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

[Cedars]

In the book PB only gives a summary of what he suspects happened. I don't think he has solid evidence to back up some of his hunches, or he would explain more in the book.

He thinks the killer was watching the house, because the killer struck within minutes of Janet going to bed. Janet didn't ever draw the curtains or blinds, so anyone watching the house could have seen her go up the stairs.

I agree this sounds like a poorly conceived hunch - I'm kind of shocked a profiler would publish it - especially considering the potential impact his theory would have on the daughter.

We know Janet wanted to go early to bed, because that's what she told her daughter on the phone. But a killer wouldn't know that.

If someone went upstairs at 8:30 pm, in a home believed to contain a teenager, why would he assume both of them were sound asleep and it was safe to start cutting the glass?

JMO

 

[dotr]

Buckinghamshire: 'Mum was handcuffed and bludgeoned to death'

A family and Thames Valley Police appeal for information on the 30th anniversary of a cold case murder.

www.bbc.com

3 days ago Nikki Mitchell rbbm.

''The head of Thames Valley Police's major crime investigation review team, Peter Beirne told the BBC Janet's killing was "extremely unusual" and "perplexing".

He explained that most burglaries take place when a property is unoccupied and it would have been obvious someone was at home as there were two cars on the drive.

He said: "It could have been a burglar. It could have been someone who knew Janet, we just don't know."

"She was bludgeoned to death for no apparent reason. She'd been handcuffed. ''
"There would have been a lot of blood and somebody must know something and we just ask they please come forward to the police.

''Mr Beirne announced ten years ago a DNA profile had been developed from evidence collected at the scene in 1995 and revealed it belonged to a man unrelated to the Brown family.''

 

[Cedars]

"She was bludgeoned to death for no apparent reason. She'd been handcuffed. ''

I wonder what the forensic evidence says about the handcuffs...they are difficult to
put onto a victim fighting back, you need two hands and a cooperative victim to apply them: we've all seen how police must subdue someone first. And then for police to say not necessarily sexual assault...? I don't think they can be so naive, I think there's some forensics we don't know about. For example, just because someone was discovered wearing handcuffs, doesn't mean they were blugeoned while wearing handcuffs...

 

[dotr]

A few links concerning burglars using glass-cutters, this first one caught my attention, fwiw.
2007

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/thief-hidden-in-box-used-glass-cutter-in-200-robberies-police-1.645216

''Police say the thieves would simply prop the three-sided cardboard box against the front door of the business they were targeting. Anyone walking by would never have known anything was amiss. Little did they know there was a thief inside the box, cutting his way through the glass in the front door.''
2015

Would-be burglars use glass-cutting tool to try to break in

WOULD-be burglars used a glass-cutting tool to try to break into a door in Essex Square, Salisbury last week.

www.salisburyjournal.co.uk

'The tool was used to cut the glass of a front door of a home but the door was double glazed and remained intact.'
Apr 05, 2017

Criminals using spy movie tactics on windows

A new kind of home break-in looks like something out of a spy movie.

www.ktnv.com

''A new kind of home break-in looks like something out of a spy movie.
A perfect circle was cut into the glass of a business near Maryland Parkway and Pebble Road. The same marking was found on a home in Mountain's Edge.''
''Experts say to make these kinds of cuts you would need a glass cutter and a bit of practice.''
"It's not the local kids," said John Perdichizzi from ASAP Security. "It's probably a career criminal or someone that's doing this."

 

[tes1984]

I agree. I don't think the killer was targeting or waiting for roxanne. I think it was specifically janet he was after. He knew the husband was away and I think he watched roxanne leave so even though both cars were on the drive the killer was very much aware that janet was alone.

The husband was almost always away, as he worked abroad.

What time do you think the killer observed Roxane leaving the house?

 

[tes1984]

Plus the killer seemed to know he had lots of time, that the daughter didn't just go out to pick up some food or something, intending to come right back, and therefore discover him in the act...

I agree it seems completely targeted. If someone is looking for a random victim, plenty of women live alone, and the predator checks for points of entry - an open window or unlocked/easy to jimmy door.

JMO

When do you think Roxane was last actually in the house?

 

[Cedars]

When do you think Roxane was last actually in the house?

The Crime Watch program shows her leaving the house with her driving instructor early in the morning (the workmen are just arriving), after accepting her friend's invite to stay over...the next time she's shown on the video is when she's at her friend's house calling her mother at 6:30 pm...so if she came back, she was certainly gone by the time her mother came home from work.

Some crimes against children have happened when they came home after school, etc, before the parents get home from work.

JMO

 

[tes1984]

I agree this sounds like a poorly conceived hunch - I'm kind of shocked a profiler would publish it - especially considering the potential impact his theory would have on the daughter.

We know Janet wanted to go early to bed, because that's what she told her daughter on the phone. But a killer wouldn't know that.

If someone went upstairs at 8:30 pm, in a home believed to contain a teenager, why would he assume both of them were sound asleep and it was safe to start cutting the glass?

JMO

I don't think it's a poorly conceived hunch. In general I tend to agree with PB about this case. JMO but he wasn't just some guy the police called in off the street.

The killer may well have seen Janet go up to bed, get undressed etc...

It's a good point you make about why someone would assume a teenager would be asleep at that time. Then again, why would anyone choose that method of entry into the house, regardless of who was in the property?

 

[tes1984]

The Crime Watch program shows her leaving the house with her driving instructor early in the morning (the workmen are just arriving), after accepting her friend's invite to stay over...the next time she's shown on the video is when she's at her friend's house calling her mother at 6:30 pm...so if she came back, she was certainly gone by the time her mother came home from work.

Thanks for reminding me that the invite was in the morning as I'd forgotten that.

It does open up the possibility of people knowing Roxane would be out that evening.

I can't remember when Janet got back from work, and I haven't seen a full timeline for Roxanne that day. Full timelines for Janet and Roxane would be very useful. I rate Crimewatch but don't think they were always completely accurate.

 

[tes1984]

I wonder what the forensic evidence says about the handcuffs...they are difficult to
put onto a victim fighting back, you need two hands and a cooperative victim to apply them: we've all seen how police must subdue someone first. And then for police to say not necessarily sexual assault...? I don't think they can be so naive, I think there's some forensics we don't know about. For example, just because someone was discovered wearing handcuffs, doesn't mean they were blugeoned while wearing handcuffs...

The police seem to think that Janet offered little resistance. No real signs of a struggle. She seems to have stayed in her bedroom, either hiding, or frozen in fear, or already fast asleep, until the killer got there.

The killer either brought the handcuffs with him, or somehow found them in the dressing room. It's highly likely he brought them with him IMO. Even if he found them there, it's strange he chose them instead of the one of the rolls of tape he had.

IMO the use of handcuffs shows the fantasy element of this crime (particularly if he did bring them to the crime scene). Paul Britton suggests there was a non penetrative sexual assault.

 

[Cedars]

I rate Crimewatch but don't think they were always completely accurate.

I thought they were created by LE?...but I'm not from the UK. (Though even then, there are things they'll leave out.)

The video says no one saw her leave work. But it would normally be about 5:30.

One thing I noticed is there is a scene of her husband calling her @8:30 pm and she didn't answer the phone - presumably establishing the time they believe the crime was committed.

But I can see her just not answering phone calls if she was tired...

JMO

 

[tes1984]

I thought they were created by LE?...but I'm not from the UK. (Though even then, there are things they'll leave out.)

The video says no one saw her leave work. But it would normally be about 5:30.

One thing I noticed is there is a scene of her husband calling her @8:30 pm and she didn't answer the phone - presumably establishing the time they believe the crime was committed.

But I can see her just not answering phone calls if she was tired...

JMO

Crimewatch is a great resource but wasn't created by LE. AFAIK the police didn't oversee the production.

Janet answered a call at 8.10pm, but then didn't answer calls at 8.30pm (husband) and 9pm (builder).

The police crime timeline seems to be two hours from 8.15pm -10.15pm.

 

[Cedars]

IMO the use of handcuffs shows the fantasy element of this crime (particularly if he did bring them to the crime scene). Paul Britton suggests there was a non penetrative sexual assault.

Yes, could be, since DNA matching had become a risk.

However, I would hope a profiler would also know about the prevalence of crime scene staging, which is based on a different kind of fantasy. Cases that are "extremely unusual" and "perplexing" (quoting from Dotr's post above) IMO often appear that way because there's been staging to confuse police.

JMO

 

[dotr]

09 April 1996

Mystery calls over farmhouse murder

A mysterious caller could hold vital clues to the murder of a wealthy scientist's wife found naked and handcuffed at a secluded farmhouse a year ago.

www.independent.co.uk

''A mysterious caller could hold vital clues to the murder of a wealthy scientist's wife found naked and handcuffed at a secluded farmhouse a year ago.''

"The caller seems genuine. The information seems correct," Det Supt Short added. The calls did not appear to be from the killer himself, nor did they identify the killer.

The first was made to the control room at Aylesbury police station at 9.10pm on 3 February. The second, almost a repeat of the first call, was left on an answerphone at Maidenhead police station on 27 February.''

"I would ask that person to contact us. What he is telling us makes sense. It's really important that we speak to him."

 

[tes1984]

Yes, could be, since DNA matching had become a risk.

However, I would hope a profiler would also know about the prevalence of crime scene staging, which is based on a different kind of fantasy. Cases that are "extremely unusual" and "perplexing" (quoting from Dotr's post above) IMO often appear that way because there's been staging to confuse police.

JMO

PB was well aware of crime scene staging. He had consulted with thousands of psychopaths, serial offenders etc. The killer definitely seems to have staged the crime by unplugging the TV and video recorder.

There's also staging possibility with the glass cutting.

Could the glass cutting/beraking in have actually been done after the murder?

 

[tes1984]

But the distance between the killings, the fact it was only a couple of years, women of a similar age killed by intruders in their home (very unusual), the similar dates (significance to the killer?) I am sure it was the same man and any extra wealth Carolanne had was a red herring. Carolanne claimed stalking and someone watching her house, I believe Janet’s killer did the same and knew Roxanne wasn’t there one way or another (and hadn’t come back in the meanwhile).

I'm not convinced the two murders are connected. Two years is a long time.

Do you think the 1984 Melanie Road and Shelley Morgan murders were connected? They were 2-3 days apart.

 

[dotr]

I'm not convinced the two murders are connected. Two years is a long time.

Do you think the 1984 Melanie Road and Shelley Morgan murders were connected? They were 2-3 days apart.

Fears murderer may have killed three more women, says ex-police detective

Painter and decorator Christopher Hampton was sentenced to 22-years in prison in 2016 for the 1984 murder of 17-year-old A Level student Melanie Road

www.mirror.co.uk

2024 rbbm
'Now Ms Mackay, a former Avon and Somerset DCI, is convinced he killed three more women in the South West of England in the 1980s. Shelley Morgan, 33, was found dead near Bristol two days after Melanie was murdered, as she walked home from a nightclub. Linda Guest, 35, was found dead in Frampton Cotterell, Glos, in 1985. Helen Fleet, 66, was killed in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, in 1987.'

''All three had been sexually assaulted then stabbed multiple times. An unusual rosette pattern of stab wounds on Shelley were also found on Melanie.''
''Avon and Somerset Police said: “While there is no established link between any of these unsolved cases or with any solved ones, we remain open-minded and will act appropriately on any new information which comes to light.”

 

[HollyHunter9]

The husband was almost always away, as he worked abroad.

What time do you think the killer observed Roxane leaving the house?

Thankyou, I didn't realise the husband was always away. Which again makes me feel this was targeted at Janet specifically. The killer had make sure she was alone and somehow knew roxanne was not returning? I always thought roxanne left in the evening but from what info I've read online she left in morning and phoned her mum later in the day to say she would be staying out.

This is speculation on my part and JMO but Do we know if the teenage daughter had a boyfriend at the time? Maybe someone mum didn't approve of? (I'm not accusing the daughter but just trying to think of a motive).

 

[LadyL]

Jan '25 Chelsea Queen rbbm.

The Unsolved Murder of Janet Brown: A Tragic and Mysterious Case

Janet Brown, an English nurse born on January 27, 1944, was tragically murdered in her home in Radnage, Buckinghamshire, on April 10, 1995…

medium.com

''Known for her security-conscious nature, Brown had even established a local Neighbourhood Watch scheme and had a panic alarm installed in her home after a series of local burglaries. Despite these precautions, on the evening of her murder, an intruder or intruders broke into the house, handcuffed and gagged her, then brutally beat her to death with a blunt object, possibly a crowbar. Brown may have triggered her panic alarm at some point during the attack, but the killer remained at the scene, washing his hands of blood and moving around the house.''

''Forensic psychologist Paul Britton assisted in the investigation, suggesting that the killer may have been motivated by a desire to dominate and humiliate the victim. Detective Superintendent Martin Short noted the strange behavior of the intruder, who continued his attack despite the alarm sounding.''

how would they know he continued the attack after the alarm was sounding?

 

[LadyL]

In the book PB only gives a summary of what he suspects happened. I don't think he has solid evidence to back up some of his hunches, or he would explain more in the book.

He thinks the killer was watching the house, because the killer struck within minutes of Janet going to bed. Janet didn't ever draw the curtains or blinds, so anyone watching the house could have seen her go up the stairs. The land dipped behind the house, meaning someone could watch the property without being seen from occupants on the ground floor.

The killer brought two different types of tape with him, much more than he would have needed to restrain a single victim... and also possibly handcuffs, although Janet's husband thought he recalled a pair of handcuffs from years earlier.
The killer left the handcuffs on Janet. PB thinks this is because the handcuff keys were underneath Janet's body, and he couldn't find them.

how does he know what time Janet went to bed and what time the killer struck?