husband as ‘a gentleman, a godly man and a fantastic granddad’ who was ‘loved by many’.
‘Every Christmas Eve he would bring me a huge bunch of flowers, they are still inside,’ she said.
‘He put on his coat and hat and said, “Bye love” as he always did, and they were the last words we spoke together. It’s completely tragic, I’m devastated. Our family are still in shock.’

 

Police hunt for clues near the murder scene on Greengate Lane, Sheffield where Alan Greaves was killed

 

Police say they have no clue as to what the motive for Mr Greaves' murder may be but are not ruling out robbery

Detective Matt Fenwick, left, and Superintendent Shaun Morley, right, said the motive for Mr Greaves' murder remains a mystery

 

 

Local residents lay flowers at the scene in High Green, Sheffield, today where Mr Greaves was found collapsed on the pavement

 

 

Police believe the attack may have been a robbery gone wrong or a case of mistaken identity.
Mrs Greaves, 63, said she ‘wants justice, but not vengeance’ over her husband’s death.

‘Life sometimes produces things like this. It’s a shame but you have to look for the good,’ she said.
Mr Greaves, a retired social worker, leaves four children and two grandchildren.

He had been an organist and lay preacher at St Saviour’s for nine years.
He also regularly played piano for the children at a local primary school and, with his wife, had set up a food bank and community project in High Green.
Mr Greaves left his home at about 11pm on Christmas Eve for the short walk to the church.

 

 

Mr Greaves was on his way to St Saviour's CoE Church in High Green to play the organ when he was attacked

 

Local reverend and friend Simon Bessant said the community in High Green is 'deeply shocked and traumatised' by the murder of Mr Greaves

 

 

Grandfather Alan Greaves, 68, had left his house on Greengate Lane and was walking to St Saviour's church when he was set upon

 

Locals have been leaving floral tributes at the scene where Alan Greaves was found collapsed just 300 metres from St Savior's church where he was heading

Fifteen minutes later, with the canon and congregation becoming increasingly concerned, he was found collapsed across a kerb outside a primary school by a pizza delivery worker.
He was taken to Northern General Hospital in Sheffield and had four hours of emergency surgery but never recovered.

Police are yet to determine what weapon was used by his attacker.
Rev Canon Simon Bessant, from St Saviour’s Church, said the community was ‘deeply shocked and traumatised by the news’. He described Mr Greaves as a ‘gentle soul... a teddy bear of a grandfather’.

 

 

Alan Greaves, right, was a well-known figure in the community often playing the piano at church events with his wife Maureen Greaves, left

 

 

Grandfather Alan Greaves, 68, had been walking to St Saviour's church where he played the organ when he was attacked

A murder investigation has been launched after Mr Greaves was found collapsed with severe head injuries near a primary school

 

Police speak to members of the local community which has been described as 'extremely shocked and traumatised'

‘He was a good man and this was an evil act. It was a senseless, wicked attack,’ he said.
‘I don’t think he could have had an enemy in the world, he didn’t have a violent bone in his body.
‘I had a phone call at 8am on Christmas morning, and I spent most of Christmas Day with the family in the hospital.
‘They have a strong faith but that doesn’t mean you don’t feel the difficulty. It was a hard vigil by his bedside, watching him struggle.

His wife is not embittered but obviously she wants this person to be caught.’
Mrs Greaves, an evangelist with the Church Army, said she and her husband met in 1970, when both were training to be childcare officers.
Family friends said Mr Greaves was pacifist who ‘believed in forgiveness and understanding’.
Detective Superintendent Matt Fenwick of South Yorkshire Police described the murder as a ‘brutal attack’.
‘Alan Greaves’s family were looking forward to spending Christmas together but instead, they are distraught,’ he said.

 

Mr Greaves was found collapsed on the pavement on Greengate Lane just 300 metres from St Saviour's church where he was heading on Christmas Eve

 

Friend and colleague Reverend Simon Bessant from St Saviours C of E Church lays flowers where Mr Greaves' was murdered

 

Mr Greaves has been described as 'a gentle giant' who 'didn't have an enemy in the world'