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TV show follows police investigating Una Crown's murder

Katy Prickett
News imageThe Garden Productions Una Crown and her husband, Ron. He is on the left and almost in profile as if in the middle of talking, wearing glasses with swept back white hair and wearing a dark jacket, white shirt and blue and red bow tie. She is on the right with dark short curling hair, wearing big stud earrings, a pink, red, beige and black patterned dress and a long string of pearls. She is about to smile. The Garden Productions
The retired postmistress lived alone in the bungalow she once shared with her late husband, Ron

A cold case involving an 86-year-old widow who was brutally murdered in her own home will feature in a TV documentary about a police force.

Family members and a neighbour discovered Una Crown's body in her bungalow in Magazine Lane, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, in January 2013.

A "terrible mistake" meant her home was not treated as a crime scene by the first officers on the scene. Her killer lived free for more than a decade.

Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody follows Det Supt Iain Moor and colleagues as they reopen the investigation, "finally getting justice and closure for Una's family".

"When I joined the Major Crime Unit, the first thing my wife said to me was, 'You've got to solve this murder'," he said.

News imageThe Garden Productions A close up of Det Supt Iain Moor who has a greying close-cropped beard, is wearing a dark suit and is looking down and to the right. The Garden Productions
Det Supt Iain Moor said it was a "most horrendous crime", but added no unsolved murder case is ever closed

Crown died from stab wounds to her neck and chest, and her clothing had been set alight in an attempt by the killer to disguise her injuries and destroy evidence.

The case lingered on unsolved for years until the Major Crime Unit - shared by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire police forces - re-opened the investigation.

Detectives pieced together more evidence and uncovered new information.

New forensic techniques revealed male DNA under Crown's fingernails, protected under her body and in her clenched fist when she fell to the floor.

The DNA matched a neighbour and odd-job man, David Newton, but detectives had to rule out all male relatives in his paternal line to build a strong case against him.

News imageThe Garden Productions Two men in a police interview room, across a white table from one another. On the left is an officer wearing a light blue shirt and glasses leaning over a white table and pointing to a photograph. On the right is David Newton, wearing dark framed glasses and a dark blue jumper. The Garden Productions
New evidence meant David Newton was re-interviewed about the killing

Moor said: "For more than a decade, David Newton thought he had got away with this most horrendous crime.

"He was hiding in plain sight, but jurors saw through his lies, and as this programme highlights, you cannot hide forever."

Newton was jailed for life for murder in February last year.

News imageThe Garden Productions A group of three men and two women outside a court, including on the far right Una Crown's niece Judy Payne. The men and Judy Payne are wearing dark clothes; a blonde woman in the front is wearing a tan jacket over a white shirt. The Garden Productions
Crown's family - including niece Judy Payne on the far right - feared her murderer might never be caught

"I'm immensely proud of bringing Newton to justice after more than a decade, and finally getting justice and closure for Una's family," said Moor.

"Una, by the actions she took on that night, solved her own case as she fought her attacker."

24 Hours in Police Custody: The Cold Case Murder starts at 21:00 BST on Channel 4 and concludes on Tuesday.

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