Businesswoman mystery remains after greedy lover pretended she was alive for five years

Daily Record

12 hours ago

Donald Graham killed well-off partner Janet Brown to get to her money, fooling detectives into believing she was still alive, but her body has not been found.
The mystery surrounding the murder of a wealthy businesswoman by her married boyfriend remains as police are yet to find her body two decades later.
Donald Graham murdered his property developer and TV extra partner Janet Brown, 45, to get his hands on her money and managed to fool detectives into believing she was still alive five years after taking her life.
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His lies meant cops failed to probe her disappearance until it was too late, the Mirror reports.
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Graham was eventually jailed for life for Janet's murder, in what's thought to be Northumbria Police's only conviction without a body.
The killer has maintained his innocence and refused to admit how he killed Janet, of Hexham, Northumberland, or the whereabouts of her body.
It is now two decades since Janet vanished without a trace.
Campaigner Marie McCourt, 81, whose daughter's death in Merseyside led to her fighting for the introduction of "Helen's Law", told Chronicle Live: 'My heart goes out to Janet who, 20 years after being murdered, has still not been laid to rest. To take a life is heinous enough. But to then hide the body of a murder victim is such a cruel, callous, deliberate act that causes untold pain and distress to families.
'It was for this very reason that I fought so hard for Helen's Law, which was introduced in 2021. I'd urge Janet's killer to do the right thing. Tell police what you did with her so that she can be found, brought home and given the funeral she and her loved ones deserve.'
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Janet came from a wealthy family and had her own property development business, but she also did work on television as an extra and mystery shopper.
The jetsetter spent most of her free time solo travelling and had been living with her elderly parents Olive and Eric Brown, but was in a relationship with married Graham for a number of years before she went missing.
She vanished in June 2005, but her disappearance was not discovered until 2010, when a bank worker spotted signatures on documents relating to Janet's bank accounts did not match-up.
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A fraud investigation was launched, which was passed on to Northumbria Police's murder squad when no trace of Janet could be found.
Fetectives discovered that shortly before the last time anyone heard from her, on June 15, 2005, a large amount of money had been transferred to Graham.
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Janet was last heard from on June 15 when she spoke to a friend who had agreed to look after her dog before she went to France with Graham.
Detectives believe Janet she was murdered sometime between June 15 and June 18.
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With Janet gone Graham continued to use her bank accounts, maintaining a pretence that she was still alive, and even wrote letters to her elderly parents pretending to be Janet, saying she had found a new job abroad.
When her parents died, in 2007 and 2008, Janet did not attend the funerals, even though Graham was at both.
Graham, then 60, was eventually arrested in April 2010
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Despite extensive searches using Specially trained cadaver dogs, Janet's body has never been found.
Graham denied murder but was convicted after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, in 2014.
The jury heard how he defrauded her of £500,000 to fund his flashy lifestyle.
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It was said in court that Janet's body may have been dumped in a deep pit or mine shaft by Graham, who had been a JCB digger driver in the past.
He was jailed for life with a minimum of 32 years, meaning he will be in his 90s before he can apply for parole.
In 2021, new legislation was introduced meaning killers who hold back information about their victims could face longer behind bars.
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The Prisoners Disclosure of Information About Victims Act, known more commonly as 'Helen's Law' places a legal duty on the Parole Board to consider the anguish caused by murderers who refuse to disclose the location of a victim's body when considering them for release.
.Det Chief Insp Paul Woods, who worked on the investigation into Janet's murder, has previously said: "These cases are extremely rare.
"It could have been the perfect murder, that no one would know had taken place."