Sergeant and fire chief 'at odds' at death scene

A fire chief and a police sergeant were at odds over whether the scene of an 86-year-old widow's death should be secured, a murder trial has heard.

Dave Allen, then a Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service station commander, said the scene at Una Crown's bungalow in Wisbech in January 2013 needed to be secured, the trial at Cambridge Crown Court heard.

However, acting sergeant Simon Gledhill concluded this was not necessary as believed Mrs Crown had died accidentally, jurors were told.

David Newton, 70, who lived near Mrs Crown and was charged in 2024 after new DNA evidence emerged, denies murder.

Mrs Crown's body was found in her bungalow in Magazine Lane on 13 January 2013, jurors heard.

A post-mortem examination two days later showed she had been stabbed and her throat cut.

Prosecutors allege Mr Newton, of Magazine Close, Wisbech, started fires after killing Mrs Crown.

Firefighters had seen evidence of "fire damage" to Mrs Crown's body and of fires in her kitchen and near her bathroom, jurors heard.

Mr Allen, who was based in Cambridge but has now retired, told the trial on Monday about an exchange he had with Mr Gledhill, who is no longer a police officer.

"The scene could have been handled better," he said.

Mr Allen said he had seen "three seats of fire" and told Mr Gledhill: "This scene needs to be secure."

Jurors heard that Mr Gledhill had replied: "That's not necessary as she's had an accident".

Mr Allen said another firefighter, Karl Bowden, then a station manager, had told Mr Gledhill: "This could be a career-defining moment and this won't be mine."

Mr Gledhill had earlier told the trial how he and another officer had deemed Mrs Crown's death to be non-suspicious.

He had accepted that "some bad decisions" were made and told jurors: "May I add I acknowledge the impact it's had on the subsequent investigation and take responsibility for that, and apologise to the family."

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