A detective who put away a killer has said justice would not have been possible without his sniffer dog, Dodger, finding the murder weapon.
Peter Norgrove, 43, was jailed for life on Wednesday for bludgeoning Sharon Gordon to death in a row over an extension.
The hound was able to find the hemmer that he used to kill the mother-of-one with a hammer, which was hidden underneath a shed.
Detective Inspector Damian Forrest praised Dodger and said the team also found a shopping bag with Ms Gordon’s name and address on it.
Norgrove took the bag to hide his blood-stained items and dumped them inside a bin outside a relative’s house, which he travelled to with his family, on the evening that he killed her.
Sharon Gordon was hit with a hammer over the head eight times by her builder
Peter Norgrove, 43, was jailed for life on Wednesday for bludgeoning Sharon Gordon to death in a row over an extension
Sniffer dog Dodger was able to sense the blood on the hammer, which was not visible to the human eye
DI Forrest told the Mirror: ‘A shed at the same address had dozens of tools inside, and despite a visual look by detectives nothing was found so police dog Dodger was called in.
‘The highly-trained animal quickly found the murder weapon, which appeared clean, but once it was analysed showed Sharon’s blood hidden in the grooves.
Norgrove had attempted to clean the hammer and on the surface, it looked spotless as it was not visible to the human eye.
But Dodger was able to sense the blood.
‘We would never have found the hammer if it wasn’t for the sniffer dog,’ DI Forrest added.
Newly qualified workman Norgrove took 18 months to build a downstairs bathroom in an extension on the side of her home.
By July 2023, the month Ms Gordon was murdered, their friendship deteriorated as deadlines were missed for the project and costs spiralled.
Norgrove and Ms Gordon had been introduced by a mutual friend at the Kingdom Hall they both attended in the town, although the killer and victim had not crossed paths previously at the church.
She then invited him to carry at the work at her home. Ms Gordon had been entertaining friends on the day she died, while the Norgrove continued working on the house.
After her friends had left, Norgrove was captured on her Ring doorbell putting on gloves before going inside and closing the door behind him.
Screaming and shouting can be heard coming from inside the house.
Police say this was when Norgrove killed the mother, hitting her on the head eight times with the hammer that Dodger had found.
He was captured on the doorbell camera again, whistling while walking to and from the property in blood-stained clothes, as Ms Gordon, 58, lay dying.
After her friends had left, Norgrove was captured on her Ring doorbell putting on gloves before going inside and closing the door behind him
Norgrove (left) has now been jailed for life for killing Sharon Gordon (right)
Cowboy builder Peter Norgrove can be seen with blood on his trousers as he cleans away his tools after he beat his victim to death
Rubble can be seen outside Ms Gordon’s house ten months before she died
Hours later the Jehovah’s Witness led a service for worshippers via Zoom at the local Kingdom Hall.
Judge Michael Chambers sentenced Norgrove, of Sedgley, Dudley, to life with a minimum term of 15 years and said he ‘quite deliberately’ took the hammer and gloves to her home in order to carry out the attack.
He told the defendant: ‘You were angry because she had continued to criticise you for chronic delays and poor workmanship on what was a relatively simple extension.’
Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Norgrove’s wife, Rebecca, said she was the one who handed in her husband’s work gloves and bloodied cloths to the police after finding them hidden in the wheelie bin at her mother’s home.
‘I didn’t know what they were at first,’ she said.
‘But when I saw what could be potential evidence, I had absolutely no hesitation in contacting the police. Of course, I knew there would be consequences but morally, it was the only thing to do.’
In an interview with the BBC, Ms Gordon’s daughter, Rhian Brown, described Norgrove as a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ who had used the ‘security net’ of being in the same congregation as his victim to ‘hide behind’ who he really was.
MailOnline revealed he was a prison officer at the notoriously challenging Category B HMP Birmingham.
He worked there between 2002 and 2018, where he faced disciplinary issues over attendance.
One source who worked alongside Norgrove told MailOnline he had a ‘temper’ and ‘control issues’ while at work.
