SOLVED MA - Jane Britton, 22, Harvard student, Cambridge, 7 Jan 1969

There's a marriage cert for a James H Humphries b. '42 or 43 (which matches) in Texas 1993.

Just my own thoughts on the case, nothing concrete -- but it seems to me Jane's killer knew her pretty well. The strange ochre-like dust and markings, etc, plus there was no struggle (was she asleep or sitting on the bed? reports conflict..) say there's a good chance she knew her killer, and they were possibly familiar with archaeology. Covering her face and body suggests remorse, guilt.. someone 'undoing' the horror of what they did. I wonder hw long the killer was in that room with her..

And also what role Jane played in the Iranian digs. In the Potts book, it seems everyone (including the camp cook) gets a kudos mention, but Jane's only mention is being present in one photograph as far as I can see. In the picture, she looks so confident and fun-loving, lying on the ground when everyone else is standing. A very pretty, smart girl.. was somebody jealous of her? They seem to me, from what I read in the Potts book, a pretty tight-knit group, who tended to marry among themselves (several husband-wife pairs).

I read they recovered the stone that was missing, presumed to have been the weapon.. I'd like more info on that. Will be sleuthing more after the Xmas break!
I agree with pretty much everything you've posted. I think she knew her killer, that he was in the same field of study ( I would like to know more about the French dig and have been unable to find anything. ) I'm curious too about the "recovered" weapon!

Happy to have you posting!
 
One of the pay per view articles started to suggest something I was also thinking myself. It went something like '' went to dinner that evening....and maybe snook back later at midnight''

I also agree that the ritualistic red ocre and piling of rugs was to send Jane off in a ceremony releasing her spirit to Paradise. I'll bet the perp wasn't the usual God fearing person of normal beliefs IYSWIM.
 
One of the pay per view articles started to suggest something I was also thinking myself. It went something like '' went to dinner that evening....and maybe snook back later at midnight''

I also agree that the ritualistic red ocre and piling of rugs was to send Jane off in a ceremony releasing her spirit to Paradise. I'll bet the perp wasn't the usual God fearing person of normal beliefs IYSWIM.

I haven't seen the pay per view article you are referring to...Who is it implying went out for dinner and snuck back in?
 
This is an intriguing case...

The information "blackout" just fuels my curiosity!
 
Ok, let me see if I have this straight.


Jane and H went on a date the night before she was murdered. She was found dead on the bed the morning after the date with H. She had been dead for 10-12 hours.

hmmmmm this is a tough case.
 
Ok, let me see if I have this straight.


Jane and H went on a date the night before she was murdered. She was found dead on the bed the morning after the date with H. She had been dead for 10-12 hours.

hmmmmm this is a tough case.

Well, it might seem obvious - but then there's the issue of why JH was not arrested. I'd assume he'd be the first person grilled about the murder.

The blackout is said to have been ordered due to 'inaccuracies' in media coverage of the case. Perhaps those inaccuracies were causing trouble or unwanted scrutiny for some folks over at Harvard?
 
The Harvard induced "black-out" of news coverage sounds self-serving, to me...

Hmmmmm?

JMO
 
Yeah, inaccuracies could have been naming the last people to see her and the ones that found her.

Plus I believe I read JH skipped out on the polly.
 
It's very difficult to find any information about this case. Regarding the family, J Boyd seems to either have married twice or had children with two women. Jane S Britton had a brother (named after his father) as well as two half-siblings (Charles and Susan). First wife, Frances, died in 1994, second wife Ruth died in 1978. Jane's mother was Ruth.


Maybe Ruth's maiden name is Reinert?
**I'm a little confused as the year at top of document is 1943 but year to left of Reinert/Britton marriage is 1928.

Marriage of Ruth REINERT, Cleveland, to J. Boyd Britton, Boston, Mass., on Oct. 21. Mrs. Britton has been on the faculty of Scripps College, Claremont, Calif.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...i3.i0013&isize=text+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
 
Re: Death of Jane's father

J. Boyd Britton, 93, former vice president of Radcliffe College and the Boston-based Cabot Corp., died Oct. 15 in Vero Beach, Fla. The former Needham resident had Alzheimer's disease.

"My dad laughed . . . golfed intently, tinkered incurably, kidded gently, [and] avoided what he called the `slopjar' in life and language," said his son, Boyd R. Britton of North Hollywood, Calif.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7746571.html
 
I also found it interesting that, in the report regarding the blackout linked earlier, it was said -four- people had been interviewed by police but only three (Humphries and the Millers) are named. Who was the fourth? Why aren't they named, too?

Anyway, surely the blackout is passed. Has anyone contacted the relevant authorities, and asked about that? Perhaps all these years later, more information would be forthcoming?

I tried to do a bit of research on iodine oxide, the powdered mineral found all over Jane's room, and really haven't yet come up with possible uses for it that might explain why it was present. I don't think it's as commonly available as, say, iron oxides, which are used in ceramic glazes and quite easily come by. But I really don't know -- it might be worth looking into, however.
 
.. or WAS it powdered oxide? From the Bennington Banner: http://newspaperarchive.com/bennington-banner/1969-01-09/page-5

Detective Sgt John Galllgan of the Cambridge police said tests by Harvard scientists and police laboratory specialists de- termined that a reddish brown liquid was found dabbed on the skin of the young anthropology graduate student

The report also states that police refused to identify a fourth person who, along with JH and the Millers, were given lie detector tests to clear up a few discrepancies regarding details of the night of Jane's murder. Apparently the police found nothing suspicious in those discrepancies? I can't be sure, as I'm reading the garbled free-to-view text below the article.

ETA: it seems to me that Jane, JH, the Millers and person X may all have been together the night prior?

(I so NEED a sub to Newspaperarchive, but their monopoly on articles irks me to the point of not wanting to fork over the $.. OT, sorry, lol)
 
I'm also wondering if they ever caught up with her former boyfriend from Peru, who'd left the University to 'go hippie' apparently but was still in the area. And there was another young man who'd been spurned by Jane, who was also wanted for questioning. No mention of them in later reports - I think the blackout had a lot to do with that.

Media blackout - no news for forty years. Poor Jane.

I have contact details for the Boston PD, and I think I'll call them tomorrow..
 
Thanks Ausgirl. That is more info I could not find. Ex's and mysterious 4th person.

Good luck with the inquire.
 
I haven't seen the pay per view article you are referring to...Who is it implying went out for dinner and snuck back in?

PP, I put lots of search terms in and sometimes it takes me on a wild goose chase so I can't remember what term I used. I also go pages and pages in looking for a mention of anything. This particular time I was 'seeing' the text I reported and when I clicked on it the pay per view article didn't have any text whatsoever so the link was useless. The info only appeared on the search page and that could, itself have been 9 or 10 pages in. I had no means of linking it for us to see. I can 100% say it exists but how to find it again, I have no idea.

Edited to add - There wasn't any names given in the sentence I found, just more or less what was in my orig post

.
 
.. or WAS it powdered oxide? From the Bennington Banner: http://newspaperarchive.com/bennington-banner/1969-01-09/page-5



The report also states that police refused to identify a fourth person who, along with JH and the Millers, were given lie detector tests to clear up a few discrepancies regarding details of the night of Jane's murder. Apparently the police found nothing suspicious in those discrepancies? I can't be sure, as I'm reading the garbled free-to-view text below the article.

ETA: it seems to me that Jane, JH, the Millers and person X may all have been together the night prior?

(I so NEED a sub to Newspaperarchive, but their monopoly on articles irks me to the point of not wanting to fork over the $.. OT, sorry, lol)


I keep wondering if Jane was truly an amateur artist as some articles have said. If so, the red ochre/oxide (pigment) being present can be explained... except on the ceiling? (Well, unless of course she was a modern artist-type into splatter painting?!)

I am so in agreement with you about Newspaperarchive.... grrrrrr!
 
.. or WAS it powdered oxide? From the Bennington Banner: http://newspaperarchive.com/bennington-banner/1969-01-09/page-5



The report also states that police refused to identify a fourth person who, along with JH and the Millers, were given lie detector tests to clear up a few discrepancies regarding details of the night of Jane's murder. Apparently the police found nothing suspicious in those discrepancies? I can't be sure, as I'm reading the garbled free-to-view text below the article.

ETA: it seems to me that Jane, JH, the Millers and person X may all have been together the night prior?

(I so NEED a sub to Newspaperarchive, but their monopoly on articles irks me to the point of not wanting to fork over the $.. OT, sorry, lol)


I managed to read it and it was much the same as the other articles, almost word for word. There was no mention by name of the fourth person and nothing about any of the others being with Jane and boyfriend at dinner.
The only thing I managed to glean was from the last paragraph, it was saying that the 'former student' was Peruvian and had sent the Millers a letter from Peru 2 weeks earlier.
The other difference from the other articles was -The Iodine Oxide was supposedly thrown upwards to the ceiling to possibly drip down onto Jane's body which was reportedly lying face down wearing her night dress.

The article was a nightmare to read, used the magnifying glass and it almost made my eyes bleed .
 

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