Tania Williams was pronounced dead outside her property in Catherine Gardens, Thorpe St Andrew, just before midnight on Saturday.
A tent was erected at the scene (Image: Victoria Humphrey)
Neighbours had raised the alarm after hearing screams and finding the blood-soaked scene in the street.
Around three hours later and on the other side of Norwich, police arrested her estranged husband, Raymond Williams, on suspicion of her murder. He remains in police custody.
Ms Williams, who worked in the Oxfam shop on Magdalen Street, was a popular member of the congregation at the parish church of Thorpe St Andrew.
A candle has been lit in memory of Tania at The Parish Church of Thorpe St Andrew (Image: Facebook)
The church’s flag has been lwered to half mast and large candle lit in her memory, following her death.
The building will remain open for people this week who wish to visit and pay their respects to her.
In a statement, the church said: “On hearing the news our Rector travelled on the next train back from the south of England and on his return the St Andrew’s flag was lowered to half mast and a large candle has been lit and placed in church as we remember the light that the darkness cannot overcome and the resurrection to which Tania has gone.
Tania along with her friends from the church (Image: Facebook)
“She was a true evangelist of the gospel, encouraging and bringing others to faith with her uniquely colourful, kind and joyful persona.
“She was herself formally confirmed within the Church of England last Easter. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.”
Ian Mackie, a former Thorpe St Andrew mayor and a county councillor for the area, was a friend of Ms Williams.
Tania with friends from the church (Image: Ian Mackie)
He said: ” “This is a dreadful wicked attack on a person so loved by her family, friends and community.
“The community and all who knew her are in deep shock. As news filtered through there was a sense of total disbelief, this couldn’t be our beautiful Tania, please, no.
“Tania was a wonderfully caring and generous lady, a heart of pure gold, we loved her unique fashion and style, her personality shone at any event.
“She was only at our home just after Christmas talking about some big birthdays and holiday plans, and to think she has been killed like this is utterly heartbreaking.
“We are very much thinking of her lovely children and her dear mother Jennifer. ”
John Ward, a town councillor, also paid tribute to her, describing her as a “lovely person, and colourful and full of life.”
She is believed to have been 49 and a mother of four.
Neighbours and friends have described has her as a “colourful” and “generous lady”. One said she was “genuinely the loveliest person”.
Rona Wood, 52, who went to school with Ms Williams, said: “She was great. She would do anything for anyone. It’s just unbelievable. she will be a huge miss here.”
Tania Williams (Image: Ian Mackie)
Georgia Kelf, 32, who also lives on Catherine Gardens, said: “We’ve all been here since this estate was built. You would see her from a mile away. She was just so full of colour.”
Neighbours battled to save her on Saturday night after finding her outside her home in the small cul-de-sac.
One said: “I came out and heard my neighbour say ‘call 999’. I was standing on the phone with 999 and I was quite shaky.
“They told me to do CPR on her, but my neighbour said she was far gone by then. We knew it was Tania because of her bright blue hair.
“I was on the phone with the emergency services until the police got here at about 11.48pm.
“It’s a shock to my system. You never would have thought it would have happened on your doorstep.”
Ms Williams’ estranged husband was arrested outside his home in Harvard Court, just off Dereham Road, around four miles away from the murder scene, at 2.45am on Sunday.
Raymond Williams (Image: Facebook)
One witness said: “He was grabbed in the street. He came out and police shouted at him to ‘get down on the floor’.”
Neighbours said Williams had been living in the council-owned, sheltered housing complex, with eight flats, for around three months, following a relationship breakdown.
The moment he was arrested on suspicion of murder (Image: Supplied)
One neighbour who knows both Williams and his estranged wife said he had seen them together in recent days.
Other residents in the sheltered housing block have been moved to another hostel following the arrest.
A Norfolk Police statement said: “Enquiries continue into the circumstances around the death of a woman in Thorpe St Andrew on Saturday 17 January.
“A man in his 60s remains in police custody at Wymondham Police Investigation Centre for questioning after being arrested in Dereham Road during the early hours of Sunday 18 January on suspicion of murder.”
Det Supt Stacey Murray of Norfolk Police, who is leading the investigation, said: “We are in the early stages of this investigation working to establish the sequence of events which led to the woman’s death.
“However, we do believe this to be an incident in which both parties were known to each other.
“We would urge anyone with information that could help the investigation, whether it concerns the incident itself or the events leading up to it, to get in touch.”
Anyone with information can contact Norfolk Police by reporting online, at https://www.norfolk.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/
Alternatively, call 101 and quote incident reference 559 of January 17, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.