Channel 4's documentary series 24 Hours in Police Custody has returned with a two-part special focusing on the 2013 murder of 86-year-old Una Crown in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. The episodes, titled 'The Cold Case Murder', aired on April 13 and 14 and are now available to stream on the Channel 4 website.
Una Crown was found dead in her home by her nephew-in-law on January 13, 2013. Initial police assessment deemed the death non-suspicious, suggesting she had accidentally set herself alight. However, a post-mortem revealed she had been stabbed to death, prompting a murder investigation. By then, the scene had been cleaned, and the case went cold for a decade.
A DNA breakthrough led to the reopening of the case. Detective Superintendent Iain Moor and the Major Crime Unit used advanced forensic techniques to match DNA under Crown's fingernails to local man David Newton. Newton, then in his 70s, was convicted of murder in February 2024 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. Judge Justice Neil Garnham described the attack as 'ferocious and sustained' against a defenceless elderly woman.
Viewers reacted emotionally to the episodes, with one writing on X: 'One of the most sadest of cases tonight, I am glad the family finally has some closure. RIP Una.' The series continues to draw attention to cold cases and the persistence of detectives seeking justice.
