Janet Brown (murder victim)

Janet Brown (27 January 1944 - 10 April 1995) was an English nurse who was murdered in Radnage, Buckinghamshire in 1995. The case remains unsolved, and the investigation remains open.

Biography

Janet Brown worked as a research nurse at the Public Health and Primary Care department of Oxford University.[1] Her husband, Grahaem Brown, worked in Switzerland as a senior executive at Ciba-Geigy, a pharmaceuticals company.[2] The couple had three children.[1] The family lived in a remote farmhouse, situated on an 11-acre estate in Radnage, Buckinghamshire, valued at £345,000 (1995 prices).[2]

Following a spate of local burglaries, Janet Brown had formed the local Neighbourhood Watch scheme.[3] She was known to be security-conscious, and had installed a panic alarm in the house.

Murder

Janet Brown was at home alone on the evening of the 10 April 1995.[1] Her husband was working in Switzerland, her eldest daughter and son were at university and her youngest daughter was staying at the home of a friend.[4] At some point after 2020 GMT, an intruder or intruders entered the house and handcuffed and gagged Brown, and then beat her across the head with a blunt instrument, possibly a crowbar, until dead.[1] Police described the attack as "extremely brutal".[3]

At some point Brown is believed to have triggered a panic button in her bedroom.[5] Despite the alarm ringing, the killer seemed to have taken his time at the scene, washing his hands of blood and moving around the house.[5]

Her body was discovered by builders, who were renovating the house, at the bottom of her stairs at 0811 GMT on the 11 April.[1]

Investigation

Initial investigation

There was no evidence of sexual assault, and police stated that they remain open-minded regarding the motive.[1]

A prominent theory was that the murder was a result of a bungled burglary.[6] The intruder had used glass-cutting equipment on the first panel of the doubled glazed patio door, and then simply smashed the second panel. However, although a television and video recorder were unplugged, nothing had been stolen from the house.[6] Most burglaries take place during the day, when there is less likely to be anyone at home.[7] It is unusual for burglars to target properties where someone is obviously inside, and there were two cars parked outside the house.[7] Detective Superintendent Martin Short, who led the investigation, said, "on balance, I don't think the motive was burglary. If a burglar did it, it wasn't a half-decent one."[7]

Police were unable to discover any evidence of an extramarital affair, and considered the scenario as unlikely.[7] Other theories, such as industrial espionage, a failed kidnapping or a contract killing were examined and dismissed.[8]

Police stated their belief that, due to the isolated location of the murder, the perpetrator was most likely a local man who was familiar with the area.[9]

Paul Britton, a forensic psychologist, assisted police with their investigation. Britton posited that although Janet Brown had not been sexually assaulted, the perpetrator may have become aroused by inflicting fear, and dominating his victim, and that this, rather than burglary, may have been his primary motive.[10]

Detective Superintendent Martin Short commented:

There is no theory to explain what happened that night which makes perfect sense. There are aspects of every theory which are contradicted by the facts. And policemen deal in facts. The intruder showed a fair amount of planning. He had an iron bar or truncheon, two types of tape, handcuffs, a glass cutter and probably a torch. I have the gut feeling that it wasn't burglary. He didn't react like a normal burglar. More than 99 percent of burglars would run on hearing an alarm go off. This one not only continued his murderous attack but coolly washed his hands and went upstairs again. We don't know the motive. In most murders, once you've got the motive, then you're a long way to cracking it. There are no indications that Mrs Brown had a boyfriend. Everything points to the fact that she was a respectable woman who doted on her family. Her husband was definitely in Switzerland when she was killed and he had nothing to gain by her death.[8]

By the second anniversary of the murder, 2,700 people have been interviewed by the police.[11]

Developments since 2015

In 2015 police announced that they had isolated a DNA sample from the crime scene.[1] Almost every male from the surrounding area, over 700 people, were tested, with no match found.[12]

Police are now concentrating on the bungled burglary theory.[12] The chief investigating officer in 2015, Peter Beirne, stated, 'my working hypothesis at the moment is that it was a burglar, or burglars, who weren't particularly proficient. They came across Janet, they had control of her because they handcuffed her, and I think she was bludgeoned to death when she pressed the panic alarm."[12]

References

1. "Janet Brown: £20,000 reward to solve 'terrible' 1995 murder". BBC News. BBC. 23 April 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
2. Chaudhary, Vivek (12 April 1995). "Neighbourhood Watch woman killed at remote farm home". The Guardian.
3. Lazarus, Damian; Barrowclough, Anne (16 April 1995). "Show us where our mum was murdered". Sunday Mirror.
4. Bellos, Alex (10 April 1996). "Phone call clue to wife murder". The Guardian.
5. Bale, Joanna (10 April 1996). "Police seek caller in farm murder". The Times.
6. "Janet Brown murder: More than 300 suspects ruled out". BBC News. BBC. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
7. Llewellyn Smith, Julia (19 April 1996). "Murder in the village". The Times.
8. "Do You Know The Cool Killer Who Battered Janet To Death?". The People. 7 April 1996. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
9. "Gagged nurse 'killed by local man'". The Guardian. 5 December 1995.
10. Britton, Paul (2013). Picking Up The Pieces. Transworld. p. 443. ISBN 978-1-4481-0979-1.
11. Knight, Kathryn (14 April 1997). "Murdered woman was tied and beaten". The Times.
12. "Thames Valley police launch new appeal over 1995 murder of nurse". The Guardian. 9 April 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.