Neighbours of Miss Widdecombe have recalled how she fit into daily life in the village of Haytor, on Dartmoor.
Will, who did not wish to give his last name, said he would see Ann Widdecombe walking on Dartmoor.
He said: “Like everybody else, she was just part of the community. It’s a safe area, it’s lovely.
“It shocked me because I thought, poor lady, she’s had a heart attack or something. Then I heard about (the murder investigation) and I thought, crikey.”
Alison and Simon Gilbert, who have lived in in Haytor Vale for more than a decade, said Ann Widdecombe was a well-known figure locally.
Mrs Gilbert said: “She was a nice woman, really nice woman, and she had a great sense of humour. It’s a lovely area – you talk to strangers.
“Everyone saw her as quite an opinionated politician, but to us she was just a person in the community.
“First of all, we got back and saw police and thought maybe it was a burglary, a lot of us suspected she had a heart attack or something.”
“She didn’t deserve to die like that,” Mr Gilbert added.
