Camilla Welby was the victim of attempted murder by her ex Douglas Clifton Brown, 56 (Picture: SWNS)
A man accused of threatening to throw his former partner down a well has been found guilty of attempted murder.
Douglas Clifton Brown, 56, a former student at Eton, argued with Camilla Welby in the car after drinks at a friend’s house at 10.30pm in August 2023.
After this, he then attacked her and Clifton Brown who was driving, changed routes by driving to High House Estate near Congham, Norfolk, instead of her home, Norwich Crown Court heard.
This estate has been in Clifton Brown’s family for generations and is now a wedding venue.
Judge Alice Robinson said during summary that Ms Welby said she thought ‘everything was fine until I got into the car’.
Clifton Brown has called Ms Welby a ‘liar’ then got ‘more and more angry and started hitting me,’ Ms Welby said.
She said: ‘He said I’m driving to Congham to High House.
‘He was hitting me all the way there.
Ms Welby recalled how she had to fend off Clifton Brown
Clifton Brown attempted to kill Ms Welby by throwing her down this well (Picture Newsquest/SWNS)
‘He started saying that since he had hit me he had nothing to live for and it didn’t really matter what happened so he was going to take me to the disused well and throw me in it then himself.’
The court heard that Ms Welby fought and he continued to hit her round the face as they arrived near the well.
Ms Welby said: ‘He’s quite strong.
‘I thought “I’ve got a scarf round my neck”.
‘I took it from my neck and wrapped it round his neck – I managed to pull so he couldn’t breathe.’
Clifton Brown eventually slumped by the car and was ‘horrified of what he had done’.
Ms Welby then drove herself to an accident and emergency department.
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A statement from a porter at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn said they saw that Ms Welby’s face was bloodied and swollen and thought she may have been in a car accident.
The prosecution ‘drew attention to the fact he (Clifton Brown) filled the well that morning’.
The water in the well was 12ft below the top, a police officer estimated.
The judge said that the defendant’s case was that his behaviour had ‘all the hallmarks of someone who got drunk, overreacted to something trivial and said something hurtful to a partner that he didn’t mean’.
She said that Stan Reiz KC, for Clifton Brown, described him as ‘a flawed individual but not a killer’.
Clifton Brown denied attempted murder, but jurors found him guilty by a unanimous verdict after less than one day of deliberations.
He showed no visible reaction as the jury’s foreman read out the verdict.
Clifton Brown previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and making a threat to kill.
The case has been adjourned for a report to be prepared about the defendant.
Clifton Brown is due to be sentenced on March 13.
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