David Newton, 70, is facing trial for the brutal murder of 86-year-old Una Crowne in her Wisbech bungalow in January 2013. Prosecutors allege he slit her throat, stabbed her multiple times, and attempted to destroy evidence by setting her body on fire. The gruesome discovery was made by Crowne’s nephew the next day. Initially, police mishandled the case, treating it as non-suspicious for two days. DNA linking Newton to Crowne was only identified in 2023, leading to his arrest. He denies the charges, but prosecutors argue the evidence strongly implicates him. The trial is ongoing.
A former boxer tried to destroy evidence by slitting the throat of an elderly widow, stabbing her several times and setting her on fire, a court heard today.
David Newton, 70, is said to have left Una Crowne, 86, lying face down in a pool of his own blood in the hallway of his modest bungalow.
The gruesome scene was discovered the next morning by her nephew, who had picked her up for his usual Sunday lunch.
A post-mortem examination revealed that the former lady’s wounds from the brutal attack included stab wounds from a “long-bladed” instrument that entered the left side of her chest and “passed through both lungs and the heart to the right side. It turned out that he had come out of the
At the outset of the case, prosecutor John Price KC revealed that due to a “serious error in judgment on the part of the police” the case was not treated as suspicious for two days, the body was removed and the family was allowed into the home.
But he added that the case against Newton would include DNA from a man who matched the defendant. It was “found on the unburnt fingers and thumb of Una Clown’s right hand” in 2013, but it was not discovered by scientists until 2023.
The petite Mrs. Crowne, who was just 4 feet 10 inches tall and used a cane, was last seen by her niece Judy Payne and her husband John, who took her to a local supermarket on January 12, 2013. That was when I went.
Mr Payne drove to her home in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, to pick her up for lunch the next morning, but instead of waiting at her bedroom window as usual, she knocked on the door and called outside. The court heard that even when she screamed, she did not appear.
Una Clown was discovered the next morning by her nephew, who had picked her up for his usual Sunday lunch.
David Newton, 70, pictured, is said to have left the 86-year-old woman lying face down in a pool of his own blood in the hallway of his modest bungalow.
Mrs Crown’s body was found in a modest bungalow in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire (pictured)
Ms Payne then received a spare key from an elderly neighbor who was being visited by care worker Julie Buckle at the time.
“She appeared upset and panicked,” Buckle, who attended her, later told police. “Una was face down on the carpet with her arms at her sides and her legs stretched out behind her.” Ta. I saw blood or body fluids around her and thought she was not alive. I said, “We need the police and an ambulance.”
When she called 999, she noticed “burnt debris” in the kitchen by the towel rack and in the hallway outside her bedroom.
Mr Price told the court: “Some of her (Mrs Crown’s) clothes and parts of her body were damaged in the fire but it was far from destroyed.”
“There were two other separate fire sites in the house…a tea towel placed on the kitchen rail caught fire and charred remains were left on the kitchen floor.
“There were burnt remains of newspaper on the carpeted hallway floor in the kitchen, just outside the bathroom door.
“If the arsonist’s purpose in setting fire to Una Crowne’s body was to cover up the evidence of what he had done to her, it was to prove that it was ineffective.”
Mrs Crown had no children and had lived alone in her bungalow since her husband Jack died in 2009 after 60 years of marriage.
Mrs Crowne, who had no children, had lived alone in her bungalow since her husband Jack (pictured) died in 2009 after 60 years of marriage.
A police officer was at the scene of Una Crowne being found murdered in her home in January 2013.
The defendant was arrested on suspicion of murder two weeks after the death, but was notified in July 2013 that he would not be prosecuted based on the available evidence.
Mr Price said the defendant, who lived in an adjoining road with his late wife Janet, was out with his dog on Mrs Crowne’s street the night she died, but denied entering the property. However, he admitted to going indoors once, the previous year.
Newton is said to have regularly played snooker at a local ex-servicemen’s club on Saturday nights, but a week after her death, Newton told detectives at his doorstep that on the night of Mrs Crown’s death, he had “not enough money”. “I didn’t go because there wasn’t one,” he said. So he stayed home and watched “the usual Saturday night crap” on TV.
But Mr Price told the jury that Mr Newton’s statements about his movements over the weekend would prove to be “completely wrong”.
The defendant was arrested on suspicion of murder two weeks after the death, but was notified in July 2013 that he would not be charged based on the available evidence.
He agreed to provide a new DNA sample in 2023 and was arrested and charged with murder in April last year.
After Mrs Crowne’s death, neighbors paid tribute to her, calling her a “perfect neighbor” with a “heart of gold”.
Judge Garnham told jurors the defendant, who denies murder, was “in his 70s and has some medical problems”. Photo: Police gather evidence after Mrs Crown’s body was found
“Why he went to her house that night and why he did what he did to her afterwards is not an issue that the prosecution needs to prove…” Price said. Ta.
“But one thing is clear: Una Clown’s killer, for some reason, decided that she could not survive his visit.”
Neighbors paid tribute to Mrs Crowne after her death, describing her as a “perfect neighbor” with a “heart of gold”.
Newton, a father of three, wore a jumper, jeans and thick-rimmed glasses in court as he listened to evidence with the help of a court-appointed mediator.
Judge Garnham told jurors the defendant, who denies murder, was “in his 70s and has some medical problems”.
The trial continues.