On-the-run convict murdered grandmother Anita Rose in 'brutal' attack as she walked dog before she was found with his boot marks on her face, court told

Daily Mail​

29-05-2025

An on-the-run convict who was living 'off-grid' to avoid being recalled to prison killed a grandmother out walking her dog in a 'vicious and brutal attack', a court heard today.
Anita Rose, 57, was subjected to 'numerous kicks, stamps and blows' by Roy Barclay, 56, whose semen was found on her jacket, jurors were told.
Opening the case, prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC said mother-of-six Ms Rose left her home in Brantham, Suffolk, to walk her springer spaniel, Bruce, on July 24 last year.
She was found by passers-by on a footpath beside a sewage works but died four days later.
'After she left home and before 6.25 that morning, Anita Rose was subject to a vicious and brutal attack with numerous kicks, stamps and blows being delivered to her face, head and body,' Mr Paxton told Ipswich Crown Court.
'Found by passers-by, help was called for but on July 28 Anita Rose died in Addenbrooke's Hospital [in Cambridge ] from the injuries she received.'
'No eyewitnesses saw the incident', Mr Paxton told jurors, adding: 'You will hear that Roy Barclay had no fixed address and 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.
'He had been on the run trying to avoid the police and authorities to try and avoid being recalled back to prison.'
The prosecutor said Mr Rose - who lived with her partner Richard Jones in the village – wore a distinctive pink jacket on the day she was attacked and it was later found at one of Barclay's makeshift camps.
The defendant kept the garment 'as a trophy' and it had his 'semen on the neckline'.
Mr Paxton added Barclay's walking boots, which 'amounted to the murder weapon', were found at the same camp.
'I say the boots are the murder weapon because the pathologist, and additionally the neuropathologist, will tell you the injuries Anita Rose sustained are consistent with kicking and stamping,' the barrister said.
'The level of trauma to Anita's brain is akin to that seen following road traffic accidents, such was the force of Roy Barclay's attack.'
Ms Rose's phone case was also found at the camp and her Samsung earbuds were located at a different hideaway Barclay used under the Orwell Bridge near Ipswich, it is claimed.
A lock-picking kit was also discovered there, along with pairs of women's underwear – although none of them belonged to Ms Rose, Mr Paxton said.
A series of notes on the calendar of his phone showed Barclay had 'celebrated' anniversary dates of the attack on July 24, Mr Paxton said.
The date of September 3 - six weeks afterwards - stated '6 weeks'. Other entries for September 18, October 9 and October 16, respectively stated '8 weeks', '11 weeks' and '12 weeks' with the final entry adding the word 'Court?'.
Mr Paxton added: 'Roy Barclay was getting sloppy. But perhaps, in his arrogance, having evaded the police and authorities for two years, he felt he was untouchable. That, quite literally, he could get away with murder.'
Barclay tried to leave a false trail of evidence by dumping Ms Rose's mobile phone a few days after the attack in a seating area in Ipswich town centre, the court heard.
He did so 'no doubt hoping it to be found, as it was, and hoping that it would be switched on'.
The phone was picked up by a couple who decided to try and sell it and were immediately arrested by the police, jurors were told.
Mr Paxton added Barclay appeared to have taken the phone to avoid the chance of her calling for help but had no plans to sell it himself as he had 'several thousand pounds in a bank account'.
The barrister claimed the defendant, who 'carries dog biscuits with him and is a dog lover', tied the dog lead around Ms Rose's leg 'to stop Bruce running off'.
'Cunning and resourceful' Barclay is said to have made various internet searches after the attack, including 'How are outside objects swabbed for DNA?' and 'Can barbed wire be swabbed for DNA?'.
Further internet searches about the attack in the months after the murder were made so he could 'follow the twists and turns of the police investigation on media websites.
'He did so because he had a vested interest in knowing what the police were up to, what that might signal to him, whether his time was up or not,' Mr Paxton said.
The court was told when the defendant was eventually arrested by police, he answered 'no comment' to many of the questions he was asked.
Instead, he provided a prepared statement denying any involvement in Ms Rose's death and insisting he would 'not be forensically' linked to it.
Ms Rose was filmed by a doorbell camera when she set off from home on the fateful walk.
She is thought to have walked more than three miles on a network of tracks and paths before being attacked.
Barclay, who wore glasses, a grey prison-issue tracksuit and has a grey beard and long, thinning grey hair, listened to proceedings from the secure dock of the court. He denies murder.
Relatives of Ms Rose listened from the public gallery.
The trial, which is due to last eight weeks, continues.