The murder of an Oxfordshire nurse remains unsolved 30 years later. Janet Brown, who was a research nurse with Oxford University’s Public Health and Primary Care department, was murdered at her home in Sprigs Holly Lane, Radnage near Chinnor, in 1995. The 51-year-old had been gagged, handcuffed and had been repeatedly struck to her head sometime between 8.15pm and 10.15pm on Monday, April 10.
She was found the following day by her son at the bottom of the stairs. There was no evidence that a sexual offence had taken place and nothing appeared to have been taken from the property. Today (April 10), Thames Valley Police have relaunched an appeal for information, reminding people that Crimestoppers are offering a £20,000 reward for information. Mr Brown, who was born in Southampton, lived with her husband Graham Brown. He worked in Switzerland at a pharmaceuticals company and had been there the night of her death.
Together, the couple had three children – Zara, Ben, and Roxane. Zara had moved away at the time, Ben was at university and Roxane had been staying with a friend. They lived in the remote farmhouse, which is an 11-acre estate, near Chinnor at the time of Mrs Brown’s death. It has been previously reported that the area had been the target for burglaries and Mrs Brown had joined a local Neighbourhood Watch scheme as a result. She was reportedly ‘known to be security-conscious and had installed a panic alarm in the house’. Police believed that she had trigged her own panic button in her bedroom during the evening of her death.