Police investigating the death of a 72-year-old man in Coleraine, Co Derry, are treating the incident as murder.
Bertie Acheson and his wife Sheila were asleep in their home in Glenmore Gardens when an intruder broke in at about 1.30am this morning.
Mr Acheson was assaulted during a confrontation with the man who had demanded cash.
The PSNI said the pensioner fell to the ground following a struggle with the intruder.
The man then made his way to the couple's bedroom, where he confronted Mrs Acheson, who is 70 and suffers from arthritis.
The intruder repeated his demands for cash and made off with the woman's purse.
She contacted the emergency services, but her husband had died before ambulance personnel and police arrived at the scene.
Detectives are appealing for anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity in the Mountsandel area of Coleraine overnight.
They said the intruder was described as being about 5’10” in height, of slim build and in his late teens or early 20s.
He was wearing a dark blue coat and grey jogging bottoms and spoke with a local accent.
