Neighbour tells story of one murderer and his dog

A retired kitchen fitter who stabbed an 86-year-old widow to death regularly walked a dog past the scene of his crime for more than a decade, a neighbour said.

David Newton, 70, began a jail term after he was found guilty of murdering retired postmistress Una Crown at her bungalow in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, 12 years ago.

Derek Mason, 86, who lives near to Mrs Crown's former home, said he regularly saw Newton walking his dog down her road, Magazine Lane.

He told the BBC that Newton, who lived in nearby Magazine Close and was charged in 2024, was a "Jekyll and Hyde" who became a different character when drunk.

Newton had denied killing Mrs Crown but jurors found him guilty of murder, by a 10-2 majority on Thursday, after a trial at Cambridge Crown Court.

Judge Mr Justice Garnham imposed a mandatory life sentence and said Newton must serve 21 years before being considered for parole.

Detectives said he would "likely spend the rest of his life behind bars".

Mrs Crown's niece, Judy Payne, told the BBC she "could finally smile again".

Speaking about the dog walks, neighbour Mr Mason said: "He had some bottle.

"He used to walk the dog past there... by the bungalow. He used to walk up and down the road. He's been doing that for 11 years."

The retired industrial painter continued: "A break-in, I wouldn't have been surprised... But I was surprised at murder because of him walking about with his dog.

"He didn't show no signs of anything."

However, Mr Mason said Newton was a different person when he had been drinking.

"He's never done me any harm," he added.

"But he liked the old pop. Jekyll and Hyde. [He was like] two different people."

Mr Mason added: "I didn't talk to him when he was drunk but normally he would speak to me.

"You couldn't put him down as a murderer then.

"But when he was drunk he was a different kettle of fish."

Retired firefighter John Bolton bought the bungalow where Mrs Crown lived about six months after she died and recalled Newton's "cheek".

"He used to regularly walk his dog past the bungalow," Mr Bolton, 83, told the BBC.

"If I was out there, he would stop and talk to me. I didn't know who he was.

"When I found out, I thought, blimey O'Reilly - the cheek of it."

Mr Mason still remembered the day he found out about Mrs Crown's death.

At first, he said, he was told she had "passed away" but then learned she had been killed.

"The next day all hell let loose," he added.

"We got all the police and everything down here - and it was murder."

Police initially thought Mrs Crown had died accidentally.

Then they discovered her stab wounds and began a murder inquiry in the days after her body was found.

Mr Mason was unimpressed by the initial investigation but praised the "top mob" detectives who took over and said "the big boys, they didn't mess about".

He described Mrs Crown as a "frail" woman who "kept herself to herself.

"She was a lovely old lady," he added.

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