An Old Etonian who tried to murder his former partner by throwing her down a disused well at his family’s country estate has been jailed for 24 years.
Douglas Clifton Brown, whose ancestors include several MPs and a high sheriff of Norfolk, ferociously attacked Camilla Welby and tried to drag her to the well which he had recently filled with water.
The 56-year-old and Ms Welby, who had separated following a 15-year relationship, had argued in the car after drinks at a friend’s house in August 2023, it emerged following a trial at Norwich Crown Court in January.
Instead of driving her home, Clifton Brown headed for the historic well at High House Estate near Congham, Norfolk. Now a wedding venue, the estate has been in his family for generations.
He struck Ms Welby repeatedly in the face and threatened “I will put you down the well to kill you, then kill myself” as he dragged her from the vehicle, but she escaped after throttling him with her scarf until he passed out.
She was later described as having been “beaten black and blue” when she arrived at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn with a broken finger, fractured eye socket and broken nose, having driven herself there in his car.
He previously admitted to causing grievous bodily harm with intent and making a threat to kill and was unanimously convicted of attempted murder following a trial in January.
Jailing him for 24 years on Wednesday, Judge Alice Robinson said his “murderous plot” had left his victim with serious psychological damage, leaving her frightened to open doors and windows and struggling to sleep.
“It was 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,” she said.
She said he inflicted such a severe beating during the 35- to 40-minute car journey, the swelling to Ms Welby’s right eye was “so bad she could not open it”.
The judge noted Clifton Brown had a history of violence towards Ms Welby, having received two cautions for battery in 2018, including an incident in which he tried to strangle her and pushed her over following a hip operation.
The court heard Clifton Brown had told Ms Welby, while on holiday in Greece that summer, that the relationship was over, the judge said.
She said Ms Welby “wanted an amicable separation” and said Clifton Brown could stay at her home for two months while he found a place to stay. On the day of the incident “everything was fine until she [Ms Welby] got in the car”, she added.
“You accused her of belittling you in front of your friends when describing her daughter’s wedding and felt she had underplayed your role,” Judge Robinson said.
“Although what precipitated the argument may have been trivial, your reaction was not.”
At a previous hearing, Ms Welby said she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and was “gaslighted” during their 15-year relationship.
Reading her victim impact statement from behind a screen at Norwich Crown Court, she said: “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.”
Edward Renvoize, prosecuting, described throwing a person down a well as 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 and there was a “history of violence or abuse by the defendant towards Ms Welby”.
Stan Reiz KC, mitigating, said the incident “was an escalation of his [Clifton Brown’s] anger”.
“It was him in a fit of rage lashing out at his partner,” he said.
The barrister said Clifton Brown’s “depression led him to take the irrational view that he would take his own life as well”.
He said the offence was “committed in a domestic abuse context” but the defendant “has his own narrative of how that relationship went”.
Clifton Brown was told he must serve two-thirds of his 24-year jail term in custody. He was also sentenced to three years and nine months for GBH with intent and three years for making threats to kill, to be served concurrently.
