An “angry, drunken and petulant” Old Etonian who planned to murder his ex-partner by drowning her in a well on his family’s estate has been jailed.
Douglas Clifton Brown had a bitter argument with Camilla Welby in a car after drinks at a friend’s house, before he then violently attacked her in August 2023. Norwich Crown Court earlier heard the 56-year-old had been driving and instead of driving her home as planned, took her to High House Estate near Congham, Norfolk, where he had filled the well with water in preparation to drown her in.
An earlier trial heard how she fought him off by pulling her scarf tight around his neck until he could not breathe.
Clifton Brown was found guilty of attempted murder after an earlier trial, and had previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and making a threat to kill. This morning he has been sentenced to 24 years.
He is said to have hit her in the face on the way to the estate, now a wedding venue, which has been in his family for generations. Edward Renvoize, prosecuting, told an earlier hearing: “The case is unusual and the court isn’t often presented with a case where the mechanism of death was as intended.”
He added throwing a person down a well was a “sadistic method to bring about the death of somebody.” Mr Renvoize said Clifton Brown had “filled the well with water from a large commercial water butt”.
In a victim impact statement she read from behind a screen, Miss Welby said she still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. She added: “Seeing Mr Clifton Brown in court left me so terrified I ran from the court. When Mr Clifton Brown is released I will always look over my shoulder. I will never feel safe.
“It was too exhausting to fight. I believed I was in a loving relationship, but discovered over time I was nothing more than a possession to be manipulated… I had lived in fear and walked on eggshells for so long.”
Stan Reiz KC, mitigating, said the incident “was an escalation of his (Clifton Brown’s) anger”, adding: “It was him in a fit of rage lashing out at his partner.
“[His] depression led him to take the irrational view he would take his own life as well.”
Judge Alice Robinson had earlier warned Clifton Brown he faced a long sentence. She added how on the day of the incident “everything was fine until she (Miss Welby) got in the car”. She said: “You accused her of belittling you in front of your friends when describing her daughter’s wedding and felt she had underplayed your role. Although what precipitated the argument may have been trivial, your reaction was not. You said you were going to take her (Miss Welby) to a disused well at High House, throw her in it then yourself.
“She was in complete terror that she was about to be killed and grabbed her scarf, and wrapped it around your neck. It is quite clear from Camilla’s description of the incident she was frightened beyond measure.”
She added it was an “angry, drunken and petulant, albeit extreme, reaction” to a perceived slight from Ms Welby earlier in the evening and “likely a build-up of antagonism during your relationship.”
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk. If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit** www.aafda.org.uk**.
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