THE stunned pastor of a community church has paid tribute to a “genuine good Samaritan” as murder cops continue to investigate her death.
Esther Brown was officially named yesterday as the woman who was tragically found dead in suspicious circumstances at her Woodlands home, where she lived alone, on Tuesday afternoon.
Now it has emerged that the 67-year-old was involved with countless projects in her retirement, including Glasgow Street Pastors, food banks and her beloved St Silas Church.
Reverend Martin Ayers remembers her as a happy and deeply committed woman, who “in the past three weeks had been to more church meetings than me”.
He said: “She was a single lady and she had wider family, there were several cousins she would see around Christmas time. But this isn’t the picture of a lonely old lady found in her flat, she was full of life, so energetic and content with her life.
“She had a lot of drive and she was confident. She was always about helping people practically. A genuine good Samaritan.
“I think the reason so many people in the West End knew her was probably the other side of the coin; because she didn’t have her own children or husband she was just everywhere and knew everyone.”
Martin fondly recalls her “badgering” him to get the church more involved in humanitarian causes and reducing the organisation’s carbon footprint.
Esther was also involved in the Woodlands Community Garden, just yards from her home, where she would help grow and distribute fruit and vegetables for local people.
“In some ways she was a great model to people in our church of doing the single life well,” said Martin.
“Even in lockdown, we were ringing around people who lived alone and Esther would always say ‘I’m having a great time’.
“Because she was involved in the community garden, she could keep a hand in and would see people while she was out and about exercising.
“She would say, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’m having a great lockdown, you should worry about other people’.”
Martin believes she went to a school in St Andrews, served at a Christian organisation in Belgium for a time, where she retained some friendships until the end of her life, and worked as a bookseller before her retirement.
Others in the community knew her for her role in St Silas’ toddler group, which she helped run.
Martin said: “When you hear the words ‘suspicious death’ your mind just goes to the worst conclusion. It’s shocking.
“She was always working out how she could help and badgering me for the church to do more for asylum seekers and local schools and then suddenly she’s found dead and everyone is stunned.”
He added: “What I know Esther always longed for people to know was that her joy and her energy came from what she believed about Jesus. In church life we sometimes talk about wanting to be ‘ambassadors for Jesus Christ’, representing him well by our words and our actions. Esther embodied that brilliantly.”
Martin urged anyone affected by the tragic news to reach out to the church for support.
Police Scotland’s Major Investigations Team – who is called in to solve murders – would not confirm any details on how the 67-year-old community stalwart died and is not yet confirming whether she was killed.
It was revealed yesterday that she had last been seen outside her Woodlands home at around 5.30pm last Friday. Her body was found on Tuesday at around 4pm.
Police officers were yesterday scouring the Queen’s Crescent Pleasure Garden outside Esther’s home as forensic officers bagged evidence taken from her flat.
The West End street remains cordoned off with police tape as cops search for clues.
Detective Superintendent Suzie Chow, who is leading the probe into Esther’s death, urged anyone with information that could help the police investigation to come forward.
An increased police presence will be in the area to reassure the public, it was said at a press conference at the scene yesterday.
You can submit any information to Police Scotland's online portal here.
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