Janet Brown

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Thames Valley (POLICE)

Offense Location:

Radnage, Buckinghamshire

Summary:

Janet Brown was a 51-year-old English nurse who was murdered by an intruder in her house in Radnage, Buckinghamshire on 10 April 1995. She was handcuffed and gagged, then beaten across the head with a blunt instrument, possibly a crowbar, until dead. The case remains unsolved, and the investigation remains open.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Brown was at home alone on the evening of 10 April 1995, as her husband was working in Switzerland, her eldest daughter and son were at university, and her youngest daughter was staying at the home of a friend. At some point after 20:20 GMT, one or more intruders entered the house and handcuffed and gagged Brown, and then beat her across the head with a blunt instrument, possibly a crowbar, until dead. Brown is believed to have triggered a panic button in her bedroom at one point during the attack. Despite the ringing alarm, the killer seemed to have taken his time at the scene, washing his hands of blood and moving around the house. She was found dead the next day just after 8am, naked at the bottom of the stairs by a builder and his son who had arrived to carry out some work on the estate.

Additional Details:

Janet Brown was born in Southampton as an only child and worked as a research nurse at the Public Health and Primary Care department of Oxford University. Her husband Grahaem Brown worked in Switzerland as a senior executive at Ciba-Geigy, a pharmaceuticals company. The couple had three children and the family lived in a remote farmhouse situated on an 11-acre estate in Radnage, Buckinghamshire, valued at £345,000 (1995 prices). Following a spate of local burglaries, Janet Brown had formed the local Neighbourhood Watch scheme and was known to be security-conscious, having installed a panic alarm in the house. Brown's funeral and burial took place at St Mary the Virgin church in Radnage, on 13 June. By the second anniversary of the murder, 2,700 people had been interviewed by the police. In 2015 a DNA profile of Brown's killer was extracted. Almost every male from the surrounding area, a total of more than 700 people, was tested, but no match was found. More than 1,000 men have been screened and eliminated from the inquiry by the investigation team. In 2020, a £20,000 reward was offered to anyone who could provide tips that will lead to an arrest, a joint effort by Crimestoppers and Thames Valley Police. A link has been suggested between her murder and that of 50-year-old Carolanne Jackson 10 miles away in Wooburn Green, which occurred in similar circumstances and on almost the exact same day two years later. There was no evidence of sexual assault, and although a television and video recorder were unplugged, nothing had been stolen from the house.

Case Last Updated:

Jun 02, 2026