Four more people have been arrested over the death of a mother-of-four who was shot dead on her doorstep.
Joanne Penney, 40, was staying at a flat used as a drugs den when a gunman shot her on the doorstep.
South Wales Police announced today that two men, aged 27 and 68, and two women aged 21 and 39, from Leicestershire were arrested last night in connection with the fatal shooting.
A 42-year-old local man was arrested at the scene on Sunday night on suspicion of murder and is being held in police custody.
Detective Chief Superintendent Ceri Hughes called the latest arrests ‘a significant development’.
He said: ‘The investigation into Joanne’s death is continuing and we have a team of experienced detectives and specialist staff working hard to establish the circumstances of this terrible incident.’
Friends believe the real target was a woman Joanne was staying with and she died because she opened the door to her killer.
Both women are blonde and about the same age, according to neighbours.
Mother-of-four Joanne Penney has been named as the women shot dead on her doorstep
The 40-year-old was gunned down this morning in Talbot Green, South Wales
Police remain at the scene in Talbot Green on this morning following the fatal shooting
Officers are now trying to trace the occupants of a biege Nissan Note (BK61 ZDC) and a black Volvo XC40 (FD24 PZF) which travelled from the Leicester area on Sunday morning to South Wales.
They later left shortly after the fatal shooting.
Det Ch Supt Hughes added: ‘We need information about the movement of these vehicles and their occupants, including any dashcam footage, particularly from commercial vehicles, for any journeys on Sunday.
‘Both vehicles were seized following last night’s arrests and will be subject to forensic examination.
‘While we have teams of officers carrying out house-to-house and CCTV enquiries, I also appeal for any dashcam footage or CCTV around Llys Illtyd and the nearby retail park between 5.30pm and 6.30pm on Sunday March 9 which may have captured these vehicles and any witnesses.
‘The investigation has continued at pace, and we are working hard to establish a motive for Joanne’s killing. We are exploring several lines of enquiry, including the possibility that she was the victim of mistaken identity.
‘I would urge anyone who has information, either about Joanne’s death or what happened at the property in Llys Illtyd on Sunday evening, to do the right thing and come forward – the smallest piece of information could be of vital importance.’
Joanne’s friend Rebecca Morris, 42, said: ‘They got the wrong person, I’m 100 per cent sure of it.
‘No one would want to kill Jo, she was a lovely woman with four children who would do no harm to anyone’
Neighbours on the Green Park Estate at Talbot Green, South Wales, heard a single shot at 6.10pm on Sunday evening.
Emergency services arrived to find a woman in a pool of blood and were unable to save her.
Mother-of-two Ms Morris said: ‘It wasn’t her flat, she was staying there with a friend. I used to live in that flat myself.
Friends believe the real target was the woman Joanne was staying with and she died because she opened the door to her killer.
‘We all think it may have been mistaken identity. We can’t think why anyone should pick on her,’ one neighbour said
‘I’m scared now because I’m blonde and about the same age and I used to live there.’
‘I’ve been crying all morning, I’m taking flowers down there and I’ve made a little memorial hanging for her.’
Locals said the shooting was ‘like an assassination’ and believe the killing may be drugs-related.
One neighbour said Jo only moved to stay with her friend around Christmas time.
‘She seemed nice but fairly shy. She moved over the border from England and was staying there.
‘We all think it may have been mistaken identity. We can’t think why anyone should pick on her – she may have just answered the door to the wrong person at the wrong time.’
Neighbours said the flat in the Llys Maelwg block in Green Park held raucous parties – with suspicions of drug taking.
The neighbour said: ‘Sundays can be terrible around there. We call it a crack house – and there are always problems on Sunday after a big night. But we’ve never heard of any guns being used before.’
Locals said the peace of the Green Park estate of Talbot Green was rocked by a shot at 6.10pm on Sunday evening.
Calum Williams, who lives just a few houses away from the incident, said he heard the gunshot.
‘It’s terrible. I live just two doors down from where it happened. I was making a bottle for the baby and I heard a gunshot,’ he said.
‘It’s pretty frightening, especially with the baby.’
The scene this morning after Joanne was shot dead on her doorstep in South Wales
Images from the scene show investigators clad in white suits as well as uniformed officers surveying the surroundings
Carloyn Pugh, who lives nearby, said she heard the police helicopter hovering last night.
‘It was scary. Within seconds, they [police] were everywhere,’ she said.
‘You didn’t know what was happening but you knew there was something bad.
Police said Joanne was found suffering serious injuries and was was later pronounced dead at the scene.
A 42-year-old local man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder and is being held in police custody.
Detective Chief Inspector James Morris said: ‘I understand the concern this will cause the local community, and I want to reassure people that a team of experienced detectives are already working at pace to piece together the events of last night.’
South Wales Police have isolated six separate scenes of crime locations including a car.
