Man who murdered Anita Rose while she was walking her dog on a Suffolk footpath jailed

A wanted man who murdered a dog walker in a "brutal attack" in which he inflicted injuries "similar to a high-speed car crash" has been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 25 years.

Roy Barclay, 56, of no fixed address, attacked 57-year-old Anita Rose with "numerous kicks, stamps and blows" in Brantham, Suffolk, on 24 July last year.

Ms Rose, a mother of six, had left her house to walk her springer spaniel Bruce, and was later found unconscious and with serious head injuries by a passing cyclist at about 6.25am.

She died four days later at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.

Barclay, who at the time was on-the-run from authorities wanting to recall him to prison, and who was living "off grid" in "makeshift camps", denied murdering Ms Rose.

But he was found guilty by a jury at Ipswich Crown Court on 9 July after around two-and-a-half hours of deliberation.

Barclay 'prone to dangerous outbursts'

Judge Martyn Levett said during sentencing that Barclay chose not to give evidence during police interviews and in his defence, meaning "we will perhaps never know what triggered this outburst of horrific violence".

He described Barclay, who showed no emotion as he was sentenced, as "unpredictable" and as "someone prone to dangerous outbursts at the slightest confrontation".

Christopher Paxton KC, prosecuting, told the court during the trial that Barclay "lived mostly in the countryside, wandering the fields and lanes, sleeping in various makeshift camps".

"He lived off-grid because for two years, Roy Barclay had been unlawfully at large," the prosecutor added.

"He had been on the run trying to avoid the police and authorities to try and avoid being recalled back to prison."

Injuries similar to 'high-speed car crashes'

In his closing remarks on 2 July, Mr Paxton said jurors had heard evidence that the injuries to Ms Rose's brain were similar to those from "high-speed car crashes".

He added: "Her world collided with Roy Barclay's world, a desperate man on the run from police for two years, having been in prison for beating Leslie Gunfield's face to a pulp.

"Roy Barclay took Anita Rose's life in an explosion of violence. Blow after blow, stamp after stamp, and kick after kick."

Barclay previously jailed for pensioner attack

Jurors were told that Barclay had previously pleaded guilty, over a separate incident in 2015, to grievous bodily harm with intent over an attack on an 82-year-old man in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex.

The pensioner, Leslie Gunfield, had told Barclay that he would inform security about him going through rubbish bins at a Co-op supermarket, the court heard.

Mr Gunfield was left with serious injuries to his head and required 10 titanium plates for fractures he suffered after being attacked by Barclay.

Barclay was released from prison for the attack on Mr Gunfield in February 2020.

Daughter: 'He has put us through a nightmare'

In a victim impact statement read out before sentencing on Wednesday, Ms Rose's daughter Jessica Cox said: "He has put us through a nightmare which we can't wake up from.

"I don't feel he has shown any remorse," she added. "I believe he's cunning, and I believe he's enjoyed what he's done and the trial itself.

"He hasn't had to face us, he hasn't had to face the consequences of what he's done or what he's done to us."

Nicola Pope, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said in a statement: "This was a savage attack on a much-loved mother who was murdered in an act of terrifying senselessness - and we were determined to ensure the perpetrator was brought to justice.

"As we combed through the evidence collected by police it became apparent that at almost every turn Barclay made it his mission to deceive the investigation.

"He thought he was too cunning to be caught, but a unanimous guilty verdict proved otherwise."

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