Man accused of murdering dog walker jailed for attacking pensioner
A man accused of murdering a dog walker was previously jailed for severely injuring a pensioner and leaving him with a dog lead wrapped around his foot, a court heard.
Anita Rose, 57, was subjected to numerous kicks, stamps and blows during the attack in her home village of Brantham, Suffolk, on July 24 last year - and died four days later. Roy Barclay, 56, denies murdering the mum-of-six. Jurors at Ipswich Crown Court heard how Mr Barclay had pleaded guilty in August 2015 for attacking an 82-year-old man in Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex, 10 years ago. The attack came after Mr Gunfield, then 82, told Barclay, of no fixed address, that he would inform security about him going through rubbish bins at a local Co-op supermarket.
The OAP suffered serious injuries to his head and required 10 titanium plates for fractures he suffered after being attacked by Barclay, the court heard. He was found with a dog lead wrapped around his foot, which the prosecution said was similar to the way Ms Rose's body was found, with a dog lead 'tightly' wrapped around her leg.
Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC said Mr Gunfield 'ended up with fracture upon fracture to his face', adding that the attack 'totally detached the upper jaw from the rest of the skull'. He told jurors that the conviction 'helps you in so many ways to identify Roy Barclay as Anita's killer'.
Mr Paxton added: 'Leslie Gunfield was taken to the ground and attacked on the ground by Roy Barclay, just as Anita Rose was. Leslie Gunfield was struck repeatedly to the head, just as Anita Rose was. In his mid-40s, he (Barclay) fractured nearly all of the bones of an 82-year-old's face, having taken him to the ground in 2015. Anybody that attacks an 82-year-old man in that way displays a ruthlessness and callousness that defies logic.'
His Honour Judge Martyn Levett told jurors their verdict should not be based entirely or mainly on Barclay's previous conviction, adding it was 'additional circumstantial evidence'. Barclay was released from prison for the attack on Mr Gunfield on February 24 2020.
Mr Paxton said Barclay was a 'dog lover' who had volunteered at a dog charity while on probation, adding that a dog lead wrapped around a body could 'almost be described as a signature of Roy Barclay'. The prosecutor added: 'This is no coincidence. The wrapping of the dog lead is a further striking similarity that builds with all the evidence to Roy Barclay being the one and only person who attacked Anita Rose.'
The prosecutor said Barclay was 'irrational and dangerous' and had been on the run from the police for two years while trying to avoid recall to prison. Giving his closing speech, Mr Paxton said: 'Two very different worlds collided: Anita, partner to Richard, a mother and grandmother, out with the family dog Bruce, before she went off to work.
"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.
"Roy Barclay's determination to keep his liberty and save his skin is revealed in the brutality of the injuries he inflicted on Anita Rose. Slight and slim Roy Barclay might seem, but his force, his brutality, is revealed in what he did to Leslie Gunfield and Anita Rose.'
The prosecutor said jurors had heard evidence that injuries to Anita's brain were similar to those inflicted by 'high speed car crashes'.
Barclay opted to give no evidence in his defence on Wednesday. Mr Paxton said Barclay had maintained a 'wall of silence' throughout his trial. The prosecutor added: 'It is his right of course, but it is a choice Roy Barclay has made. He made a choice not to say one single word to the jury in his defence from the witness box.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ITV News
5 hours ago
- ITV News
'You killed that little boy': Driver who crashed into family after stealing Porsche jailed
A disqualified driver who killed a toddler and left his mother in a coma in hospital after ploughing into their car has been Shahzad, aged 30, was behind the wheel of a stolen Porsche Cayenne when he crashed head-on into a Toyota Auris containing two-year-old Shehbaz Singh, his parents Kushpreet Kaur and Amritpal Singh, and their close friends Baljit Singh and Pavanpreet Kaur. The toddler died at Birmingham Children's Hospital following the collision on Dartmouth Road, Smethwick, which took place just before 11pm on December 14 last year - while his mother remains unconscious in hospital to this day having suffered life-changing from Great Barr, ran away from the collision but was arrested two days later after forensic examinations discovered his finger prints on the false number plate of the Porsche and his DNA from the vehicle's initially denied causing death by dangerous driving but changed his plea to guilty in April. Shahzad also admitted two charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, driving with no insurance and failing to stop after a had clocked speeds of 51mph in a 30mph zone and drove on the wrong side of the road leading up to the fatal smash.A total of eight finger prints were discovered on the false number plate, while the Porsche had been taken from nearby Walsall during a sales and his family had been travelling home from attending a family's birthday when the collision happened. Shehbaz was in the back of the Toyota with his parents and was being held in his dad's arms, Wolverhampton Crown Court Toyota was driven by Baljit Singh, who was also seriously had a history of driving offences and appeared before Magistrates' in May last year for driving without a licence or offending got worse when, on June 10 last year, he took police on a high-speed chase on the M42 after making off in a Audi A4 Avant that had been been advertised on Facebook in Belton, reaching speeds of nearly 150mph and swerving through motorway cones, he was only stopped when police were forced to crash into him, injuring an officer in the process. Shahzad appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Friday where he was sentenced for the fatal Smethwick crash and the June 10 police Jonathan Gosling ordered him to serve 15 years and four months behind bars, after giving him 20 per cent credit for his later guilty judge told him: "You have destroyed the lives on Amritpal and Kushpreet and devastated their family and friends."You killed that little boy and seriously injured other people in the car."Your true character was revealed by what you did afterwards, just as you did on June 10."Shahzad was also banned from driving for 18 years and three months.
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
Ex-GP from Canterbury jailed after sex offences against patients
A former GP from Canterbury who conducted unnecessary genital examinations on male patients across almost two decades has been jailed for seven years. Gregory Manson, 56, was convicted of 12 sexual assaults and four indecent assaults against nine males at Canterbury Crown Court on 56-year-old, who was charged with 24 offences overall, was acquitted of six offences while two others were alternative charges which did not require sentencing on Friday, Judge Simon Taylor KC said that Manson "periodically and opportunistically abused male patients" for almost all of his career. 'Camouflaged sexual abuse' The judge told Manson that he had "camouflaged sexual abuse in the context of medical examinations" for the better part of two decades. He said: "The abuse of trust here is immense. People trusted you with access to their bodies and you abused that trust for your own sexual gratification."You were able to construct a false defence to justify your sexual assaults because that is something that is very easy for a GP to do." One of Manson's victims read out a personal impact statement in court on Friday in which he said he "never now visits the GP".The victim added: "What still stuns me is how normal you made all of this seem."It was calculated, it was deliberate and we now know it was abuse. You built a wall of goodwill around yourself and then used it as a shield."Manson, who denied the charges throughout, told the jury that his motivation was to rule out rare diseases which he had misdiagnosed in the former GP was remunerated by the NHS at 90% of his salary following his suspension in 2017. This remuneration then halved in November 2023 and stopped in 2024, the court heard.
Daily Record
11 hours ago
- Daily Record
Mum says young daughter's life has been ruined after terrifying carjacking
Masked man brandishing weapon ordered her and the child, then aged 10, to get out before the vehicle was driven away. A mum says her young daughter's life has been ruined after a terrifying carjacking. A masked man brandishing a weapon ordered her and the child, then aged 10, to get out before the vehicle was driven away. Scott Semple, 34, formerly of Kenmore Road, Cumbernauld, admitted robbing the woman of her car in Main Street, Kilsyth, on December 7, 2023. Ryan Hall, 29, of Imperial Drive, Airdrie, denied the charge but was found guilty after trial at Airdrie Sheriff Court. The court heard that mum and daughter were waiting in the car at night while the woman's husband nipped into the Co-op. An Audi containing three men with faces partially covered was seen driving slowly past. The occupants stared at the woman. Minutes later a man pulled open a door of the family's vehicle and shouted repeatedly: "Get out the car!'" He pointed what looked like a bat or a pole and the woman grabbed her daughter, shouting: "Please don't take my child." They fled into the Co-op and the robbers made off. However, cops later found the stolen car at Semple's home. In a hard-hitting victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said she and her daughter have suffered panic attacks since the carjacking. She said: "My daughter won't sleep in her own bed. When the doorbell rings or there's a strange car in the street she says it's the bad men back to get her. "She's terrified to go upstairs on her own and her school attendance has suffered. "She's no longer a confident, carefree girl and as a parent that breaks your heart." The woman said she had to take weeks off work and has been diagnosed with PTSD. Even stopping at traffic lights is now "an ordeal" as she fears being targeted again. She added: "At home we changed the locks on our doors and installed cameras. "We have new automatic locks for the car and still I don't feel safe." Asked what should happen to the accused, the mum replied: "Only a custodial sentence is fair given our trauma." The court heard Semple is now living at a church outreach project in Greater Manchester. Sentence on him and Hall was deferred until next month for background reports. *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here. And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.
