Salisbury man admits raping woman, 71, in her home

A man has admitted raping a 71-year-old woman in her home 40 years ago.

Kenneth Wells, 63, of Verona Road, Salisbury also admitted burglary and false imprisonment at Salisbury Crown Court on 1 September.

The attack happened on 6 November 1980, when Wells broke into Violet Brown's house, raped her then locked her inside before leaving. She died in 1996.

The case was solved after officers re-opened the case and re-tested evidence using the latest DNA technology.

Ms Brown lived alone in Collingbourne Ducis, Wiltshire and had to wait until morning before she was able to alert her neighbours and the police.

Wells was arrested shortly afterwards and remained the prime suspect but there was never enough evidence to lead to a charge until this year.

Wiltshire Police reopened the cold case in 2020 and using the latest in DNA technology, were able to confirm a direct match between the evidence recovered from the original scene and Wells.

He was subsequently arrested on 29 June 2021.

'Lived with trauma'

Det Ch Insp Darren Hannant, from the major crime investigation team, said Ms Brown was "never comfortable in her own home after the attack" and moved out a short time later.

"There is no doubt that this horrendous attack had a lasting impact on Ms Brown, who had to live with the memory of this traumatic incident for the rest of her life.

"The effect on her quality of life was significant."

Mr Hannant said the force was "determined to crack the case".

"Despite the fact that she is no longer alive, she has been at the forefront of all of our minds throughout this investigation."

Wells is due to be sentenced on 1 October and remains in custody.

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