To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
An ‘unpredictable and dangerous’ man who murdered a grandmother on her morning dog walk has been jailed for a minimum of 25 years.
Roy Barclay, 56, launched the attack on 57-year-old Anita Rose, kicking, stamping and punching her as she walked her springer spaniel Bruce in Brantham, Suffolk, on July 24, 2024.
The mother of six was found by passers-by but died in hospital four days later.
Barclay, who denied murder but was found guilty following an earlier trial at Ipswich Crown Court, was sentenced today.
He was also found guilty of remaining at large after being recalled to prison, for which he received 12 months in prison, which will run concurrently.
Sentencing Judge Martyn Levett told Barclay: ‘You are, in my judgement, an unpredictable, dangerous man and someone who is prone to terrible outbursts of violence. It is clear to me that Anita had no history of violence; she was not violent in any way.
‘But due to your silence and your choosing not to give evidence in your trial, we will perhaps never know what triggered this outburst of violence.’
Anita’s eldest daughter, Jessica, said in a statement to the court: ‘When my mum passed away, our world shattered. We won’t ever be able to put the pieces back together. I just couldn’t understand how this happened.
‘There is no other word than horrifying. It keeps me up at night, and it replays through my mind every day. I don’t know how somebody is supposed to rebuild their lives experiencing this.’
This Is Not Right
On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a year-long campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.
With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.
You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.
Read more:
Jessica also said her mum never got to meet her newest grandson, who was born after she was murdered.
Barclay had previously been convicted and jailed over a 2015 attack on a pensioner and was living off-grid before the 2024 attack to avoid being recalled again.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Detective Superintendent Mike Brown previously said the murder was a ‘brutal attack on a lone woman in an isolated rural area on the outskirts of a peaceful village’.
‘We may never fully understand the motive behind it, and our thoughts remain firmly with Anita’s family at the conclusion of this trial,’ he said.
Prosecutor Christopher Paxton told the court today that there has been a significant drop in female dog walkers since Anita’s murder.
Anita’s phone case was also found at the camp, while her Samsung earbuds were discovered at another camp Barclay had used.
During his trial, jurors heard Barclay made various internet searches after the attack, including ‘how are outside objects swabbed for DNA’ and ‘can barbed wire be swabbed for DNA’.
Prosecutor Paxton earlier told the court that Barclay ‘lived mostly in the countryside, wandering the fields and lanes, sleeping in various makeshift camps.’
He added: ‘He lived off-grid because for two years, Roy Barclay had been unlawfully at large. He had been on the run trying to avoid the police and authorities to try and avoid being recalled back to prison.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
