The murder of Jane Britton
Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts · 1969
Overview
Jane Britton, a 23-year-old Harvard graduate student in Near Eastern archaeology, was raped and bludgeoned to death in her Cambridge, Massachusetts apartment in January 1969. The case haunted Harvard and remained unsolved for nearly 50 years until, in 2018, DNA evidence identified her killer as Michael Sumpter, a convicted serial rapist who had died of cancer in 2001 and was therefore never tried.
How it was solved
In 2017, requests from journalists and researchers for the long-sealed case file led a team of investigators to review it with fresh eyes. After consulting the Massachusetts State Police Crime Laboratory, they had the surviving 1969 samples retested with current methods, and in October 2017 the lab obtained a male-specific DNA profile from the original swabs for the first time. In July 2018 investigators were notified that the profile matched Michael Sumpter, a convicted rapist whose DNA was on file in the FBI’s CODIS database and who had died in 2001. Because Sumpter was dead, investigators used Ancestry.com to trace his family and obtained a sample from his brother, which confirmed the identification and excluded the brother himself; officials said the results excluded 99.92 percent of the male population. On November 20, 2018, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan announced that Sumpter was responsible and that the case was closed.
Sources
- Murder of Jane Britton
“Britton lived in a fourth-floor apartment at 6 University Road, a Harvard-owned building two blocks from Harvard Square”
- DNA Used to Identify Man Responsible for 1969 Murder of Jane Britton
- Killer Identified By DNA In Unsolved 1969 Cambridge Murder, DA Says
- After nearly 50 years, DNA used to ID slain Harvard student's killer, prosecutor says
- Prosecutors blame serial rapist for 1969 murder of Harvard student Jane Britton
“the results excluded 99.92 percent of the male population”
- Almost 50 Years Later, Police Identify Suspect in Harvard Student Jane Britton's Murder
“the mystery of who killed Jane Britton has finally been solved and this case is officially closed”
- How investigators cracked unsolved murder of Harvard graduate student nearly 50 years later
“We now feel confident that the man identified as Michael Sumpter entered Jane's apartment through the window, assaulted her, murdered her in her bed and then fled”
- Who killed Jane Britton? 50-year murder investigation finally closed
- Grad Student Killed (January 8, 1969)
- Cambridge Police Declare Black-out On Britton Case (January 10, 1969)
- Widow Killed Near Radcliffe Dorm; Police Cite Britton Case Similarities (February 7, 1969)
- Archaeological Unit From Harvard Unearths Lost Fortress in Persia (November 12, 1968)
- Half-century later, murder evidence still under wraps (June 17, 2017)
- Jane Britton, a Harvard graduate student, was found murdered in 1969. Now authorities say they know who did it.