David Newton found guilty of murdering Una Crown in 2013. DNA from nail clippings proves his involvement in the Cambridgeshire crime.
Una Crown was a retired postmistress. They found her dead at home in Cambridgeshire on January 13, 2013. She suffered stab wounds, and her throat was also cut. Someone set her clothes on fire.
Police initially thought her death was not suspicious. The prosecutor called this a “grave error.” David Newton, age 70, was charged and denied murdering Mrs. Crown.
Newton seemed shocked at the guilty verdict at Cambridge Crown Court. Jurors deliberated for over 29 hours, and the vote was 10 to 2 for guilty.
John Payne, the husband of her niece, found Mrs. Crown when he went to pick her up for lunch on January 13, 2013. The prosecutor said she died the day before. Scientists found Newton’s DNA in 2023. The prosecution did not need to explain Newton’s motive.
Newton received state benefits in 2013, which was his only income source. He spent money freely on January 13. Money also disappeared from Mrs. Crown’s purse.
Police apologized to Mrs. Crown’s family and admitted to errors in the first investigation in 2013. New DNA tests helped solve the case, tests that weren’t available back then.
The tests contradicted Newton’s claims that he hadn’t visited Mrs. Crown and hadn’t seen her the day before she died. Newton will be sentenced on February 14.