A WOMAN bashed to death inside her house called police over a smashed back door but no patrol was dispatched, Commissioner Mal Hyde has admitted.

Police today also today revealed they had doorknocked the entire town searching for two boys, thought to be aged about 14, they believe could have been among the last people to see her alive.

Mr Hyde confirmed Pirjo Kemppainen telephoned the police assistance line on 131444 at 12.35am to report a glass pane of her back door had been smashed by a stone.

He said the civilian call taker who received the call had trouble understanding Ms Kemppainen, 63-year-old former nurse who migrated to Australia 15 years ago from Finland.

And Mr Hyde said Ms Kemppainen did not believe the person who smashed the window was still on the property.

"We did receive a call at about 12.35am on Saturday morning and it was from a person that we believe was the victim in this particular matter at Callington," Mr Hyde said.

"The advice that I've got at this stage is that the caller was difficult to understand because of a language, accent issue.

"The call related to the breaking of a window with some sort of stone and advice we received is that the offender or offenders were no longer present.

"And the call taker - and I have to stress that this is not a 000 call, this was a 131 444 call - the call taker then made a decision to submit an incident report which is what you are required to do but didn't pass the call onto our communications centre to dispatch any patrol."

However, Mr Hyde said this did not excuse the decision by the civilian officer not to dispatch a patrol vehicle to check on Ms Kemppainen, describing this as "a breach of procedural rules".

"It should have been passed on and for some reason it wasn't on this occasion," Mr Hyde said.

"It comes down as I've been advised, to an error of judgment, in terms of assessing and determining what action should have been taken.

"We have supervisors available and a supervisor could have been spoken to if there was any doubt but on this occasion the supervisors weren't consulted as well."

Major Crime Acting Superintendent Denise Gray said police were appealing for the teenage boys to contact them to help with the investigation.

"From the phone call (to police assistance line) she believed the boys were local and they were inquiring about a missing dog," she said.

"Despite extensive door knocking and appeals, these boys haven't come forward to police.

"So today I would appeal to these boys or their parents or anyone else in the community that may know the identity of these boys to come forward to the police and contact Bank SA Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000."

The body of Ms Kemppainen was found by her brother at 5pm on Saturday inside her house almost 16 hours later.

Local detectives today were working with officers from Major Crime and a search of the Callington area, including the banks of the Bremer River, was being conducted today to look for clues to her murder.



Superintendent Denise Gray said the people of Callington should be assured that police would lift their presence in the town following the killing.



"We will be doing everything we can to find out what happened and by who,'' she said.



"I can understand there will be fear, but what I am trying to say to people is there will be a police presence, if they have any concerns to call police.''



Ms Kemppainen moved from Finland for a quiet life in the village of Callington, near Mt Barker.

Now she is dead, the victim of an apparently motiveless murder that has shocked the community.

It is not known if a weapon was used in the murder.

A neighbour told The Advertiser he believed Ms Kemppainen had called police about 12.30am Saturday after hearing noises in her yard.

Her battered body was found by her brother at 5pm.

Forensic investigators yesterday removed a ramp leading to Ms Kemppainen's back door, which had been smashed above the handle.

Investigators paid particular attention to a section of wire fence at the front of her property, which was damaged and bent.

The fence runs adjacent to a public walkway that follows the Bremer River and is frequently used as a shortcut for locals walking home from the Dog 'n' Ute Callington Hotel.

Distraught relatives told The Advertiser Ms Kemppainen was a defenceless woman who could have lain injured for hours before dying.

"We found out late this morning that she'd been brutally bashed by somebody," relative Kylie Kemppainen said.

"I don't know how long she was left there, whether they bashed her to death or whether they just left her to die on her own."

Ms Kemppainen called on the killer or killers to turn themselves in.

"It's going to haunt you for the rest of your life," she said. "You won't get away from it.

"You might think you will, but you'll be found eventually. It's better to just front up now and face what punishment you're given."

Detective Supt Gray assured the Callington community that police would increase their presence in the area while they hunted the killer.

"What I don't want to do is cause a lot of concern for the people of Callington," she said.

"What I will tell them is that there will be a lot of police presence.

"We will be doing everything we can to find out what happened and by who.

"I can understand there will be fear, but what I am trying to say to people is there will be a police presence, if they have any concerns to call police."

Neighbour Dale Oakford said the murdered woman was always friendly, but had recently expressed concerns about living alone.

WHAT WE KNOW

RETIRED nurse Pirjo Kemppainen, 63, is found dead inside her Callington home by her brother at 5pm on Saturday.

A NEIGHBOUR says he believes she called police after hearing a noise in her backyard about 12.30am on Saturday. This has been confirmed today by police who admit they failed to send a patrol.

DETECTIVES have reassured the community there will be a strong police presence in the area in coming weeks.

FORENSIC investigators took away a back-door ramp for further examination.

DETECTIVES examined a wire fence at the front of her home and a smashed glass sliding door at the back.

SES volunteers conducted a line search to hunt for clues.

DIVERS yesterday scoured a section of river near the murder scene.