An Old Etonian who threatened to throw his former partner down a well at his family’s country estate has been jailed for 24 years for attempted murder.
Douglas Clifton Brown, 56, argued with Camilla Welby in the car after drinks at a friend’s house and then attacked her in August 2023.
Judge Alice Robinson, sentencing at Norwich Crown Court, said Clifton Brown became angry about a perceived slight and drove past the turning for Miss Welby’s house when he was supposed to be driving her home.
The judge said the defendant, of Congham, Norfolk, told Miss Welby he would “drop her off at the next village and she could walk home in the dark”, but then started driving again after he “tried unsuccessfully to get her out of the car”.
“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.
She told Clifton Brown: “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 and near Congham, has been in his family for generations.
The judge said the defendant had “recently topped up the water in the well, it was in a remote wooded location”.
She said the journey to the estate took up to 40 minutes and Clifton Brown drove right up to the well, got out of the car and Miss Welby was in “complete terror that she was about to be killed”.
She said Miss Welby 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”.
“I accept that the impulsivity associated with ADHD may have played a part in the offending by impairing your ability to exercise appropriate judgment,” she said.
She said that in mid-2023 Clifton Brown and Miss Welby had been in a relationship for around 15 years.
Clifton Brown told Miss Welby, while on holiday in Greece that summer, that the relationship was over, the judge said.
She said 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 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.”
Clifton Brown was found guilty of attempted murder after 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.
