Old Etonian attacked ex-girlfriend who ‘belittled' him in front of friends
An Old Etonian threatened to throw his former partner down a well at his family's country estate after claiming she 'belittled' him in front of her friends.
Douglas Clifton Brown, 56, repeatedly punched Camilla Welby as he drove her to a remote location after they left a drinks party in August 2023.
Clifton Brown, a cousin of Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the North Cotswolds MP, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the attempted murder.
Sentencing him, Judge Alice Robinson told him he carried out the assault after becoming enraged when his ex-girlfriend 'underplayed' the part he had played in her daughter's wedding.
After leaving the gathering at a friend's house, Clifton Brown drove past the turning for Miss Welby's home and said he would 'drop her off at the next village and she could walk home in the dark'.
She refused to get out of the car, however, and he started driving again, Norwich Crown Court heard.
'On the way you were angry, shouted and repeatedly struck her in the face,' the judge said, noting that Miss Welby's nose was broken and her eye sockets were bruised.
Addressing Clifton Brown, she said: 'You said you were going to take her (Miss Welby) to a disused well at High House, throw her in it then yourself.'
The High House Estate, now a wedding venue near Congham in Norfolk, has been in his family for generations.
The judge said Clifford Brown had 'recently topped up the water in the well, it was in a remote wooded location'.
Once they arrived at the estate, Clifton Brown drove to the well and stepped out of the car. Miss Welby told the court she was in 'complete terror that she was about to be killed'.
The court heard she was able to grab her scarf and wind it round Clifton Brown's neck to get him off her.
The judge described the incident as an 'angry, drunken and petulant, albeit extreme, reaction to the perceived slight from Ms Welby earlier in the evening and likely a build-up of antagonism during your relationship'.
The judge said that on the day of the incident, 'everything was fine until she (Miss Welby) got in the car'.
'You accused her of belittling you in front of your friends when describing her daughter's wedding and felt she had underplayed your role,' she said.
'Although what precipitated the argument may have been trivial, your reaction was not.'
The court was told Clifton Brown and Miss Welby had been in a relationship for about 15 years until he broke it off with her while on holiday in Greece in the summer of 2023.
Upon their return, Miss Welby 'wanted an amicable separation' and said Clifton Brown could stay at her home for two months while he found a place to stay.
The judge said that she accepted Clifton Brown's ADHD 'may have played a part in the offending by impairing your ability to exercise appropriate judgment'.
Clifton Brown was found guilty of attempted murder at an earlier trial, and had previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and making a threat to kill.
The judge said Clifton Brown would be entitled to be released on licence after serving two thirds of his 24-year sentence.
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BBC News
01-06-2025
- BBC News
'Sexual assault by friend left me feeling betrayed'
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New Statesman
21-05-2025
- New Statesman
Letter from Wigan
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More than a sports club, the regenerated Edge Hall Road is a social asset, 'anchoring' a community, creating a sense of common purpose and belonging. Wigan and the post-industrial north need more of them. [See also: Why George Osborne still runs Britain] Related
ITV News
19-05-2025
- ITV News
Nigel Malt: Dad who ran over daughter in drunken rage in west Norfolk dies in prison
A father who murdered his own daughter by drunkenly running her over in his car has died in prison. Nigel Malt was "consumed with anger" over a family break-up when he reversed into 19-year-old Lauren Malt in West Winch in Norfolk on 23 January 2022. After reversing into her he then drove over her body a second time, claiming in court that he thought she was a wheelie bin. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman said on its website that an investigation was taking place following Malt's death at the age of 47 on 29 April at HMP Gartree in Leicestershire. No cause of death has yet been confirmed. After being found guilty of murder, Malt was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years at Norwich Crown Court, though the sentence was then extended to a minimum of 22 years after being referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme. The trial had heard that Malt had been arguing with his daughter and threatened her boyfriend with a crowbar. "Having knocked her to the ground he then reversed his car over her," prosecutor Andrew Jackson said. "He stopped, then he drove the car forward again over her body. These actions killed Lauren Malt, and later examination of her body revealed bruising, lacerations and crushing injuries to her head, torso, arms and legs." After hitting his daughter in his car, Malt put her body in the passenger side of his Mercedes and drove to the shop where the girl's mother, his estranged wife Karen Malt, worked. Ms Malt was then taken to a hospital in King's Lynn where she was pronounced dead. His lawyer said Malt had been drinking and that what happened had been an accident. The trial was told that Malt had been estranged from his wife and children and was living separately at a different address at the time.
