Cops' shocking blunder left monster free to murder innocent gran on dog walk – he had all the traits of a serial killer
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Roy Barclay during his arrest at a library months after the killing
Credit: PA
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Anita Rose was beaten to death as she walked her dog
Credit: PA
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One of the makeshift camps Barclay was staying in
Credit: Crown Prosecution Service
Ex-Met cop Peter Bleksley told The Sun: "This was an utterly avoidable and preventable murder."
Barclay, 56 - who was
He had been jailed in 2015 for the violent, unprovoked assault on 82-year-old Leslie Gunfield in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, before being released on parole in 2020.
Despite his nomadic existence, Barclay left a sizeable digital footprint, including using his bank card to order items online, and leaving hundreds of reviews on Google Maps, showing he was in Suffolk and Essex.
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But, crucially, police
"He clearly should have been a priority," continued Mr Bleksley.
"His previous violent offending - not only should he not have been released halfway through his sentence, I think he pulled the wool over the eyes of the Parole Board - but a man with that kind of violent history, should be a priority.
"These people should not be walking the streets of Britain."
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Barclay stalked Anita, 57, on the morning of July 24 2024 before kicking and stamping on her so viciously her injuries were akin to the victim of a head-on crash.
He fled the scene, leaving loyal dog Bruce by his owner's side. She died in hospital four days later.
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Mr Bleksley said: "This man could and should have been arrested. With the right amount of officers, with the necessary experience and expertise, this should have taken days and not weeks because he was leaving a significant footprint."
He went on to say: "It is possible to find and arrest virtually any wanted person, so long as sufficient resources and expertise are deployed."
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He added "the harsh reality" is that so many more people are being released early from prison or given non-custodial sentences "that huge numbers" are breaching orders and probation.
But overrun forces are simply kicking the can down the road, in the hopes such people turn up after committing further crimes, preferably in other force areas, he claims.
Mr Bleksley said: "Wanted people are not pursued like they should be. The files are put away, they're put on the police computers and left to collect dust in the hope they are picked up for a lesser crime. That's the reality.
"That's what a current working detective told me just days ago."
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He added: "That is the harsh, contemporary reality because of resources and such like.
"The harsh reality of increasingly dangerous and lawless Britain, and women are losing their lives."
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Barclay posted about Flatford shortly before he was arrested
Credit: GOOGLE
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Barclay was convicted of murder earlier this month
Credit: PA
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Barclay left a massive digital footprint - the red dots show all the locations he reviewed and photographed between 2022 and 2024
Credit: GOOGLE
He compared Ms Rose's murder to that of 35-year-old Zara Aleena, who was sexually assaulted and murdered by Jordan McSweeney as she walked home in Ilford, East London, in June 2022.
In 2010, when he was a teenager, McSweeney was convicted over an attack on a young woman he had left with a swollen eye.
Eleven years later, he was made the subject of a restraining order that barred him from contacting another female victim, but breached his probation and was not picked up before attacking Ms Aleena.
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"With the right resources he would have been picked up quickly, and Zara Aleena would be alive today, just like Anita would be alive today," Mr Bleksley said.
He went on to explain an analyst would be able to "pinpoint" the areas Barclay was active in without much issue - as happened once he became a suspect in Ms Rose's murder.
"Proper analytical examination of his postings, of his behaviours, his lifestyle, should have meant he could have been found.
"Like he was eventually, sadly, once he's committed murder and sufficient resources were deployed to it.
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"Once you put the resources into it, you find these people.
"Tragically, it took a woman's life to be taken before resources were deployed."
Mr Bleksley said various police services clearly prioritise "where they see fit", adding: "Policing is a numbers game, to a certain extent.
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Ms Rose seen leaving her home moments before she was attacked
Credit: PA
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Police at the scene in Brantham, Suffolk
Credit: East Anglia News Service
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Barclay is seen stalking along the road before committing the murder
Credit: Suffolk Police
"Many chiefs argue for more funding, and they do have a point."
He compared UK policing to Italy, where he recently visited, saying: "It's got 10 million less than the UK but twice as many officers and half the amount of crime. It's basic, simple numbers."
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Three months after the Ms Rose murder, Barclay's final few Google reviews were about Flatford, a historic area on the Essex-Suffolk border famed for inspiring iconic paintings.
He was camping just a mile away from the murder site.
Mr Bleksley said he was essentially goading cops.
"By the time he started putting those posts, after this dreadful murder, he clearly thought they're not going to find me."
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He said the descriptions of Ms Rose's murder are "particularly galling", and added he believes Barclay would certainly have killed again if he wasn't caught.
He said his "trademark" of leaving a dog lead wrapped around the victim's leg was also done in his previous assault offence.
Asked if he could have become a serial killer, Mr Bleksley said: "Of course, without any doubt whatsoever.
"He takes trophies, he leaves trademark wrapping of the leads twice round the leg, he attacked an elderly vulnerable man beforehand.
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Ms Rose with her dog Bruce was completely unawares
Credit: Suffolk Police
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A handout issued by Suffolk Police showing the map and timeline of events
Credit: PA
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Anita is a gran of 13
Credit: Facebook
"This is an absolute monster and danger to the elderly, a coward because he picks on the elderly. Picks on a lone female. Absolutely revolting waste of space."
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He went on to say: "The cases that grab people's attention and frighten them to their very core are when the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and that is exactly what happened in this case.
"This wonderful woman, mother of six, grandma of 13, much loved partner, should of course have been free to walk her dog as she chose."
Asked why someone like Barclay would target random strangers, Mr Bleksley continued: "It is often a complete and utter waste of time trying to rationalise the workings of an irrational mind.
"That said, his similar behaviour in the past went some way in helping to convict him.
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"As for his mentality, deal with what's in front of you, and there should have been plenty in front of detectives to have arrested him before he murdered and not after he'd murdered.
"That didn't happen. It's 2025 we're talking about, when analysis, geographical analysis, geographical patterns, the science is so far advanced, crimes these day are solved by mobile phone evidence, digital footprints, CCTV.
"These things could quite easily have been utilised to find him, they weren't and a woman is dead as a result, needlessly."
Mr Bleksley added: "There'll be more cases. In the current situation, if this is allowed to go on, there'll be more and more cases.
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"There are too many dangerous people out there and not enough prison places for them."
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Officers scouring the area near where Anita was found
Credit: East Anglia News Service
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Police an and around Rectory Lane in Grantham
Credit: Darren Fletcher
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CCTV grabs released by police after Ms Rose was killed
Credit: PA
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A chance meeting with a Suffolk Police officer near White Bridge, between Brantham and Manningtree, finally led to Barclay's arrest in October last year.
Barclay gave the officer, Det Con Simpson, a fake name, coming across as "quite nervous and quite anxious", the detective said.
Six days later, at Ipswich County Library, Barclay was arrested and was subsequently charged with Anita's murder, which he denied.
After his conviction, the Crown Prosecution Service described Barclay as "an individual that… has a history for acting violently so we knew that this was somebody that could act unprovoked in a very violent manner".
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Assistant Chief Constable Alice Scott said: 'Following the conviction resulting from the trial of Roy Barclay for the murder of Anita Rose last summer, a voluntary partnership review will now be conducted under the MAPPA* process involving the police and the probation service.
'It will look closely at the information sharing processes and how the organisations collaborated in terms of Barclay who was wanted on recall to prison when he murdered Anita.
'This review will be a thorough assessment and scrutiny of the processes concerning Barclay.
"It will be expedited as soon as possible so we can provide clear and definitive answers for Anita's family.
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"Our thoughts remain with Anita's family and friends as they reflect on the past year, and our force Family Liaison Officers will continue to remain in close dialogue with them as the review progresses.'
A Suffolk Police spokesperson told The Sun: "As this review is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
Do you know more? Email ryan.merrifield@thesun.co.uk
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Barclay had previously been jailed for a sick attack
Credit: East Anglia News Service
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Ex Met detective Peter Bleksley
Credit: Peter Bleksley
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