Donald Graham murdered millionaire heiress Janet Brown and got his girlfriend to pose as her so he could steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from her family . The married lover of a millionaire heiress murdered her before getting his dinner lady girlfriend to pose as the dead woman so he could steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from her family. Donald Graham murdered Janet Brown in 2005 and went on to steal £585,000 from her estate, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle and pay for sports cars. After killing Miss Brown, with whom he had been in a long relationship despite being married to someone else, Graham got a third woman to pose as her so she could ask the dead woman's father for more cash. Miss Brown's body has not been found. After murdering Miss Brown, Graham plundered the dead woman's savings and sold her assets - which he used to treat himself to a Ferrari, a Porsche and an Alfa Romeo. He then turned his greedy intentions on her elderly parents and started siphoning their cash, Newcastle Crown Court heard. Days after murdering Miss Brown, he met school dinner lady Elizabeth Todd and used some of the stolen money to buy her a house. When the killer's string of lies looked like they were about to unravel, Graham convinced Todd, who was today sentenced for fraud, to write two letters to Miss Brown's father's bank, posing as the dead woman, to request a cash transfer into his account. The 52-year-old mother, who lived in a council flat before she met Graham, also made two telephone calls under the guise of Miss Brown to a care home where a friend of hers worked and left messages under the dead woman's name in a bid to keep up the claim she was still alive. Miss Brown vanished in May 2005 and Graham convinced her friends and loved ones she had moved away abroad to start a new life. It was almost a decade later, after both of her parents died, that the sad truth of what happened to her emerged. Graham is currently serving a life sentence, with a minimum term of 32 years, for her murder. After killing Miss Brown (left), Graham got his girlfriend Elizabeth Todd (right) to pose as her so she could ask the dead woman's father for more cash . Todd, of Seaton Deleval, North Tyneside, pleaded guilty to fraud and perverting the course of justice. Judge John Evans sentenced her to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with supervision. The judge said: 'It is a tragic tale of repeated manipulation, naked exploitation, betrayal and greed which befell Janet Brown and ultimately her vulnerable parents at the hands of a ruthless killer. 'It ended with the untimely death, the cold-blooded murder, of Janet Brown. 'Your part in this appalling tale was, I accept, as do the crown, limited. 'It needs to be recognised, it is accepted you did not know the truth about Janet. Had you done so, had that been established, I would have had to approach the question of sentence on a very different basis.' Judge Evans said he accepted Todd was 'vulnerable and naïve' when she 'blindly carried out his directions'. Glen Gatland, defending, said Todd could have been preyed on by the callous killer because of her physical resemblance to Miss Brown. Mr Gatland said: 'There is evidence he tired to persuade Elizabeth Todd, very shortly after their first meetings, to have her hair dyed to the same colour.' The court heard Todd believed Graham, who would profess his 'love and devotion' to her, would one day marry her - a belief that was backed up when he bought two engagement rings. Mr Gatland added: 'He was a very, very skillful conman, he was able to lead Elizabeth Todd up the garden path. He is skillful at using women. 'Elizabeth Todd believed Janet Brown was overseas and working. She genuinely believed what Donald Graham was telling her.' Graham is currently serving a life sentence, with a minimum term of 32 years, for Miss Brown's murder . Graham, 60, who lived with his wife Denise, sent letters and cards to Miss Brown's parents after he killed her, claiming to be Janet and telling them she had settled in Europe. He then went about gaining the trust of her parents, giving him access to banking information and personal documents. After the death of Janet's mother, Graham even took her father shopping each week while defrauding the family of hundreds of thousands of pounds. During the murder trial, the court heard he created a fake will for Janet's elderly father Eric Brown, which would leave his estate - Plane Trees Estate, in Hexham, Northumberland, to Graham. Eric Brown's will originally left all of his assets to Janet, but in the circumstance that he outlived her everything would be left to the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity. The court how Janet Brown and Elizabeth Todd had both been listed as witnesses on the fake will in which Graham forged Eric Browns signature. Skipton Building Society noticed suspicious activity on Eric Brown's account in 2009 and stopped the transaction of a cheque from Eric Brown to Donald Graham's account. This led to Graham writing letters to the bank claiming to be Eric and Janet Brown, although they were both dead. Todd admitted writing two of the letters, claiming to be Miss Brown and requesting cash be transferred immediately. When Graham was interviewed by police he claimed he was the joint executor of Eric Brown's will with Janet Brown. Donald Graham, of Elsdon Avenue, Seaton Deleval, Northumberland, was charged with 19 offences in September 13, 2013, nearly four years after the investigation began. He was charged with murder, two counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception, 13 counts of fraud, forgery, conspiracy to commit fraud and perverting the course of justice. Todd pleaded guilty to fraud and perverting the course of justice and was handed a suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) He first appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on September 17 2013 and pleaded not guilty to all charges on January 10 2014. Graham changed his plea on March 14 and admitted 18 fraud offences against Janet Brown and her parents. He denied murder and preventing the course of justice but a jury at Newcastle Crown Court found him guilty of both counts on June 19. The total amount that Graham gained during the fraud was £585,000. Janet Brown lived with her elderly parents Olive and Eric Brown in a converted barn on her parents estate Plane Trees Farm, near Hexham, Northumberland. She had been planning to go on holiday in June 2005 to France with Graham, her lover of eight years. Graham cancelled at the last minute falsely claiming his wife was too ill for him to leave her. Janet told a friend that Graham had 'let her down'. However Graham had secretly met another girlfriend - Todd - and was no longer interested in Janet Brown, only her finances. Janet disappeared before she went on holiday and has not been seen since.
Married Donald Graham murdered millionaire heiress Janet Brown in 2005 .
Graham took £585,000 from her estate and spent it on sports cars .
He got his girlfriend Elizabeth Todd to pose as her to steal cash from family .
She called a care home posing as Brown to keep up pretence she was alive .
Todd was today given a six-month suspended sentence for fraud .
Judge ruled that Todd did not know Miss Brown had been murdered .
Graham was jailed last year for murder and will serve at least 32 years .
Miss Brown's body has not been found .
Donald Graham murdered millionaire heiress Janet Brown and got his girlfriend to pose as her so he could steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from her family . The married lover of a millionaire heiress murdered her before getting his dinner lady girlfriend to pose as the dead woman so he could steal hundreds of thousands of pounds from her family. Donald Graham murdered Janet Brown in 2005 and went on to steal £585,000 from her estate, which he used to fund his lavish lifestyle and pay for sports cars. After killing Miss Brown, with whom he had been in a long relationship despite being married to someone else, Graham got a third woman to pose as her so she could ask the dead woman's father for more cash. Miss Brown's body has not been found. After murdering Miss Brown, Graham plundered the dead woman's savings and sold her assets - which he used to treat himself to a Ferrari, a Porsche and an Alfa Romeo. He then turned his greedy intentions on her elderly parents and started siphoning their cash, Newcastle Crown Court heard. Days after murdering Miss Brown, he met school dinner lady Elizabeth Todd and used some of the stolen money to buy her a house. When the killer's string of lies looked like they were about to unravel, Graham convinced Todd, who was today sentenced for fraud, to write two letters to Miss Brown's father's bank, posing as the dead woman, to request a cash transfer into his account. The 52-year-old mother, who lived in a council flat before she met Graham, also made two telephone calls under the guise of Miss Brown to a care home where a friend of hers worked and left messages under the dead woman's name in a bid to keep up the claim she was still alive. Miss Brown vanished in May 2005 and Graham convinced her friends and loved ones she had moved away abroad to start a new life. It was almost a decade later, after both of her parents died, that the sad truth of what happened to her emerged. Graham is currently serving a life sentence, with a minimum term of 32 years, for her murder. After killing Miss Brown (left), Graham got his girlfriend Elizabeth Todd (right) to pose as her so she could ask the dead woman's father for more cash . Todd, of Seaton Deleval, North Tyneside, pleaded guilty to fraud and perverting the course of justice. Judge John Evans sentenced her to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, with supervision. The judge said: 'It is a tragic tale of repeated manipulation, naked exploitation, betrayal and greed which befell Janet Brown and ultimately her vulnerable parents at the hands of a ruthless killer. 'It ended with the untimely death, the cold-blooded murder, of Janet Brown. 'Your part in this appalling tale was, I accept, as do the crown, limited. 'It needs to be recognised, it is accepted you did not know the truth about Janet. Had you done so, had that been established, I would have had to approach the question of sentence on a very different basis.' Judge Evans said he accepted Todd was 'vulnerable and naïve' when she 'blindly carried out his directions'. Glen Gatland, defending, said Todd could have been preyed on by the callous killer because of her physical resemblance to Miss Brown. Mr Gatland said: 'There is evidence he tired to persuade Elizabeth Todd, very shortly after their first meetings, to have her hair dyed to the same colour.' The court heard Todd believed Graham, who would profess his 'love and devotion' to her, would one day marry her - a belief that was backed up when he bought two engagement rings. Mr Gatland added: 'He was a very, very skillful conman, he was able to lead Elizabeth Todd up the garden path. He is skillful at using women. 'Elizabeth Todd believed Janet Brown was overseas and working. She genuinely believed what Donald Graham was telling her.' Graham is currently serving a life sentence, with a minimum term of 32 years, for Miss Brown's murder . Graham, 60, who lived with his wife Denise, sent letters and cards to Miss Brown's parents after he killed her, claiming to be Janet and telling them she had settled in Europe. He then went about gaining the trust of her parents, giving him access to banking information and personal documents. After the death of Janet's mother, Graham even took her father shopping each week while defrauding the family of hundreds of thousands of pounds. During the murder trial, the court heard he created a fake will for Janet's elderly father Eric Brown, which would leave his estate - Plane Trees Estate, in Hexham, Northumberland, to Graham. Eric Brown's will originally left all of his assets to Janet, but in the circumstance that he outlived her everything would be left to the Guide Dogs for the Blind charity. The court how Janet Brown and Elizabeth Todd had both been listed as witnesses on the fake will in which Graham forged Eric Browns signature. Skipton Building Society noticed suspicious activity on Eric Brown's account in 2009 and stopped the transaction of a cheque from Eric Brown to Donald Graham's account. This led to Graham writing letters to the bank claiming to be Eric and Janet Brown, although they were both dead. Todd admitted writing two of the letters, claiming to be Miss Brown and requesting cash be transferred immediately. When Graham was interviewed by police he claimed he was the joint executor of Eric Brown's will with Janet Brown. Donald Graham, of Elsdon Avenue, Seaton Deleval, Northumberland, was charged with 19 offences in September 13, 2013, nearly four years after the investigation began. He was charged with murder, two counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception, 13 counts of fraud, forgery, conspiracy to commit fraud and perverting the course of justice. Todd pleaded guilty to fraud and perverting the course of justice and was handed a suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown Court (pictured) He first appeared at Newcastle Crown Court on September 17 2013 and pleaded not guilty to all charges on January 10 2014. Graham changed his plea on March 14 and admitted 18 fraud offences against Janet Brown and her parents. He denied murder and preventing the course of justice but a jury at Newcastle Crown Court found him guilty of both counts on June 19. The total amount that Graham gained during the fraud was £585,000. Janet Brown lived with her elderly parents Olive and Eric Brown in a converted barn on her parents estate Plane Trees Farm, near Hexham, Northumberland. She had been planning to go on holiday in June 2005 to France with Graham, her lover of eight years. Graham cancelled at the last minute falsely claiming his wife was too ill for him to leave her. Janet told a friend that Graham had 'let her down'. However Graham had secretly met another girlfriend - Todd - and was no longer interested in Janet Brown, only her finances. Janet disappeared before she went on holiday and has not been seen since.
Donald Graham murdered millionaire heiress Janet Brown and got his girlfriend to pose as her so he her family. Donald Graham murdered Janet Brown in 2005 and went on to steal £585,000 from her lifestyle and pay for sports cars. After killing cash. Miss Brown's body has not been found. After bid to keep up the claim she was still alive. Graham got his girlfriend Elizabeth Todd (right) accepted you did not know the truth about Janet. 32 years, for Miss Brown's murder . Graham, 60, handed a suspended sentence at Newcastle Crown