Two years on from the brutal murder of Wisbech widow Una Crown and police are still looking for the “lucky break” that will land the killer.
Detective Superintendent Paul Fullwood, head of the tri-force Major Crime Unit which covers Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, is adamant that someone locally has the vital piece of information that will solve the case.
“This murder is never ever going to go away, it will remain open until those responsible have been found and brought to justice,” he said. “This is an unusual type of crime; she was stabbed and set on fire and we are looking to hear from anybody who saw or heard anything suspicious in the days before and after this horrific murder to come forward.
He said over 200 officers’ work for the major crime unit and one of their main priorities is to bring the 86-year-old’s killer to justice.
Det Supt Fullwood admitted the initial delay in declaring Mrs Crown’s death a murder had hampered the investigation.
When news of Mrs Crown’s death on January 13 2013 was initially made public police ruled it was not suspicious, two days later they admitted she had been brutally murdered in her Magazine Lane bungalow sometime between 5pm on Saturday January 12 and Sunday morning when her body was discovered by a relative.
A post mortem showed she was stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest and before her attacker set fire to her body as it lay in the entrance hall of the bungalow in a bid to destroy any evidence.
A reconstruction of the case was broadcast as part of the BBC’s Crimewatch programme in April 2013, which lead to a number of “interesting calls” but despite this killer remains at large.
The murder weapon has never been found nor has Mrs Crown’s gold wedding band which was missing from her body.
Det Supt Fullwood said: “Did someone come home smelling of smoke or was someone acting strangely. Anything at all may help us. We just need the lucky break we have been looking for. “Someone may have a random piece of information that they think is irrelevant but is in fact the key we need to solve this horrendous crime.
“We would be naive not to think the delay in declaring it a murder has not hampered our investigation; we are very much at the front edge of forensics and this has caused some challenges for us. We still firmly believe those responsible will be known within the local community. It is fair to say this is a really, really unusual crime, the level of violence used on this elderly lady was horrific.
“We have had a number of items brought forward but we are still looking to find the items (knife) responsible. We really believe that someone in the local community will have an idea of who committed this crime and we would appeal for them to come forward.
“The major crime unit has a really good success rate, far more advanced than our predecessor; it only takes one bit of information, a lucky break that gives us what we need to solve this case. That’s why we continue to investigate this case two years on, what ever happens it is never going to go away. We want to discover the truth and to get justice for Una Crown and her family, who have been through a horrendous ordeal.”
A £10,000 reward from the independent charity Crimestoppers is still on offer for information which leads to the arrest and successful conviction of Mrs Crown’s killer.
Anyone with information should call the Major Crime Unit on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800-555-111.
* A 44-year-old man from Wisbech was arrested on November 11 on suspicion of Mrs Crown’s murder. He was released on police bail to return to Thorpe Wood Police Station in Peterborough tomorrow (Tuesday January 13).
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering Mrs Crown, previous to the latest arrest, however all were released with no further action.
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