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Jury out in retired postmistress murder trial

Brian Farmer
BBC News
Reporting fromCambridge Crown Court
Cambridgeshire Police Una Crown: She is smiling at the camera while sitting in front of a beige-coloured wall and window. She is wearing a pink patterned dress with a pearl necklace and shiny earrings.Cambridgeshire Police
Retired postmistress Una Crown was found dead in her bungalow 12 years ago

Jurors have begun considering a verdict in the trial of a 70-year-old man accused of murdering an 86-year-old widow 12 years ago.

Retired postmistress Una Crown was found dead at her bungalow in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 13 January 2013.

David Newton, 70, who denies murder, lived near Mrs Crown and was charged in 2024 after new DNA evidence emerged.

The judge, Mr Justice Garnham, asked jurors to retire to consider a verdict on Thursday after a trial at Cambridge Crown Court lasting more than three weeks.

SWNS David Newton: A man is smiling at the camera in an image from 2016. He is bald, has some stubble and wears thin framed glasses. He is wearing a navy jumper, with a grey top underneath a has a hooped earring in his left ear. He is inside a room with rust colour wallpaper that has red diamond shaped patterns. There is a white door behind him to his left and a green plant.SWNS
David Newton has denied murdering 86-year-old widow Una Crown

The trial heard Mrs Crown's body was found in the hallway of her home on Magazine Lane in the Fenland town.

Prosecutors alleged that Mr Newton, of neighbouring Magazine Close, started fires at the bungalow after stabbing Mrs Crown to death.

An acting police sergeant who initially investigated believed Mrs Crown had died accidentally, jurors heard.

But a post-mortem examination two days later showed she had been stabbed four times and her throat cut.

A snow-covered bungalow in Wisbech, where Una Crown lived. There is police tape across the drive and police officers on guard outside the tape and walking up to the house.
Police initially thought Una Crown's death was not suspicious

Jurors were told that DNA matching Mr Newton was, in 2023, found on nail clippings taken from Mrs Crown's right hand in 2013.

But prosecutors said Mr Newton was not charged because of DNA evidence alone.

They argued that jurors would have to consider a "jigsaw" of evidence.

John Price KC, who led the prosecution team, suggested that Mrs Crown might have been troubled by the way her attacker was treating her and tried to make a telephone call.

He said her phone was not in its cradle when police arrived.

Brian Farmer/BBC Exterior grey wall of Cambridge Crown Court showing a silver coat of arms and the words "Crown Court"Brian Farmer/BBC
A trial began at Cambridge Crown Court in mid-January

Mr Newton has not given evidence and no defence witnesses were called.

But Mr Newton's legal team argued that jurors could not be sure of his guilt.

His lawyers told jurors that "many, many mistakes" were initially made by police.

Henry Grunwald KC, who led the defence legal team, said there were "ways" the DNA matching Mr Newton's profile could have been "transferred" to Mrs Crown's body.

Cambridgeshire Police Part of a clear plastic bag. The bag has an orange and yellow band across the top and us make with blue lines and a barcode. The words "EVIDENCE BAG" written backwards are visible. Cambridgeshire Police
DNA matching David Newton was found on nail clippings taken from Una Crown's right hand

Jurors heard that Mrs Crown was 4ft 10in (1.47m) tall.

Her husband Jack, who was known as Ron, died in 2009.

The trial heard that Mr Newton had been a kitchen installer before retiring on health grounds.

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