Murder of Una Crown
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52°39′37.2″N 00°08′43.2″E / 52.660333°N 0.145333°E
Una Crown (1926 – 13 January 2013) was an 86-year-old woman who was murdered in her home in Wisbech in Cambridgeshire, England, in 2013.[1][2] Her death was initially treated as unsuspicious, but a post-mortem concluded that she had died from stab wounds to her neck and chest.[3] At least one suspect was arrested but no individuals were charged. The brutality of the case and admission of police failure in the murder investigation brought national attention to the case.[4] On 13 February 2025, David Newton was found guilty of her murder.[5]
Murder investigation
Crown was last seen on 11 January 2013, and spoke to a friend on the telephone at 5 pm on 12 January.[6] On 13 January, she was found dead in the hallway of her bungalow in Magazine Lane, Wisbech, by her nephew-in-law John Payne.[12] She was found surrounded by blood and burned newspaper;[13] her body had been burned but the fire had not spread to the rest of the house and had self-extinguished.[11][14] Crown had been robbed of her wedding ring, front door key, and £40,[15] and her clothing had been burned, apparently to destroy evidence.[16] A singed tea towel was found on a radiator near a charred wall.[17]
Two attending police officers concluded the death was not suspicious, as they had thought she had accidentally set herself on fire via the stove, which she tried to put out with a tea towel, and had then died from a heart attack.[18] The police investigation concluded that two cuts to her throat had most likely been torn by pressure from the scarf as her body fell to the floor.[4] A post-mortem on 15 January, however, found that Crown had been stabbed to death and a murder investigation was launched.[19][20] Because of the police's initial conclusion, Crown's house had not been treated as a murder investigation crime scene, and evidence including a key had been washed.[18]
Crown's funeral was held at King's Lynn Crematorium on 25 February 2013.[21][22] In April 2013, a reconstruction and appeal was made by Crimewatch.[23]
On 17 June 2014, two men were arrested in connection with her death but were released without charge.[24][25] In March 2023, a reward of up to £20,000 was offered by Crimestoppers for any information leading to a conviction.[26][27] The same month the case was featured again on Crimewatch.[28]
Review of police behaviour
A review found that "flawed decisions" were made by police when they failed to realise they were dealing with a murder scene.[19] The two officers first on the scene were found to have "breached the standards of professional behaviour".[19] The coroner condemned the "bungling" of the investigation.[29][30] The blood and handprints on the floor and walls was not initially noticed by investigators.[31]
Three finger nail clippings taken from Mrs Crown were collected and kept in a sealed evidence bag but had gone missing in the years since the murder.[32] It was on these nail clippings that DNA matching David Newton were found.[33]
