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24 Hours in Police Custody to Air Two-Part Una Crown Cold-Case Investigation

The film tracks the DNA breakthrough that linked neighbor David Newton to the 2013 killing.

Overview

  • The two-part special, airing on Channel 4 at 9pm on Monday and Tuesday, April 13–14, follows Cambridgeshire detectives and highlights their practice of revisiting unsolved murders.
  • Una Crown, an 86-year-old retired postmistress, was found in her Wisbech bungalow in 2013 with stab wounds and her clothes set on fire to hide the attack.
  • New forensic work recovered male DNA under her fingernails and in her clenched fist, which matched David Newton who lived near her home.
  • Investigators then ruled out men in Newton’s paternal line by collecting comparison samples around the country to strengthen the case.
  • Newton was convicted and in February 2025 received life in prison with a 21-year minimum after a judge called the attack “ferocious and sustained.”