Janet Lawson
Headline:
Has the riddle of Rolling Stone Brian Jones's death been solved at last?
Synopsis:
She was a tall, graceful woman who greeted me with a delicate handshake. As we chatted in her sitting room and she poured tea, I found it difficult to believe that this woman was once at the centre of one of pop's most mysterious deaths.
Janet Lawson was the person who found Rolling Stones star Brian Jones dead at the bottom of his swimming pool on July 2, 1969.
Officially, Jones, aged just 27, drowned while under the influence of drink and drugs. A verdict of death by misadventure was recorded at his inquest.
For almost 40 years, Janet Lawson kept her true identity and story private. But earlier this year, shortly before her death from cancer, she broke her silence and provided me with sworn testimony that threatens to turn the official version on its head.
And my own investigations, accessing previously unpublished police and Public Records Office files, and interviewing officers who worked on the case, reveal serious flaws in the inquiry.
Four decades on from the Brian Jones tragedy, I believe there is finally enough new evidence for the investigation to be reopened.
I became interested in the Brian Jones case a couple of years ago when I found myself near the cemetery where the star is buried.
As a Stones fan, I decided to visit his grave. In the soil next to it was a message from a fan promising to search for the 'truth'.
- Publish date:
- 30 November 2008
- Author:
- Scott Jones
- Source:
- Mail on Sunday
- Media:
