UK UK- Janet Brown, 51, research nurse, found nude, gagged, handcuffed & bludgeoned to death, @ home, Buckinghamshire,10 April '95, *DNA, new initiative*

[TWK]

Just one other detail from Paul Britton’s book…Janet was found naked but wearing heavy jewellery, including a weighty gold necklace and large hoop earrings.

It s believed highly unlikely that she would have gone to bed with these on due to them being uncomfortable, so it’s thought that the killer had made her put them on…this supported the sexual motive theory

 

[CrackerC119]

Was the DNA that's found semen?

 

[tes1984]

Was the DNA that's found semen?

They don't say where the DNA is from. I doubt it's from semen or blood but JMO.

 

[TWK]

It was double-paned glass, so wouldn't it be likely that (depending on the force of the blows to break the glass), if a larger hole was made in the exterior glass than the interior pane and if the exterior pane was broken first and the interior separately second, then one would expect that more glass might fall to the outside?

I get what you are saying, effectively that the shards from the first pane would bounce against the inner lane and more would end up outside.

I m by no means an expert but I think that the inner pane would not be bouncy enough to put most of the glass outside, and also I suspect that a hammer or whatever was used would go through both panes on the first or second strike, with most shards ending up on the opposite side to the striker.

But as I say, I’m definitely not an expert!

There is a whole forensic discipline around glass, particularly around the refractive index

 

[tes1984]

Just one other detail from Paul Britton’s book…Janet was found naked but wearing heavy jewellery, including a weighty gold necklace and large hoop earrings.

It s believed highly unlikely that she would have gone to bed with these on due to them being uncomfortable, so it’s thought that the killer had made her put them on…this supported the sexual motive theory

PB thought the killer made Janet put on the jewellery, or did it himself once he had her restrained. He taped Janet's ankles, but then later removed the tape.

 

[TWK]

They don't say where the DNA is from. I doubt it's from semen or blood but JMO

They don't say where the DNA is from. I doubt it's from semen or blood but JMO.

My assumption was that it’s not from Janet s body as there was never any indication of sexual interference, but that is an assumption

 

[CrackerC119]

They don't say where the DNA is from. I doubt it's from semen or blood but JMO.

If it's not semen or blood, in my opinion, it would make the DNA in this case less conclusive. There is more of a chance it could be something from a casual encounter e.g. someone coughed spit on a surface that Mrs Brown later touched..innocently whilst out and about, e.g. not necessarily the killer.

 

[tes1984]

If it's not semen or blood, in my opinion, it would make the DNA in this case less conclusive. There is more of a chance it could be something from a casual encounter e.g. someone coughed spit on a surface that Mrs Brown later touched..innocently whilst out and about, e.g. not necessarily the killer.

It must have been from an item they preserved since 1995. The killer took away most of the evidence, but left a small piece of tape on the floor. It could be from that, or the handcuffs or main roll of tape.

 

[CrackerC119]

It must have been from an item they preserved since 1995. The killer took away most of the evidence, but left a small piece of tape on the floor. It could be from that, or the handcuffs or main roll of tape.

The tape and handcuffs would be very indicative, as these will have likely been touched by only a small number of people, possibly even only one person.

 

[dotr]

10 April 2025 rbbm.

Janet Brown murder: New DNA sample over Radnage killing

Police reveal a new DNA sample has been produced on the 20th anniversary of the murder of a 51-year-old nurse at her home.

www.bbc.com

''Advances in scientific techniques meant it had been possible to extract the DNA, although police were not revealing the source of the sample.

Police said there were plans to swab a number of people who featured in the original investigation but there were "no suspects, as such".

Mr Beirne said he was first appealing to the public to put forward names of anyone they believed may have been involved, who would then be tested.

"Somebody out there knows who killed Janet - we're asking them to make contact," he said.

"With this new DNA evidence it should be a simple task to either eliminate or implicate people as the source of the DNA."

The inquiry team said if nothing useful came to light then they may look at "a potential mass screening" in the area.''

 

[trendsetter]

The inquiry team said if nothing useful came to light then they may look at "a potential mass screening" in the area.

After 30 years the population in the area must have changed significantly - the murderer is just as likely to have moved away as still be there.

 

[tes1984]

The inquiry team said if nothing useful came to light then they may look at "a potential mass screening" in the area.

After 30 years the population in the area must have changed significantly - the murderer is just as likely to have moved away as still be there.

It sounds a bit ridiculous, and what about those who have died since 1995? A mass exhumation signed off by the Home Secretary? Tough enough to get one body exhumed for testing, let alone dozens or even hundreds!

 

[Cedars]

The inquiry team said if nothing useful came to light then they may look at "a potential mass screening" in the area.

After 30 years the population in the area must have changed significantly - the murderer is just as likely to have moved away as still be there.

However, they might pick up familial DNA - an uncle, cousin, etc.

LE seem to believe it was someone who lived close by, perhaps because it was such an obscure, hidden location that no random person would repeatedly go there to do a lot of surveillance - or would have been noticed if they had...

I recall a case long ago in Italy, when cheap DNA testing was new, they did widespread testing of younger men and eventually tracked him, from cousins, etc, to a small nearby community, where they matched his father - but it was only when they discovered the father had had an affair with a married neighbour, who (unknowingly) bore his child, that they found the guy...

Essentially, it's genealogical investigation, but without the worldwide database.

JMO

 

[Konstantin]

PB thought the killer made Janet put on the jewellery, or did it himself once he had her restrained. He taped Janet's ankles, but then later removed the tape.

So where did Janet put her jewellery at night? On her bedside table next to her in plain sight or did she store it safely/tidily elsewhere?

Did the killer have to search around for it? Did Janet commonly wear jewellery (and the killer wanted her to put it on because that's what he knew her to wear?) That would suggest he did know her.

The more I read about this, the more it does feel like a sexual killing in some way by someone who did know Janet.

The tape and handcuffs would be very indicative, as these will have likely been touched by only a small number of people, possibly even only one person.

If the killer was not wearing gloves and touched the sticky bit of the tape, and it was strong tape, you'd get skin cells.

 

[HollyHunter9]

Also with janet being a nurse, I don't know what the NHS was like back in 1995 but these days nurses and doctors are not allowed to wear any jewellery or nail Polish etc. as it can be an infection risk to patients. So I very much doubt she got home from working at the hospital put all her best jewellery on and then went up to bed. The more I learn the more bizarre it gets.

I've also been trying to Google about glass cutting and there is very little information on it, all videos I can find are showing how to cut a free plane of glass on a flat surface with oils, tape measure etc. But the killer cut out a man sized piece of glass in an upright position in the dark, which must've been quite difficult and time consuming and back then there was no youtube tutorials to watch like today so whoever did it knew how to do this, so was maybe some sort of tradesperson? Also how did they not notice the 2nd pane? You can easily see from looking at the inside of the window frame that a window is double glazed or not.

According to the crimewatch video the killer brought 2 types of tape (one heavy duty and one normal packing tape) and one set of handcuffs. If the killer was targeting both janet and roxanne I think they would've brought 2 sets of handcuffs.

I believe the following -

1. Heavy duty tape was for cutting the window (crimewatch said the tape was used to lift the pane out).

2. Normal packing tape was for janets ankles and feet.

3. Handcuffs were for her hands.

This has to be dominance/sexually motivated with janet being the only intended target. (IMO)

 

[Diddian]

I get what you are saying, effectively that the shards from the first pane would bounce against the inner lane and more would end up outside.

I m by no means an expert but I think that the inner pane would not be bouncy enough to put most of the glass outside, and also I suspect that a hammer or whatever was used would go through both panes on the first or second strike, with most shards ending up on the opposite side to the striker.

But as I say, I’m definitely not an expert!

There is a whole forensic discipline around glass, particularly around the refractive index

A couple years ago, I had a vendor using a ladder along my roof gutters to prepare an estimate for installing de-icing cables. When moving the ladder along the gutter, he dropped it and quickly grabbed it again, but not before the top of the ladder’s two sides hit a window below the gutter. It was double-paned and the exterior glass pane broke and scattered glass on the ground below, but the inner pane remained intact.

That was what made me think about how it is possible for the two panes to break differently depending upon force applied.

 

[tes1984]

Also with janet being a nurse, I don't know what the NHS was like back in 1995 but these days nurses and doctors are not allowed to wear any jewellery or nail Polish etc. as it can be an infection risk to patients. So I very much doubt she got home from working at the hospital put all her best jewellery on and then went up to bed.

I think Janet was a nurse by profession, but IIRC her job at the university was research based, rather than hands on. I'm not certain, but I suspect she would have been able to wear regular clothes.

According to the crimewatch video the killer brought 2 types of tape (one heavy duty and one normal packing tape) and one set of handcuffs. If the killer was targeting both janet and roxanne I think they would've brought 2 sets of handcuffs.

For all we know the killer had more than one set of handcuffs in his kit bag. Same way he could have had a gun, a torch, a change of clothes etc...

 

[tes1984]

Did the killer have to search around for it? Did Janet commonly wear jewellery (and the killer wanted her to put it on because that's what he knew her to wear?) That would suggest he did know her.

I may be misremembering, but I seem to recall something about Janet wearing chunky jewellery, and dressing a bit 'younger' than her age.

 

[vls12345]

Could the killer have been in her house prior to her arriving home and he attacked her somtime after the last phone call she answered? Could he have messed with the glass on his way out (to make it look like the point of entry), setting off the alarm at that time? With her dead and the alarm ringing, he left?

All guessing and thinking out loud for possibilities. MOO.

 

[tes1984]

Normal packing tape was for janets ankles and feet.

Janet's head was wrapped with the tape before she was killed. The pathologist said she would have died of suffocation, even if she hadn't been bludgeoned.

This suggests that the killer enjoyed watching her struggle for a prolonged period.

Presumably the killer had bludgeoning in mind (as he brought a blunt object with him) in which case wrapping/binding Janet's head could also have been something of an attempt to minimise bloodier splatter.