SOLVED MA - Jane Britton, 22, Harvard student, Cambridge, 7 Jan 1969

[Donamena]

Thanks for sharing.

It's been more than 40 years since Jane was murdered, so I'm curious as to exactly when people were discussing (or maybe whispering) this "inside word"... was it during the 70's, 80's, 90's, the last 10 years... or ?? And, what was the inside story as to why she was murdered?

TIA!

Look at the faculty listings for then.

 

[Donamena]

Night all...after every post now I have to go read any articles that I can tomorrow. I'm correct in assuming PP, that LE is still not releasing anything? No photos? There are many things bothering me, e.g. Her work on Perigordian & then the Iraq-Iran, still have to read that. Was the murder weapon ever identified as a hand-ax? Not modern, but Neolithic or other. We were never allowed to use pick-axes aka southern belles. Just shovels & trowels. Less chance of hacking into a find.

More to read. As some of you may know, I'm a BA anthro-MA history. FWIW, the SDS at Harvard were a bit silly. So were the FBI infiltrators at EVERY campus, large or small. Sooo obvious. It's difficult to go over any points without more serious info. Sorry about the 500 posts. I do tend to get excited.

 

[Ausgirl]

Donamena, glad you're aboard! Some anthropologist's eyes on this will be awesome. I have a few questions for you, but I'll give you space to get your thoughts together first.

Looking forward to your thoughts on this.

 

[Donamena]

Donamena, glad you're aboard! Some anthropologist's eyes on this will be awesome. I have a few questions for you, but I'll give you space to get your thoughts together first.

Looking forward to your thoughts on this.

Thanks for the welcome!

I'm wondering if my local university library would have access to some of the material that requires PPV? My aged eyes cannot see that tiny print. Since I'm a Luddite I didn't know how to save comments I was interested in, my Howard-D.C. comment is probably my nighttime-lagunas-mentales over-reaching.

There's an old comment my archaeology professor used to make 'Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.' FWIW, I never found the Harvard anthro majors that up on their game. Not stellar brains there. When I met some of them in Macon, GA for a SE archaeology conference (that's when I realized archaeology of the ancient Near East would not be my future) it was patently obvious that we, the Louisiana country bumpkins, were better trained than they were. In those days, mid-to-late 60s, anthropology was taught, in many places, as having 4 sub-fields: cultural, human biology, archaeology & linguistics. For my brain then, linguistics, the most fascinating, was by far the most complicated. Those Harvard kids could only discuss 1 paltry field. Who's your daddy now, Ivy Leaguers? Reverse snobbery, I guess.

Incidentally, I wouldn't be considered an anthropologist. I lack the union card--Ph.D.

OT. I drank those twats under the table. Me, a girl, sort of. (21)

 

[Donamena]

I thought I'd add a couple of other articles that I've stumbled upon:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...bRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=c-kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4038,2324604

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/6/12/covering-harvard-a-view-from-outside-pithe/

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/1/8/grad-student-killed-ptwenty-three-year-old-jane-s/

This one is particularly interesting as it links back to what was originally reported and then possibly blocked by the police:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1968/11/12/archaeological-unit-from-harvard-unearths-lost/

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...Ug0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=2mUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5720,1972007


Last one with a little more information here:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...4z5HAAAAIBAJ&sjid=NvgMAAAAIBAJ&pg=3698,903071

"...disarrayed nightgown.....hatchet or cleaver..."
And NO ONE heard this? She went gently into the bad night? Archaeology is physically demanding. She had to have struggled, unless she was a heavy sleeper. Stil... Thanks, y'all, I now have about 3 weeks research to do. I'm turning into Uriah Heep.

 

[Donamena]

It's ok Bessie, I was able to delete it myself. Ausgirl, later on the pm.

 

[Donamena]

Look at West Hunter's blog "Murder at Harvard" this Luddite here can't do linky thingys

 

[Sulamith]

Look at West Hunter's blog "Murder at Harvard" this Luddite here can't do linky thingys

Here it is: http://westhunt.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/murder-at-harvard/

I just found this thread today. Very interesting. I was also intrigued by the Betsy Aardsma murder. Until I started reading at WS I had no idea how many college women were murdered.

 

[fred&edna]

Every time I visit this thread I reread this post by Justice4Jane:

Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - MA MA - Jane Britton, Harvard student, murdered in 1969


I know no author was listed in the news report AND I know MANY years have passed since Jane's murder, BUT I always find myself wondering if a letter to ?someone? at the Boston Globe might encourage interest in this case?

 

[Donamena]

I'm still reading through this thread, however, I wanted to type down some things that have crossed my mind before I forget them.

- Could the reddish brown liquid be tincture of iodine? I don't know if it was commonly used in the 60s or if it could have mistaken for red ochre (although it sounds like there was some degree of confusion about what it was and whether it was a powder or a liquid). Tincture of iodine is a reddish brown liquid that is often used as a disinfectant. Maybe whoever did it didn't know much about chemistry (fits with something I'll say later in this post) and thought it could be used as a replacement. Or maybe they were trying to hide evidence or 'heal' the wounds they inflicted on Jane. Another possibility is that she was holding a bottle of it when she was attacked - this could explain the splattering.

- If someone (someone who was trafficking stolen antiques or RR) was trying to silence her so she wouldn't talk about something she saw, I don't believe that she knew what she had seen or why it mattered. She hung out with her boyfriend as normal and they even went out (so they didn't just stay in her flat where she could talk about something that was worrying her). The Mitchells reported that she seemed normal and happy, and talked about daily stuff like her upcoming exam. Now, if she was worried or disturbed for ANY reason, like a fight with H or having seen something illegal she felt she had to report, I don't think she would have sounded so normal. Much less to people who knew her and could have noticed if she sounded off. Unless she was a very good liar I think it would have been noticeable that there was something on her mind - and she could also have easily covered up for that, by saying she was just worried about her exam or something.

So I think that if someone killed her because she saw something, then I believe it's because it was something minor she saw... something she'd just report without thinking much about it, or even something SHE didn't know the significance of. But remember, the perp would have known the full story and could have freaked out and thought that what she saw had caused her to know too... or at least that she or anyone she told could end up putting two and two together.

- I wonder if the markings even MEANT anything special to the perp. If it was someone covering up for something like antiques trafficking, or someone who was jealous of her because of personal conflict, maybe whoever did it also felt guilty... like they didn't want to kill her but in their sick reasoning they thought they had to. So after killing her they do something that means something to both of them, as an apology of sorts.

It could also be someone who believed in those markings on a spiritual level. I don't think by itself this was the motive to kill her - unlike someone implied before. This could fit in with the antiques trafficking thing, for example if the perp believed themselves to be justified in stealing artifacts for spiritual reasons. Or maybe someone who ascribed spiritual significance to those markings and used them because of feeling guilty (see what I said above) but who killed her for unrelated (non-spiritual) reasons like jealousy or covering up another crime.

- I know that's been brought up but something that I don't think has is... maybe they meant nothing special to the killer? Maybe the perp had no connection to that field of studies but heard about that from a friend or in a book. For example when I was at universty still and had friends in fields I was also interested in, I asked about what they were studying and what textbooks they were using and so on. So maybe it was someone who was trying to make it seem like it was someone who had a visible connection to those symbols, but in reality it was someone who just knew them because of a passing interest or even tried to learn about them deliberately for this. So basically someone trying to plant a connection that wasn't there. This scenario could also fit in with people being confused about the reddish brown substance, as to an outsider to that field, maybe different substances seemed like plausible stand-in or like the same thing as red ochre.

- I don't think H dropping out of his program is that weird... I know lots of people who have dropped out of their own grad programs and pretty much everyone I know who has done them, has considered dropping out at one point. Why? Because it can be stressful and there are many times when it's easy to feel unmotivated, etc. On top of that he was on a top program. That's usually stressful enough but can you imagine... he went out with his GF as normal, then the next day he finds her body and discovers she was murdered shortly after. That has to be a gruesome memory to live with, losing someone is always hard, and losing someone because of murder seems even more difficult. Plus I can imagine the 'what ifs' - what if he had taken her to see a movie, what if he stayed over for longer.

- I think it's weird there's so little info on this even years on... but I believe it's probably only because there was the black out first, and then when that was over the media just didn't pick up on the case that much again. Another thing is, maybe LE also spread out relatively little info because they already had some prime suspects in sight. I've read in other threads that this is common, sometimes LE divulges little info because they don't know much either, but in other cases it's because they already know of people they're fairly certain did it and are just waiting for a slip up... so they don't need much help from the public because they already have suspects and people connected to them.

- Another thing I've thought is that if this was someone who knew her in any way, they'd also know about her exam. I think whoever did it wanted her to be found relatively soon. Of course, the timing may also be a coincidence.

I'm interested in whether Jane's routine that evening was something an outsider would know about. Again, the timing could be a coincidence, the perp being 'lucky' that Jane just happened to be home alone at that time. But I also wonder if maybe the perp knew something about what Jane would be doing and when and what time she was expected back. Also how to keep it silent - it sounds like there was at least some struggle, the Mitchells lived nearby and if they heard screaming they would have known something was wrong. So whoever it was, I think it was probably someone she knew or who came up with an excuse, so she didn't expect that to happen and was caught off-guard because it was someone who seemed trustworthy, maybe even someone she was friends with. Though as I said it's also the perp was just 'lucky' and managed to commit the murder and get away with it without being caught and without anyone hearing or seeing anything specific.

I wonder, was anything at stake in this exam? A work opportunity or an assistantship, maybe? Something that she could easily get if she took and passed the exam, and that someone who was competing with her may have wanted very badly?

Do we know if the exam could possibly be her comps? That's one you NEVER want to miss. I couldn't sleep the night before either my written or oral. I couldn't sleep for 2 nights before my thesis defense. I don't see anywhere if she was ABD--just needed to start on her dissertation after all seminars were done. Also, it appears she went straight from her BA in Radcliffe to the PhD program without an MA. Not unusual, but I've only see it happen with truly gifted students. Didn't she graduate magna laude from Radcliffe? Just some quick thoughts.

 

[Donamena]

When we were roommates, Jane smoked, so it's quite possible she was still a smoker at the time of her death. We were students at Dana Hall, in Wellesley, MA, and were not allowed to smoke on campus. However, her family lived in Needham - about 5 miles away - and we would go to her house on weekends. We smoked on weekends, and then had to quit during the week.

I think it's possible that there may have been blood under the cigarette butt in the ashtray, which would indicate, of course, that the cigarette was smoked after the murder. Just speculation on my part.

I'm not sure how to post photos or scans to this forum, if it's even possible. I haven't yet scanned the newspaper articles I have, but if anyone is interested, please do feel free to email me at the address in my profile. Many (most?) of the articles are ones that have already been referenced on this forum.

I am finding this quite touching - that so many people seem to care so much about someone they never met. In a way, it keeps Jane alive.

B

She was smoking in the first group picture in the Iranian dig. Please stay in touch. I tried to find your email address but couldn't.

 

[Donamena]

I'm sorry you had the flu but you weren't brainless at all! I think this may be where you read about the stone being recovered:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/1/10/cambridge-police-declare-black-out-on-britton/?print=1

"Caught as he was leaving his office for the day, Reagan said that police have now found the sharp-edged stone which had been missing from Miss Britton's apartment. He refused to say where the stone was found.

The stone, a gift to Miss Britton from Mr. & Mrs. Donald D. Mitchell, two friends, was an archaeological souvenir. Police say Miss Britton was killed by five blows to the head from a sharp object and left lying face-down on a mattress in her apartment."


So, police found the presumed-missing stone (thought to be the murder weapon) and then promptly declared a "black-out". JMO but it feels as if "someone" was being protected by LE.


Also of note, Chief Reagan retired in 1974 and died in 2001:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1969/1/10/cambridge-police-declare-black-out-on-britton/?print=1

I wonder if LE retained files on this case.

'...archaeological souvenir...' Sounds like a no-no

 

[Donamena]

Yes; I went to Harvard Grad School of Arts & Sciences in the eighties and had friends who were Anthropology grad students. They said that the victim had been involved on the side with a married man who was a professor or other high-level Harvard employee, associated with or in Anthropology.

<modsnip>

They mentioned that it happened around the time of this young woman's PhD Qualifying Examinations, when she was under a lot of stress. She may have threatened to reveal their affair, and he was desperate to silence her.

Sorry, lagunas mentales, it was her comps. You'd never miss that, although I really would have wanted a hospitalization the night before. Nerves. These were written & oral comps, right?

 

[Donamena]

There were many situations at Harvard back then involving women being pressured or harassed into affairs with faculty who had some say over their careers. I personally knew two women who were pressured for sexual favors by their faculty advisors. Eventually some of these women spoke out against their abusers.

Other than to protest abuse, what could motivate a woman to reveal an affair? In order to break up his marriage, of course, but I think this case had more to do with a graduate student in a vulnerable position with one of her professors. At any rate, that part is of somewhat lesser importance.

Please don't leave the thread. You & the 2 other MA posters have contributed much. I honestly feel that, as some of you have said, it can be solved. But I hear wagons circling

 

[ktgirl]

Wow. Thanks for telling me about this thread, Donamena.

I am a PhD candidate in a social science program. All I can say is that even in 2014, female students are absolutely pressured, taken advantage of, and sexually harassed by male faulty members. Unfortunately I have had some experience with it and so have several women in my cohort.

Your committee members - particularly your major professor - essentially make or break you as a grad student. They have unwieldy power over whether or not you pass comps, pass your defense, get your PhD, etc. Even after that, they have the power to prevent or hurt your career by not giving references or spreading defamatory information about you within your discipline & academia. Even when you report such behavior - even in today's age - universities protect the tenured faculty member (and therefore themselves) first. Unfortunately, from my own experience, I can tell you that reporting something like harassment can end up being more trouble than it's worth. The reprocussions of reporting it can be worse than the original harassment. I can only imagine it was MUCH worse back in 1969. I'm not even sure there would be an appropriate office or body on campus to report such things in 1969.

Perhaps a certain professor was pressuring Jane or Jane was having an affair with him but wanted to stop. Perhaps he wouldn't stop pressuring her or take no for an answer. Maybe he said "you won't pass comps if you don't do such-and-such" and Jane said "if you don't pass me on my comps I will out what has been happening between us." Then things went downhill....and Jane was murdered.

I have spent a lot of time around PhDs. Many (but not all) of them - kind of due to the nature of the work and tenure system, particularly in a top tier university like Harvard - have over-inflated senses of self and huge egos. I'm pretty sure some are downright narcissists. In competitive tenure-track jobs, it probably even helps to be a narcissist in the same way it helps to be one if you're a politican or Wall Street broker. But when someone tells a narcissist "no," it can lead to some bad stuff....maybe even murder. I think Jane finally said "no" or called this guy out on his own game.

ETA: If anyone reading this is being harassed, etc by a faculty member at their college/university, do NOT report it to HR or the person's superior without getting a lawyer first & having your lawyer with you when you make the complaints. HR offices exist to protect the university and its employees, not its students, despite what the HR office will tell you. Get a lawyer ASAP and then go to HR with your lawyer when you report it. This will protect you in a way going to HR on your own will not. If you're being physically threatened or have been touched, go to local law enforcement- not campus police.

 

[Ausgirl]

Welcome ktgirl! And thanks for those insights, I can only imagine how some unscrupulous people might have used their position unethically. And gotten away with it.

I intend to devote a lot of time next week to this thread, it's been too long and I need to refresh my reading. Glad to see some new eyes on it.

 

[Ausgirl]

Some interesting snips from the Hunter article:

The gentleman with whom I was talking turned out to have been involved in the investigation of the murder you mention and suggested there was a much more likely suspect.

He told me, off the record, that sometime after the investigation stalled another graduate student at Harvard, came to the police with a story she’d “forgotten” to mention earlier. She’d had a tryst with a male friend of one of her girlfriends. The man was an affiliate of the Harvard Anthropology Department. He’d taking her back to her room and persuaded her to get involved with some kinky sex that included bondage and some colored dirt/powder. When a knife came out, she became concerned and talked her way out of the situation. The man I was talking with did some follow-up investigation at this point and discovered that this Harvard adjunct was an acquaintance of the murdered woman and that another homicide, similar to the one that you posted on, had occurred in another state near where this ex-Harvard anthropologist was working. At this point the cop unofficially approached the Middlesex DA with all this information. The DA essentially told him to forget about it. What with issues of time lapse, legal admissibility of evidence, and issues involving cross-jurisdictional linkages of crimes, the case was too shaky to bother with.

 

[ktgirl]

Harvard seems to have long had a problem with sexual harassment of female students. This article is from 14 years after Jane's death, but still shines some light on the campus environment.

Six percent of undergraduate women, 20 percent of female graduate students, and 17 percent of nontenured female faculty experienced what they described as serious harassment.

http://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/28/us/wide-sexual-harassment-found-at-harvard.html

And things seem to have gotten little better for Harvard women:

Fifty-five colleges and universities &#8212; big and small, public and private &#8212; are being investigated over their handling of sexual abuse complaints under Title IX, the Education Department revealed Thursday.....Ivy League schools like Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth are also on the list.

http://nypost.com/2014/05/01/harvard-dartmouth-among-55-schools-facing-sex-assault-probe/

 

[ktgirl]

Some interesting snips from the Hunter article:

The gentleman with whom I was talking turned out to have been involved in the investigation of the murder you mention and suggested there was a much more likely suspect.

He told me, off the record, that sometime after the investigation stalled another graduate student at Harvard, came to the police with a story she’d “forgotten” to mention earlier. She’d had a tryst with a male friend of one of her girlfriends. The man was an affiliate of the Harvard Anthropology Department. He’d taking her back to her room and persuaded her to get involved with some kinky sex that included bondage and some colored dirt/powder. When a knife came out, she became concerned and talked her way out of the situation. The man I was talking with did some follow-up investigation at this point and discovered that this Harvard adjunct was an acquaintance of the murdered woman and that another homicide, similar to the one that you posted on, had occurred in another state near where this ex-Harvard anthropologist was working. At this point the cop unofficially approached the Middlesex DA with all this information. The DA essentially told him to forget about it. What with issues of time lapse, legal admissibility of evidence, and issues involving cross-jurisdictional linkages of crimes, the case was too shaky to bother with.

I'm not sure I'm following what the dirt/colored powder would be used for. But I'm also not sure I want to know.

 

[Donamena]

Red ochre was used in so many ways by ancient peoples. In the Franco-Cantabrian refuge, it was used to paint hunting et al., in the caves, such as Altamira. Ms Britton did her seniors honors thesis, with plates, maps, illustrations, etc from her research in the Perigordian period. It appears she was quite talented & of course, intelligent. And a good drafts person. It's not easy getting all of what you're looking at, handling, finds, in presentable drawings.

On the subject of sexual harassment, my grad thesis committee was respectful & kind, which is not always the case, as I've heard. My thesis director & major professor was a kind, good hearted, happily married gentleman. In fact, the entire 2 1/2 years I never experienced one moment of sexual pressure. But then, I was menopausal & had built up weight. Cried a bit.

However, I have known women who did a tremendous amount of amazing & provoking research, only to find it published or used in a professional meeting, under the major professor's name, with maybe a tiny acknowledgement, if at all. Even if there's no overt sexual pressure on a woman, there are times, & it has happened, that a female professor may respond negatively to your work. I applied to a PhD program in another state & to law school & asked one of my profs, not on my committee, for a recommendation. I did a thesis with distinction. It was the first of its kind, publishable, but obscure. When I decided against moving, staying here with the Anti-Christ, in the end of nowhere, I resigned from the PhD program & withdrew my law school application. When I was tossing out census records, I happened upon her recommendation. I opened it. I've never read such lies, such scathing bs. So I showed it to my thesis director. He was appalled.

There are many reasons to not give a sound recommendation, but you cannot, under any circumstances, tell the Emperor she has no clothes on. She'll give you a B, & a demented & talentless non-thesis option barely educated an A. Pressure, whether sexual or academic, is not at all uncommon.

It happens to men as well. You can pick up a prof for dancing all night on tables at a seedy river bar (she used his name for the bar owner in case she needed a ride) before her humiliation sets in & then you're on eggshells for the rest of your academic career unless & until you can find a stronger, stable major professor who will have your back. Oops this is an open forum.

Perhaps Ms Britton faced such pressure, or had her work co-opted, or knew something scandalous regarding field work, antiquities fraud, drugs, etc. what I find the most interesting, however, is that it was the night before her comps, or her dissertation defense.

Maybe I'm just projecting, but it's hard to sleep that night. I feel she knew her attacker, faced him as she sat on her bed, in her nightgown. That's either a friendly or intimate gesture. He/she must have walked to where she kept the hand-ax (& here's the discrepancies in police reports) or blunt-force instrument, probably on an end table, & hit her from the front first. How she didn't scream, or no one hear her, is beyond me. Still, I can't see a conspiracy amongst her flat neighbors. Too many questions, no where to go for research. Someone she knew, most definitely; an academic, hell yes; an anthropologist, I'd bet good money on that. The black-out, 'town & gown' a prestigious university circling their wagons. JMO