NEIGHBOURS of a woman murdered in her Adelaide home in a “very deliberate, calculated and vicious attack” say they were first alerted to the crime by the distant wailing of her daughter-in-law.

The pained cries of the daughter-in-law of murdered Valley View woman Myrna Nilsson could be heard more than 100 metres down the street, neighbours said.

A resident on a nearby street said she came to investigate when her dogs wouldn’t stop barking.

“I came outside the front door to find out why the dogs wouldn’t shut up,” neighbour Nikki said.

“I could hear wailing in the distance but couldn’t figure out whether it was animal or human.

media_camera Murder victim Myrna Nilsson, with children thought to be her grandchildren.

“There were people crossing back and forth across the street and then we were inundated with police cars and the dog squad.”

Nikki said she had seen a car driving at high speed leaving a nearby street earlier that evening but was not sure whether the incident was related to the murder.

The crime has shattered the calm and perception of safety on the quiet Valley View Street.

“It really makes you wonder,” Nikki said. “It makes you not want to go home.”

media_camera The victim’s white 2014 two-door Fiat 500 sedan with personalised plates — MYRNA. Picture: Keryn Stevens

A close neighbour of Ms Nilssonsaid the family were quiet, friendly and family-focused.

“They renovated the house and put walls around the yard,” Dermott said.

“They did it for the children so they wouldn’t run onto the road. I can’t understand why this has happened.

“They would always wave when they saw us. It is sad that the grandma is gone.”

Forensic units and major crimes detectives were back at the Bunbury Terrace address on Sunday afternoon conducting further investigations.

Police on Saturday revealed Ms Nilsson, 57, may have been the innocent victim of a violent road-rage incident.

Her death was declared a Major Crime on Saturday night after her body was found inside the house she shared with her son, 29, her daughter-in-law, 27, and their three young children.

In a crime that shocked police, the middle-aged victim was killed in a “home invasion” and her daughter-in-law “viciously assaulted” before being bound and gagged.

media_camera A front view of the distinctive car.

media_camera A side view of the victim’s car.

The children, a boy and two girls aged five, four and two, were inside the house but were not physically harmed, while their father was working at Daw Park.

Authorities were called to Bunbury Tce shortly after 10pm Friday amid reports of a “disturbance”.

media_camera Police are investigating the suspicious death of a woman at Valley View. Picture Roger Wyman

Neighbours found the terrified, injured woman in an adjacent front yard before police discovered the murdered Ms Nilsson in the family home. Witnesses described hearing screams, and two men of caucasian appearance were seen fleeing in a white “tradesman-style” Holden tray-top 4WD ute. They remained on the run on Saturday night.

While the motive remains a mystery, detectives are investigating whether the murdered woman was followed home during a 30-minute journey from her Unley workplace.

media_camera Police remove various items from the house. Picture Roger Wyman

Police believe the victim, a widow originally from the Philippines, left her workplace about 6pm before driving home in a white 2014 two-door Fiat 500 sedan with personalised plates — MYRNA.

Releasing pictures of the vehicle yesterday, officer in charge of the Major Crime Investigation Branch, Detective Superintendent Des Bray, said while a motive “remains unknown”, the victim was followed home.

He said the daughter-in-law saw her speaking with two males, who had followed her after pulling into the driveway, but did not see the attack.

“We are treating this as a murder, a very deliberate, calculated and vicious attack on defenceless people in their home,” he said yesterday at the scene.

media_camera Officers at the scene. Picture Roger Wyman

“She was definitely followed home, for what duration we don’t know. The other thing we don’t know is if she did know those people ... or whether they were strangers and perhaps something has happened on the way home ... perhaps a road-rage incident happened.’’

He urged anyone who saw the car after 6pm Friday to contact police as it was “critical to the investigation’’.

Ms Nilsson, who owned the $350,000 newly renovated home, had lived with her family for the past two years and social media postings showed her a doting grandmother.

media_camera Police and detectives at the scene. Picture Roger Wyman

Detectives and forensic officers yesterday combed the property and neighbouring homes for clues, removing bags of evidence. An autopsy was conducted yesterday but Det Supt Bray declined to reveal a cause of death, although he said it was not by a knife.

He said the family was not involved with the “criminal community, drug trafficking or illegal activity” or known to police.

The injured woman was treated for minor wounds at Modbury Hospital before being discharged.“It was an extremely traumatic event,’’ Det Supt Bray said.

One suspect was described as 173cm tall, well built, with yellow curly hair and wearing a white T-shirt. The second intruder had dark-coloured clothing with a hoodie and spoke with an accent.

Anyone with information is urged to call CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

— with Andrew Dowdell and Andrew Hough

Police investigating suspicious death of woman at Valley View home #newsADL @theTiser pic.twitter.com/UiqxAFgZbL — Elizabeth Henson (@Eliz_henson) September 30, 2016

Originally published as Gran target of ‘vicious’ road-rage attack