Man jailed for murdering widow Una Crown, 86, in Wisbech in 2013

A man who murdered an 86-year-old widow 12 years ago has been sentenced to life imprisonment, after a re-examination of DNA evidence from his victim’s fingernails led to his conviction.

The body of retired postmistress Una Crown was found at her bungalow in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 13 January 2013. She had been stabbed four times and her throat had been cut.

Cambridgeshire Police did not treat her death as suspicious until two days later, but neighbour David Newton, 70, who was previously arrested but then released, was eventually charged last April.

A judge at Cambridge Crown Court, where a jury found Newton guilty of murder on Thursday, said he must spend at least 21 years in jail.

Mrs Crown’s body had been discovered in the hallway of her home by relatives who had arrived to take her to Sunday lunch.

Police officers initially treated the death as “unexplained”.

It meant police, firefighters, paramedics and undertakers all walked around the house and some even touched Mrs Crown’s body to move things around.

It was not until two days later – after a post-mortem examination – that the death was finally deemed suspicious.