Jane Britton

Case background and investigation

Jane Britton was a 23-year-old graduate student in anthropology at Harvard University, originally from Needham, Massachusetts. She lived in a fourth-floor apartment at 6 University Road in Cambridge.

On the evening of January 6, 1969, she had dinner with classmates and went ice skating, according to CBS News. The next day she did not appear for an examination. Her boyfriend went to the apartment shortly after noon on January 7 and found her dead on her bed. She had been sexually assaulted and had died of blows to the head from a blunt object. No weapon was found.

A reddish-brown powder, described as red ochre, was found at the scene. Because ochre features in some ancient burial practices, the detail produced speculation that the killer was someone from her academic circle, and several people lived under suspicion for years. Investigators later concluded that the powder had no ritual significance and was connected to painting materials in her apartment, ABC News reported.

The case went unsolved for nearly half a century. DNA testing of preserved evidence was attempted more than once as technology developed. Beginning in the 2010s, writers and researchers sought access to the investigative file through public records requests, and ABC News reported that those requests prompted a fresh review in 2017. In October 2017 the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory obtained a male DNA profile from samples collected at autopsy, and in July 2018 that profile was matched to Michael Sumpter in a DNA database. Investigators confirmed the result with a sample from Sumpter's brother.

On November 20, 2018, the Middlesex District Attorney announced that Sumpter had been identified as the person responsible. Sumpter, who died of cancer in 2001 at age 54, had been serving a sentence for a 1975 rape. He had lived in Cambridge as a child and in 1967 had worked less than a mile from Britton's building. Prosecutors said they believe he climbed a fire escape and entered through a window. Authorities have also linked him by DNA to the killings of two other women in the Boston area in the 1970s and to other sexual assaults.

Because Sumpter was dead, no charges could be brought, and the district attorney closed the case. The announcement formally cleared those who had been suspected. Britton's brother, Boyd Britton, said he was relieved to have an answer after so many years.