Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Jane Britton Pt. 2

Episode Date: February 10, 2021

After Jane Britton's death in 1969, police suspected that one of her instructors may have been responsible for her gruesome murder. But the ensuing investigation would reveal the real culprit in a way nobody could have predicted. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes graphic descriptions of physical and sexual violence, as well as dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. Jane Britton was found bludgeon to death in her apartment on January 7, 1978. And while the police scrambled to search for her killer, the shocking story of the murdered Harvard student spread like wildfire. Newspapers across the country speculated on the nature of Jane's death,

clinging to any clue released by the Cambridge police. But one piece of evidence was particularly tantalizing. Someone sprinkled red ochre powder on Jane's lifeless body. Headlines claimed that it was evidence of an ancient burial right, sending an anxious public into a frenzy. While rumors spread about a possible ritual killing, the police remained skeptical. But with no leads and no suspect, the Cambridge detectives needed something, anything, to further the investigation. There was one person who was connected to Jane Britt and had access to Red Ocker, a young well-liked archaeology professor who, for the sake of privacy, will refer to as Scott Mulholland.

As the police planned an interrogation with him, they hoped that this man would be the key to solving the case. But the police were wrong. The journey to find the elusive killer was more complicated than anyone could have expected. The true story of Jane Britton's death wouldn't be revealed for decades. Welcome to Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast. I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKen, Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crimes most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives closed the case.

You can find episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is our final episode on the murder of Jane Britton. Last week, we covered the start of the investigation and the mysterious clues that confounded the police. This week will cover the decades-long journey to closing this case for good. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. The Jane Britton murder investigation was the only thing that anyone in Cambridge, Massachusetts, wanted to talk about in January of 1969. And as Professor Scott Mulholland was about to find out,

it was the only thing that the press wanted to cover. Even before the police could contact him, the professor found himself mired in rumors and confronted with endless speculation about his relationship to his dead student. Professor, is it true that Jane Britton was on your dig in Iran last summer? Yes, Jane was one of several students who went on that dig with me. I was also on her thesis committee. It's a small department.

Well, there are rumors that you two were close. Now, let me make this perfectly clear. Jane Britton was my student. That is the relationship I had with her. Any suggestion otherwise is completely ridiculous, even if it does make for a more interesting headline. But what about the red ochre found on the victim's body? Do you think it was a ritual killing?

Now that is preposterous. I blame the so-called Harvard scientists, with no understanding of anthropology for that outrageous rumor. It is a total fabrication to assume that because a body has paint on it, that it has anything to do with a Middle Eastern ritual? But do you think maybe? No, no, I don't. Now please let me pass.

I've had enough of this circus for one day. But Professor Mulholland had more surprises in store. Once he made his way through the throng of reporters and into his office, there were detectives waiting. Now what? Listen, Professor, we're sorry about the press out there. We just came to get a sample of the Red Ochre from you, and then we'll be on our way.

Fine. One moment. Here. You do realize this is a very common substance, right? Not just in archaeology. You could go down to any art supply store and get some yourself. How do you mean? All I keep hearing is how ancient people used it for some kind of sacrificial ritual or something.

If I have to repeat this anymore, I will lose my mind. Red ochre is a pigment. Yes, it was used in ancient civilizations for all sorts of things, but it's also used nowadays in paints, dyes? Maybe, but that doesn't explain why it was on the victim's body. Look, I don't know the exact reason Jane Britton might have had red ochre powder sprinkled on her, but I can tell you that this sacrifice mumbo-jumbo is highly unlikely. Maybe she paints.

She could be using it to dye fabric. Shouldn't you be the ones figuring that out? The professor had made a good point. The police, like much of Cambridge, had been so caught up in the possibility of a ritualistic killing that they hadn't spent much time looking for other explanations or for hard evidence to prove their theory. The detectives hoped that the sample of Red Ochre might prove something special about the substance.

Maybe this specific kind of iron oxide could connect Jane's death with some ancient spiritual significance. But analyzing the sample didn't bring any useful information, the professor was right. Red ochre was fairly common. A few calls to local art supply stores further proved that fact. The idea that a young archaeology student had been brutally murdered in an ancient burial right was a great way to sell papers and catch the public imagination, but it just wasn't true. Jane Britton was a painter in her spare time.

According to Becky Cooper's book, We Keep the Dead Close, in Jane's small apartment, she had covered an entire wall. all with a mural of cats, giraffes, and owls in swirling, dreamy colors. The clues had always been there, but the idea of a ritual killing was so scandalous, so shocking, that it was easy to get carried away. And unfortunately, that's exactly what the public, the press, and the police had done. The Red Ochre was the primary link between Jane Britton's death and Professor Scott Mulholland. And now that connection was broken.

Detective Davenport was right. In the desperate search for answers, Cambridge police had been distracted by a red herring. The investigation needed a new lead fast. So the police called in Jane's neighbors, Vaughn and Gail Meacham for a second round of questioning and a lie detector test. But unfortunately for the police,

the couple didn't offer anything new. But they did offer a new sound bite to the press. Reporters had become a regular fixture outside the Cambridge police station. As Vaughn and Gail left, they were confronted with questions about the case. Can you tell us anything about the investigation? Well, it doesn't look like things are going too well, if I'm being honest. I don't think the guys in there have any idea who killed Jane. Do you have any guesses?

All I know is that whoever did this needs to be put away for good. I want to believe that the police will find this guy, but I'm not so sure. Von Meacham wasn't wrong. The Cambridge police had spent days investigating Jane Britton's murder and had no leads, no murder weapon, and no suspect. But the worst part was that everyone knew it. Jane Britton was selling newspapers like hotcakes. Everyone wanted to know every detail about the investigation as quickly as possible.

It didn't matter very much whether that information was true. The Red Ochre theory that this young woman could have been the victim of some cult-like attack had gained a ton of traction. When that theory went south, reporters clamored to fill the space with a new development. The newest scoop, the slow pace of the investigation. It was more and more apparent that the police had no idea who killed Jane Britton, and the press were happy to latch on to those failings. The Cambridge police had a reputation for cooperating with the press.

Usually, detectives would gladly work alongside reporters and offer them information when it was safe to do so. Even the chief of police was known to be friendly with the press, but this new angle put pressure on that relationship. Late on the afternoon of January 10th, police chief James Reagan gathered members of the press into his office for a brief conference. None of the reporters thought this was particularly strange,

at least not at first. But one look at the chief's expression proved that this conference would be very different from the rest. Chief Reagan stood silently over his desk, his mouth clamped shut in a thin line. He surveyed the group of reporters with a distinct air of disgust. Exhaling sharply, he straightened the hem of his shirt and began his statement.

I don't particularly enjoy what I have to do today. This is not easy. The level of scandal and misinformation that has circled around this case is unfortunate to say the least. Sir, what are you implying? Interpret my words how you will. But this investigation has wasted enough time

chasing wild theories. From this point forward, there will be no further statements made to the press by any officer of the Cambridge police. What? This is entirely unwarranted. The people deserve to know what's going on with this case.

No further statements. That is all. If the police were worried about how the public felt about the investigation, this would not help. But to Chief Reagan, this was the best option. So much was still unclear about Jane Britton's death, and the detectives couldn't afford any more distractions. In only a matter of days, the investigation into Jane Britton's brutal murder had already gone off the rails. Under the cover of the media blackout, the police remained desperate for some kind of break in the case.

But unfortunately, time was not on their side. Coming up, the search for Jane Britton's killer gets stalled by a technological setback. Hi, listeners, they say there's someone for everyone, a soul to share your secret. with, a companion to grow old with, a conspirator to commit crimes with. Starting this February on Spotify, learn about the lethal and legendary lovers who fought the law in the Parcast Limited series Criminal Couples. If you've ever referred to your best friend or beloved as your partner in crime, this exclusive series is for you. Beginning February first, discover the radical side of romance with a collaboration.

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was captivated by 23-year-old Jane Britton's murder. Even with all the attention, the police were getting nowhere fast. With no suspect and no murder weapon, detectives reviewed their small collection of evidence, hoping for a miracle. A handful of Jane's items looked promising, and the detectives sent them out for analysis. Hopefully, the results could add more context to the nature of the young woman's death.

Behind the media blackout, the Cambridge detectives worked around the clock desperately searching for more information. Jane's original autopsy hadn't been very helpful. It gave her cause of death. She was murdered by multiple blows to the head, and her attacker used a blunt object as a weapon. But apart from this information,

The autopsy didn't prove much else. Jane had been found naked from the waist down, so the police considered whether or not she had been sexually assaulted, but they wouldn't know for sure until they received the chemical analysis report. The police sent over several samples for inspection, all taken from Jane's apartment, a blood-stained pillow, a pair of Jane's underwear, and a candelabra that had flecks of dried blood around its handle.

Hopefully these items would give the police some clue as to the activities of Jane's killer. Luckily, the detectives didn't have to wait long. Soon, Detective Leo Davenport got the call. The chemist explained that the blood samples from the crime scene were all type O blood and were all from one person. Jane. But someone else, possibly the killer, had left his DNA through a child. another method. Jane's underwear and her pillow tested positive for semen. Not only that, the sperm cells left on the pillow were still intact. The chemist explained in clinical terms what this meant.

There had been sexual activity prior to Jane's death. The chemist had also analyzed the contents of Jane's stomach and found another helpful detail. There was alcohol in her system and it hadn't been given enough time to metabolize and enter her bloodstream before she died. Slowly, Detective Davenport was getting a clearer picture of that fateful January night. According to the neighbor Von Meacham, Jane joined them for a nightcap before going to bed. And by that point, the boyfriend had already returned to his apartment. So I doubt he was the person who had sex with her. I mean, are you sure Von and Jane didn't have something on the side?

Could he have snuck over to Jane's apartment? The man took a lie detector test and passed. I doubt that he had some secret trist with the victim. And there's another thing that's been bugging me. Jane's friends said that Jane never entertained guests in her nightgown. Okay, but what does that mean? Well, it's not good. It means that she wasn't expecting company,

so she probably didn't know her attacker. He could have been a stranger after all. And if that's the case, I don't think she had sex consensually. I think she was raped before she was killed. At this time, DNA tracing was not nearly as advanced as it is now. Frankly, it didn't exist. There was no such thing as a DNA database

and no way to identify someone through their DNA. There was no way to trace the seaman found in Jane's apartment. The toxicology report was helpful, but hardly enough to make a break in the case. and if Jane Britton had been attacked by a stranger, that made anyone in the area a suspect. Leo Davenport re-interviewed Jane's friends and neighbors, hoping that someone might have heard or seen something on that fateful night. One neighbor vaguely remembered seeing a tall man running from the apartment building late that night, but he didn't get a good look at him. Another said that he noticed a person on the fire escape, but no one else could corroborate

the story. The more information they gathered, the less useful it became. While the police scrambled to find some shred of hope in a sea of unhelpful information, Mr. and Mrs. Britain buried their daughter. The funeral took place 30 minutes outside of Cambridge in a plain Greystone Church near Jane's childhood home, but no distance could keep away curious onlookers who wanted to follow the mystery of the murdered student. While Jane's family and friends slowly made their way into the church, they had to delicately sidestep a growing congregation of people who had come to Ogle at the morbid affair. Local policemen even had to direct traffic so that there was a clear path to the service. As Becky Cooper describes it in her book, We Keep the Dead Close. Inside the church, mourners shared crowded pews with reporters and policemen.

The small room was packed with people jostling for space and craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the casket. And at the front of the room, there it was. A small, unassuming casket draped in fragrant white roses. The reverend spoke briefly in lofty generalities, avoiding any reference to Jane's horrific death. Jane's parents and brothers sat at the front of the church. Their emotions concealed from nosy spectators as many curiously. eyes glanced toward them. There was no eulogy. No other statements from Jane's family or friends. The whole service lasted only 30 minutes. As the large group of mourners slowly filed out of the church, Jane's family quietly exited through a side door. They knew more than anyone else that outside the

reporters were waiting, and the family didn't care to comment. Days passed, then weeks, and his time ticked by. It was harder for the police to get reliable statements from anyone. Jane's neighbors struggled to remember where they were a month ago, or if they had heard anything suspicious on that one specific night. The case had gone cold. By this point, the Britain family was beginning to give up on any possibility of finding out who killed their beloved daughter, and Harvard University was more than happy to move on from this scandal. It seemed like even the police started forgetting about Jane Britton, soon other cases began taking up Leo Davenport's time. Without the proper technology to analyze the seaman found in Jane Britton's apartment,

there was no use chasing after a ghost. The killer was still out there, but now no one was looking for him. Only time would tell how many other victims he would claim before he was caught. That is, if he would ever be caught. Coming up, a new discovery reopens the case, and detectives finally find the answer they've been searching for. And now, back to the story. The 1969 investigation into 23-year-old Jane Britton's brutal murder was delayed by many distractions. From the Red Ochre into the melodramatic media coverage, detectives wasted valuable time and ultimately paid the price.

The case went cold. But the most costly hindrance to the investigation was the lack of appropriate technology. In 1969, there was no such thing as DNA testing. And without methods in place to track genetic data, Jane Britton's murder case was stopped in its tracks. The police would have to wait more than a decade for science to catch up to their needs. In the mid-1980s, a new form of criminal analysis was made available to the public. It was called genetic fingerprinting, a method of DNA analysis that could identify someone from their skin cells, hair, and bodily fluids. Soon, genetic fingerprinting became a standard for criminal investigations, and this was just the thing that the Jane Britton investigators needed.

While Jane's murder had gone unsolved for over a decade, the case had never been officially closed. This left the investigation open for any new developments that could come along as the years went by. The new technology of genetic fingerprinting, which is the analysis of a person's DNA based on a sample of their body fluids or tissues, which is a huge boost to the investigation. The sperm samples were still intact and could be tested using this new method. But there was one major problem. It's one thing to be able to identify the many components. of a DNA sample, and it's an entirely different thing to match that sample to someone specific.

By this point in the case, the investigation had turned away from the theory that Jane knew her killer. So when the police finally tested the DNA sample from the crime scene, they ran it against the newly formed DNA criminal database. But genetic fingerprinting was a new method in the 1980s, and there hadn't been much time to build up a robust pool of samples to choose from. So without a large selection of DNA profiles, the samples from the Jane Britton case were meaningless. For now, the investigation had to wait. As the decades passed, the Jane Britton case became a ghost story in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard students frightened each other with the unsolved mystery of the young woman found beaten to death in her apartment. The case was still technically open, but the police hardly investigated it anymore.

In 2006, new detectives tried to have the DNA samples tested. Just like before, their evidence didn't lead to a suspect. It felt hopeless. But not everyone had given up. As true crime became a popular form of entertainment, online forums began sprouting up for the people who were fascinated by unsolved mysteries. It was only a matter of time before someone brought up the murder of Jane Britton. According to the research of authors,

author Becky Cooper, in the early 2010s, a small group of people began speculating about Jane's death, the investigation, and potential leads that the detectives might have overlooked. They used the website web sleuths to share their theories. The cold case attracted a wide array of people, private investigators, journalists, hobbyists, and even Jane's old friends and relatives. Anyone with a particular interest in solving a decades-old mystery. gathered on these online forums. If the police couldn't solve the case, maybe this group could. The police reports had been kept secret from the public,

so the first order of business for these amateur detectives would be attempting to access the investigative files. Becky Cooper found in her research on Jane's case that the files had been transferred from the Cambridge Police Department to the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office. However, when she requested access to the reports, she was met with resistance. Even though the case had gone cold, it was still considered an open investigation. At times like this, it seemed like law enforcement would remain stubborn in their refusal to help would-be investigators.

From the outside, it looked like the police were determined to let this case go cold forever. But behind the doors, the investigation was picking up again. The persistent calls and increased interest in the Jane Britton case had lit a fire underneath the detectives. Maybe it was worth one more DNA test. In the fall of 2017, the process began again. Just like before, the police gathered the small samples of DNA that remained intact from the original investigation and sent them out for analysis. This time, the detectives weren't nearly as hopeful. These samples had been tested two times before.

Why should this time be any different? But when the DNA sample was run through a sex offender database in 2018, it got a positive identification. It was a soft hit, which meant that the police still needed to confirm the match through other tests, but they had a name, Michael Sumter. The police immediately got to work and discovered several useful clues. Michael Sumter was from Boston and had a girlfriend in Cambridge during the 1960s. In 1967, two years before Jane Britton's death,

Sumter worked less than a mile away from her apartment. Michael Sumter was a serial rapist, whose name had been added to the National Sex Offender Registry shortly after he was convicted of sexual assault in 1975 and was sent to prison. For the first time, the investigation had a lead. suspect. The forensic test wasn't conclusive, and the police would have to gather more samples from Sumter to compare. There was just one problem. Michael Sumter was dead. He passed away in 2001. So instead, they'd have to find another male who was directly related to Michael Sumter. That person

would have the same unique pattern of Y chromosomes that had allowed the crime lab to identify Michael Sumter as a genetic match. In order to find a suitable next-of-kin, investigators turned to an unexpected place. By 2017, genealogy websites had become a popular place for people to learn more about their family's heritage. And this was where the police hoped to track Michael Sumter's DNA. As luck would have it, the police found a hit. According to Ancestry.com, Michael Sumter had a brother. the sake of his privacy, we will refer to him as Thomas. Detectives explained to Thomas Sumpter the urgency of the situation and he was happy to cooperate. Thomas provided a fresh DNA sample

for testing. The crime lab ran his DNA and compared it to his brother. Sure enough, it was a match. Forty-nine years after Jane Britton was murdered, the police had finally found her killer. The exact details of Jane Britton's death are still unclear, but her apartment building was known to be unsafe, with dead bolts that never worked and easy window access from the fire escape. It would have been relatively simple for Michael Sumter to sneak in unnoticed in the late hours of the night. Jane was likely asleep when he entered her apartment. No murder weapon was ever discovered, but it's possible that Sumter attacked her physically. at first, hitting her head repeatedly with something so she wouldn't be able to fight back. Then he raped her.

It still isn't known when or why Michael Sumter covered Jane's upper half with rugs and coats. It could have been in an attempt to stifle her screams or as a way of hiding the bloody carnage of her beaten head. It's unclear how the red ochre became spilled across the crime scene, but some speculate that it was kicked up from Jane's room during the struggle. But regardless of his intentions, Michael Sumter likely left as he arrived, undetected out the window before running off through the wet January night. In the dark, Jane's lifeless body would remain where he had left her, until she was discovered on that next fateful afternoon. Jane Britton was not Michael Sumter's last victim. The police determined that he raped at least four other women and murdered two of them. all three of his murder victims were in their early 20s.

All three of these cases were left unsolved for years. The discovery of Jane Britton's killer was both a relief and a disappointment. It took decades for the police to close the case. And by then, Jane had been dead for nearly 50 years. Her parents had passed away, and many of her friends had moved on. Justice was served, but it was a baby. bitter victory. Jane Britton's murder investigation was plagued by red herrings and misinformation. The police and the public wanted to imagine her death as if it were part of a mystery novel,

with ancient burial rights, academic cover-ups, and spiritual significance. But at the end of the day, her death was far less fantastical. She was killed by an opportunistic stranger, and her murder was only one in a series of his violent crimes. Jane Britton's apartment at Six University Road has been updated and renovated and no longer seems to contain apartments. The spirit of the building lives on in its successor, a few blocks away, called the Craigie Arms. The Craigie Arms is close enough to Harvard Square for students to walk to class, but far enough from the bustle of downtown to avoid the noise of the city streets. From the outside, the structure looks the same.

Red brick with rounded turret-like columns that are dotted with windows. The apartments themselves are beautiful with hardwood floors and arched doorways. The website for the Craigie Arms boasts that the units have been recently remodeled. There's laundry in the building, off-street parking for students with cars, and bike storage. Despite the name, it seems almost entirely disconnected from the tragic history of the original Craigie. There, Jane's apartment is long gone. Painters have covered up the massive mural that once decorated the kitchen wall with dreamy images of giraffes and owls. The wallpaper isn't peeling off the walls.

The locks on the doors work. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there's no mention of Jane Britton on the website for the Craigie Arms. And for the students who live there, they share no ghostly memories with it. Now that the case is closed after so much time, it's easy. to forget. Thanks again for tuning in to solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with a new episode. For more information on Jane Britton's murder, amongst the many sources we used, we found we keep the dead close, a murder at Harvard and a half century of silence by Becky Cooper, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of solved murders and all other

Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time. Solve murders, true crime mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler. Sound design by Michael Langsner, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden, and Isabella Way. This episode of Solve Murders was written by Georgia Hampton, with writing assistance by Abigail Cannon,

fact-checking by Claire Cronin, and research by Mickey Taylor. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Bill Butz, Eddie Lee, Ellie Schiff, and Laura Faye Smith. Solved Murder stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy. Listeners, don't forget to check out the new Parcast Limited series, Criminal Couples. From apocalyptic cult leaders to bank robbing bandits, these couples give new meaning to till death do us part. Enjoy two-part episodes every Monday starting February 1st.

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