The Murder of Brian Jones: Anna Wohlin's Book and the Death at Cotchford Farm

Anna Wohlin wasn’t just Brian Jones’ girlfriend—she was the last person to see him alive, and she spent the next three decades insisting his death wasn’t an accident. On July 3, 1969, Jones was found dead at the bottom of his swimming pool at Cotchford Farm. Wohlin was in the house at the time and later claimed she heard a struggle. She also said she was pregnant with Jones’ child at the time, but miscarried weeks after his death due to the stress and medication.

Wohlin’s 1999 book The Murder of Brian Jones (co-written with journalist Christine Lindholm) points the finger at a builder named Frank Thorogood, who had been renovating the property. She wrote that Thorogood confessed to a friend on his deathbed in 1993 that he killed Jones. The official inquest recorded “death by misadventure,” but Wohlin’s account kept the conspiracy alive. Her story gave the most detailed firsthand version of that night—everything from the tense mood to the chaos after the body was found—and remains a primary source for anyone who believes the drowning wasn’t accidental.