The haunted family of an Irvine woman brutally murdered in her own home 25 years ago, say they fear her killer may never be caught.

The relatives of Agnes Montgomery – who was known locally as Nan Love – have spoken of their long wait for justice and how they fear it may never come.

Nan’s niece and namesake, Agnes Seymour, 36, says her family have been left in limbo for a quarter of a century wondering who killed their beloved aunt and sister.

Nan was bludgeoned to death in her home at Fleming Terrace, Irvine, in June 1994. Her killer has never been caught.

A young neighbour found the widowed 46-year-old’s lifeless, battered body in her living room, with her loyal collie dog by her side.

Agnes, who was just 11-years-old when Nan was murdered, says the pain is as real today as it was all those years ago.

She told the Times: “It’s just painful living with the fact that someone hurt her like that and took her from us and they are still free. We just want to know what happened and why?

“My aunt was such a kind soul, she literally never hurt anyone in her life, so for her to be murdered in such a brutal way is hard to accept.”

Agnes’ mother Betty was Nan’s sister and best friend but tragically passed away without ever seeing justice done.

Agnes said: “My mum passed away in August 2007 without knowing any answers and then her brother James died the following year. So that all three siblings are gone. It’s sad that my mum and uncle died without ever knowing what happened to their sister. It’s awful and now I feel like the responsibility is on me to find out the truth and see it through. I want to know who done it and I want them to go to jail for it.”

Agnes, who is a mum-oftwo, is now pleading with Irvine people to come forward if they know anything.

She said: “Someone must know something. If you have even a wee bit of information that could be the key to the whole case. As a family we just want a resolution. It’s been 25 years and we have been waiting long enough to see justice done.”

Police Scotland say the cold cases is still open and is constantly under review.

A spokeswoman said: “The passage of time is no barrier to the investigation of unresolved murder cases, and in the view of Police Scotland these cases are never closed.

“Homicide Governance and Review Department actively keeps all undetected and unresolved homicides under review and meets regularly with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in an attempt to review these cases and pursue resolution.

“Police Scotland along with our partners in the Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services, continue to relentlessly pursue advances in technology and investigative approaches which help bring those responsible for serious and violent crimes to justice and provide answers for families of the victims of such crimes. Scientific and forensic developments, combined with information from the public and determined investigative work can yield new opportunities in such cases.

“In addition, given the passage of time, personal circumstances and associations can change. If anyone has any new information please contact Police via the non-emergency number 101, alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.”