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

[rvlvr]

This poor woman's ravished and turned into an anonymous body (gagged, nude, head bashed and bandaged), but the jewelry on her corpse is unscathed.
Even the handcuffs left on Janet's wrists seem to be an additional macabre touch - bracelets.

Perfectly put. This is what makes me think it was sexually motivated, even if no sexual assault took place.

Is it really possible J ends up in this awful way by ‘accident’, by virtue of a burglary ‘gone wrong’? It’s very hard for me to fathom.

Police must see plenty of macabre scenes and perhaps if you place this particular scene in that sort of context then it gives you a very different perspective, but my mind can’t comprehend this as anything other than a targeted assault that was sexual and controlling in nature.

 

[dotr]

Perfectly put. This is what makes me think it was sexually motivated, even if no sexual assault took place.

Is it really possible J ends up in this awful way by ‘accident’, by virtue of a burglary ‘gone wrong’? It’s very hard for me to fathom.

Police must see plenty of macabre scenes and perhaps if you place this particular scene in that sort of context then it gives you a very different perspective, but my mind can’t comprehend this as anything other than a targeted assault that was sexual and controlling in nature.

No doubt in my mind either that this was a sexually motivated crime.
rbbm. Imo....

How police underestimate break-ins as gateway crimes for sex predators

This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure in…

nationalpost.com

By Michael Arntfield, Associate Professor of Criminology & English Literature, Western University, The Canadian Press Apr 19, 2018

''Conventional thinking has suggested for years that predatory offences like exhibitionism or actual sexual assaults are typically the early crimes committed by future serial sex predators.

But the reality is that residential break-and-enters are common among incarcerated sex offenders as their first, or gateway, offence en route to becoming high-risk violent serial offenders, whether homicidal or non-homicidal.

A recently published Canadian study confirms that of 624 convicted and federally incarcerated sex offenders, including sexual and serial murderers, interviewed over a six-year period, breaking-and-entering was the prevailing first offence committed during the formative years of their criminal careers.''

''Indeed, the study suggests, breaking into residential dwellings is more likely to be sexually motivated than previously thought.
Police, however, still wrongly assume when nothing is stolen in a break-in and there seems to be no obvious financial motive that the offender was either scared off, aborted the crime for some other reason or was otherwise just indulging in petty mischief.''

 

[Professor Moriarty]

JB's wealth (jewelry), did not save her, the large solid house offered no protection (so many airy windows from which to see outside, but also inside and easy to smash),
Outfitted with all the bells and whistles of a security system that makes loud noises nobody seems to care about, or respond to- not even the intruders!
imo, speculation.

The jewelry might have been cheap stuff. But it is a terrible shame that Mr and Mrs Brown didn't pay the extra to have the alarm and panic button linked to the security company. It costs quite a bit extra, but makes a big difference.

Recently, a premier league footballer had masked intruders in his driveway. His CCTV was linked to the security company, who called the family and the police too. That costs a huge amount extra, but premier league footballers are at risk from intruders, who will break in even when they are at home.

 

[tes1984]

In general, a burglar really doesn't want to encounter anyone.

Yet this guy is the complete opposite. He enters the property at a time and on a day when it's almost certain to be occupied.

IMO his plan all along is to bind, torture and kill. Possibly excuses it all in his own mind as a burglary gone wrong.

His 'excuse' for the binding is that he's encountered someone and mist make sure she can't escape.
His 'excuse' for the torture is that now he must find out where the real valuables are.
His 'excuse' for the murder is that she tries to escape after he's warned her not to.

I suspect he knows full well that Janet is suffocating. Cuts of the tape around her ankles and puts the handcuff keys on the carpet. Waits and watches until in desperation Janet tries to get them, then bludgeons her as she scrambles for them on the floor.

 

[tes1984]

The jewelry might have been cheap stuff. But it is a terrible shame that Mr and Mrs Jones didn't pay the extra to have the alarm and panic button linked to the security company. It costs quite a bit extra, but makes a big difference.

Recently, a premier league footballer had masked intruders in his driveway. His CCTV was linked to the security company, who called the family and the police too. That costs a huge amount extra, but premier league footballers are at risk from intruders, who will break in even when they are at home.

I think you mean Mr and Mrs Brown, but the point stands that the alarm system was pretty much useless. Janet didn't have any neighbours within hearing distance, and the ones who did hear the external alarm when they drove past, didn't stop and check the house or rush to call the police.

 

[Professor Moriarty]

I think you mean Mr and Mrs Brown, but the point stands that the alarm system was pretty much useless. Janet didn't have any neighbours within hearing distance, and the ones who did hear the external alarm when they drove past, didn't stop and check the house or rush to call the police.

Thanks. I've amended it now to avoid confusion.

 

[rvlvr]

I think you mean Mr and Mrs Brown, but the point stands that the alarm system was pretty much useless. Janet didn't have any neighbours within hearing distance, and the ones who did hear the external alarm when they drove past, didn't stop and check the house or rush to call the police.

The Still at Large podcast covered the way in which people ‘tune out’ alarms and I’ve definitely done this myself, but I’ve always lived in urban settings. I can’t help but feel that if I was driving past that house that evening I’d have been very suspicious of what I was hearing. Did the Browns’ neighbours know G was often abroad? I think I’d have been extra concerned if so.

 

[tes1984]

Is it really possible J ends up in this awful way by ‘accident’, by virtue of a burglary ‘gone wrong’? It’s very hard for me to fathom.

Police must see plenty of macabre scenes and perhaps if you place this particular scene in that sort of context then it gives you a very different perspective, but my mind can’t comprehend this as anything other than a targeted assault that was sexual and controlling in nature.

I tend to agree, although there were some really brutal burglaries in the area, involving victims being beaten and restrained.

Many of them were committed by crack and heroin addicts. Some of them didn't seem to care if there were people in the property.

There was a burglary around 5 miles from Janet, where a man and a youth tricked their way into an elderly man's house. IIRC the youth went to the door and asked if he could have a glass of water. The old man was then tied up and hit with a hammer, so some similarities perhaps.

 

[tes1984]

I was saying that burglars don't generally want to encounter anyone, but now I'm not so sure.

Perhaps some burglars might want someone there to give them information, particularly in really large houses where hidden cash, jewellery, or a safe, could be time consuming to locate. A safe also needs a combination to access.

 

[skylersymmer]

I tend to agree, although there were some really brutal burglaries in the area, involving victims being beaten and restrained.

Many of them were committed by crack and heroin addicts. Some of them didn't seem to care if there were people in the property.

There was a burglary around 5 miles from Janet, where a man and a youth tricked their way into an elderly man's house. IIRC the youth went to the door and asked if he could have a glass of water. The old man was then tied up and hit with a hammer, so some similarities perhaps.

Do you have any links to the local brutal burglaries?

 

[rvlvr]

I was saying that burglars don't generally want to encounter anyone, but now I'm not so sure.

Perhaps some burglars might want someone there to give them information, particularly in really large houses where hidden cash, jewellery, or a safe, could be time consuming to locate. A safe also needs a combination to access.

Perhaps this explains the killer’s apparent interest in the scuba equipment, thinking it might’ve actually been used to store cash or hide a safe. I did have a look through some old articles a while back for any mention of the Browns having had a safe, or them being known to keep large amounts of cash in the home, but didn’t find anything.

 

[tes1984]

Do you have any links to the local brutal burglaries?

Do you have any links to the local brutal burglaries?

There were loads of newspaper articles about Buckinghamshire burglaries in the mid to late 90s. Beaconsfield (to the South East of where Janet lived) seems to have been a particular burglary hot spot.

 

[tes1984]

Perhaps this explains the killer’s apparent interest in the scuba equipment, thinking it might’ve actually been used to store cash or hide a safe. I did have a look through some old articles a while back for any mention of the Browns having had a safe, or them being known to keep large amounts of cash in the home, but didn’t find anything.

I was wondering if the killer checked everywhere big enough for a human to hide in.

Bedroom wardrobes, under beds, large chests of drawers etc. He doesn't seem to have ransacked for small items.

 

[rvlvr]

That’s a great shout - if he was expecting R to be at home then being certain she wasn’t there would’ve been a priority once he’d subdued J, I’d imagine.

 

[Rush4087]

Can anybody clarify for me: LE announced in 2015 that they had DNA, and tested some 700 plus individuals looking for a match, without success. They also said the DNA was not a match to anybody in the family (whatever that means).

Then as part of the new inquiry announced in 2025, LE says they have been able to extract NEW DNA.

Are both DNA samples the same (from the same item / source). and do they match? Or did only one sample ever exist in the first place, and they've only just now been able to do an extraction using newer technology?

It's frustrating, as where I live, forensic genetic genealogy would have already been performed - starting perhaps back in 2021. I feel certain we'd know who did this to poor Janet by now.

I'm also wondering why police did not use the DNA sample they had back in 2015 to have genetic phenotyping done and a CGI (computer generated image) created of the suspect.

Even if the 2015 DNA wasn't suitable fir that use, surely the NEW DNA they have extracted more recently can be processed through phenotyping and a computer generated image generated. Does anybody know if that has been done or if it is going to soon be done?

Perhaps they are working on it now using the 2025 extracted DNA. I've been very impressed with the CGI's I've seen, which often end up looking very-much like the perp once caught. Somebody might recognized him today from a CGI. Time is of the essence. It's been 30 years..

Jmo

 

[dotr]

April 2025 rbbm, re-post.

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

''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.

He added: "We believe it could be a vital piece of evidence linking the killer to the scene."

So far no match has been found on the national DNA database which holds the DNA of almost six million people.

The cold case investigators have also seen and eliminated more than one thousand other men as being the source of the DNA.

Mr Beirne said "It's very frustrating we haven't had a result as of yet, but we're optimistic and our hope is that the next time we knock on someone's door their DNA matches and that's why we're making this appeal today.

"With the help of the public, ideally what we'd like is the names of anybody they've got suspicions of who they think could be responsible for this horrific crime."

 

[rvlvr]

Have I missed something re a ‘new’ sample? I thought there was just the sample announced in 2015?

I agree though, familial searching works well in the UK, but there has to come a point where we try genetic genealogy I think, there’s too many cases like this one that seem tantalisingly close to being solved but are stuck and going nowhere.

 

[tes1984]

AFAIK there's only one DNA profile, but I thought the same thing about the Eve Stratford murder (which the police now say actually involves two separate DNA profiles).

 

[Cedars]

Have I missed something re a ‘new’ sample? I thought there was just the sample announced in 2015?

I agree though, familial searching works well in the UK, but there has to come a point where we try genetic genealogy I think, there’s too many cases like this one that seem tantalisingly close to being solved but are stuck and going nowhere.

Do you know, is there a reason it's not being used in the UK?

 

[rvlvr]

This is from a few years ago but I think the position remains unchanged:

Should we be making use of genetic genealogy to assist in solving crime? A report on the feasibility of such methods in the UK (accessible version)

www.gov.uk

Unchanged probably because the police and politicians aren’t being put under any pressure to do things differently, sadly.