A man has spent at least 20 years in prison for killing a woman and trying to hide his traces by setting her body on fire.
Victoria Greenwood, 41, was slain by Robert Brown, 38, of Hitchin Road in Luton. Her body was found in a Hertfordshire parking lot last year.
“The violence and terror that Brown inflicted on a vulnerable woman, and the lengths he went to in order to cover up his crime, reveal a deeply disturbing and calculated nature,” stated Det Insp Justine Jenkins, who oversaw the inquiry.
He described to Luton Crown Court how he had made plans to meet sex worker Ms Greenwood at his flat early on Friday, November 10.
She was seen on the ground outside attempting to flee in CCTV footage but being pulled back inside the property.
Ms. Greenwood’s skull fractures, discovered by a pathologist, indicate that she was struck by a blunt, heavy item. She was dead when her body was set on fire, as there was no indication that she had swallowed fire gases.
Brown was discovered by detectives from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit to have made several journeys to several stores over the course of the weekend, purchasing a saw, a jerry can, a foldable sack barrow, and an abundance of cleaning goods.
On November 12, CCTV saw him moving a furniture unit covered in duct tape that held Ms. Greenwood’s body from his apartment to his car using a sack barrow.
That evening, he was also spotted at a nearby petrol station putting petrol into a container.
Two days later, there were allegations of a body on fire, prompting emergency services to be rushed to a car park near Wallington, Hertfordshire.
Brown had already entered a guilty plea to hindering a coroner’s performance of their duties. He was found guilty of murder by a jury.
Brown’s actions “not only resulted in the tragic loss of life but also caused immense pain to Victoria’s loved ones,” according to Det Insp Justine Jenkins.
She continued: “Sadly, the nature of sex work can expose workers to a higher risk of violence, with perpetrators often taking advantage of being in a private or isolated place.”We are still dedicated to catching dangerous people and provide thorough assistance, working with partner organisations, to lessen the hazards that sex workers must deal with and to guarantee their safety.”
