A fugitive who murdered 57-year-old Anita Rose while she was walking her dog in Suffolk is jailed for at least 25 years
Roy Barclay, 56, had been on the run for two years to avoid being recalled to prison for a separate offence
The grandmother died in hospital after being found on a footpath in Brantham with serious injuries, akin to those seen in high-speed motor accidents
The judge earlier called Barclay "an unpredictable, dangerous man... prone to terrible outbursts of violence"
"[We] planned to grow old together", Ms Rose's partner told the court, while her daughter said "our world shattered" - Barclay showed no emotion, our reporter in court writes
The killer left a sizeable digital footprint while in hiding - using his bank card to order items and leaving hundreds of Google reviews
Watch: Roy Barclay is arrested at the library
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
Roy Barclay is in Court One. He is wearing a pale grey tracksuit and glasses and is flanked by three security officers.
Meanwhile the public gallery is full of Anita Rose's family and friends.
We are expecting some of her loved ones to read out statements as part of the sentencing, detailing the impact her murder has had on them.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
The sentencing of Roy Barclay has now begun in Court One at Ipswich Crown Court.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter reporting from Ipswich Crown Court
Cameras have been allowed in some criminal courts, external in England and Wales since 2022 to film judges sentencing individuals for the most serious crimes.
But only high court and senior circuit judges sitting in the crown courts can be filmed.
BBC News requested that today's sentencing be broadcast but because Judge Martyn Levett is not a high court or senior circuit judge, this is not possible.
However my colleague Alice Cunningham and I are in court and will be bringing you updates here.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
The defence barrister has now arrived in Court One at Ipswich Crown Court which suggests the hearing will start shortly.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
The prosecution barristers have just arrived in Court One at Ipswich Crown Court wearing their gowns and wigs.
They are quietly conferring between themselves, while everyone else waits in silence.
The public gallery has not been opened yet, but we are expecting it to be full.
Alice Cunningham
Reporting from Ipswich Crown Court
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
My colleague Alice Cunningham and I are sitting in Court One at Ipswich Crown Court.
We are two of ten journalists here so far, but we are expecting more to arrive later.
We have been told the sentencing of Roy Barclay will begin at 10:30 BST.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
Image source, CPSCCTV showed Barclay to be in the area at the time of the attack, but police did not know who he was until three months later
Roy Barclay was living as a fugitive at the time of his attack on Anita Rose and was only found by police by chance.
In October 2024 Det Con Barry Simpson, a plain clothes Suffolk Police officer, was driving from Manningtree to Brantham when he spotted Barclay on the White Bridge and thought he looked like the man he had seen on CCTV footage from the day of the attack.
Det Con Simpson stopped him and took his photo and details.
Barclay gave a fake name and a fake address but handed over his real phone number.
When police ran the phone number on their system, they realised who Barclay was and a manhunt began.
Barclay was arrested six days later at Ipswich County Library.
Alice Cunningham
Reporting from Ipswich Crown Court
Last year on the day she was attacked, Anita Rose was walking her usual route she did most mornings with her dog Bruce.
She left home early at about 05:00 BST and was later found at about 06:25 on a track near the sewage works and railway line off Rectory Lane, Brantham.
Police were able to pinpoint her exact route through data from a dog walking app on her mobile phone.
Alice Cunningham
Reporting from Ipswich Crown Court
Image source, George King/BBCRoy Barclay's trial at Ipswich Crown Court took place over five weeks.
The jury heard that when he attacked Anita Rose on 24 July last year he had been living off grid and had been "on the run" from police for more than two years to avoid being recalled to prison.
During the attack Ms Rose suffered severe injuries similar to those seen in high-speed car collisions.
The court heard Barclay's DNA had been discovered on a jacket Ms Rose had been wearing, as well as on the ear buds of her headphones which he had initially kept after the attack. Prosecutors argued he had kept these as trophies.
He had also looked up media coverage of the attack and had searched on Facebook for Ms Rose's partner Richard Jones.
Barclay accepted he had been seen on CCTV in the Brantham area on the morning of the attack, but his defence questioned whether his presence was of "real significance" when he had been living in a camp in the area.
He defence barrister told the jury they could not find him guilty unless they were certain he was the killer.
After two-and-a-half hours of deliberations, the jury delivered a unanimous guilty verdict.
Alice Cunningham
Reporting from Ipswich Crown Court
Barclay viewed BBC articles covering his attack on Anita Rose in Brantham
It was revealed in his trial that Roy Barclay had been following media coverage after he attacked Anita Rose and looked up 12 articles from the BBC covering the incident.
The prosecution argued this was because "his very future and freedom depended on what happened next - because he was Anita's attacker".
Barclay read articles from the BBC including ones related to what information was known seven days after Ms Rose's death, police dispelling online misinformation around the attack, how residents reacted, when two new areas were being searched and a story that included a CCTV image of himself.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
Data from Roy Barclay's phone showed he had searched for news stories about the death of Anita Rose.
He also searched online for answers to questions such as "how long does DNA last at a crime scene?".
It also showed that Barclay would often search online for information about known killers such as Alexander Palmer, who was jailed for murdering a pensioner who was walking their dog in Norfolk in 2017.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
Image source, Crown Prosecution ServiceRoy Barclay bought these boots online and was seen wearing them on the day he attacked Anita Rose
One question that has yet to be answered is how the authorities did not arrest Roy Barclay when he regularly used his bank account to shop online.
The trial heard how he bought a lock pick kit and a pair of walking boots, which were delivered to an Amazon locker in Ipswich for him to collect.
These boots were found to be the ones he was wearing when he attacked Anita Rose, when he kicked and stamped on her repeatedly.
Expert witnesses told the jury that the soles of the shoes were a match for the injuries on Ms Rose's face.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
Image source, GoogleBarclay lived off grid across Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex during his time on the run
Roy Barclay was on the run from the police between January 2022 until he was arrested in October 2024.
Despite being the subject of a recall notice, he posted thousands of photos and reviews of places he was staying and visiting across the East of England.
He would visit churches, country parks and other nature areas.
One review was for Decoy Pond, a beauty spot just a short walk from where he murdered Anita Rose.
Image source, GooBarclay's reviews were long and detailed and often contained photographs he had taken on his phone
Alice Cunningham
Reporting from Ipswich Crown Court
Image source, Crown Prosecution ServiceIn 2015 Roy Barclay had been jailed for 10 years for the violent and unprovoked assault on an 82-year-old man in an Essex seaside town.
He left his victim with serious injuries to his head, neck, face and jaw as well as a small brain injury.
Barclay had pleaded guilty in court to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
He was released on licence in January 2020, but a recall notice was issued in 2022, when he breached the terms of his licence by making himself homeless.
Barclay began living in makeshift camps, including one in Brantham and one under the Orwell Bridge in Ipswich.
Barclay then spent the next few years evading the police, all while posting hundreds of reviews on Google Maps of locations around Suffolk and Essex, until he was then arrested for the murder of Anita Rose.
After his conviction, police described him as a "violent man" whose motive for attacking Ms Rose was unclear.
The Crown Prosecution Service similarly described his actions as "savage" and had "made it his mission" to deceive investigators.
Laura Foster
Senior reporter at Ipswich Crown Court
Image source, Family photographAnita Rose had six children and 13 grandchildren
Anita Rose's family said she was a woman who brought "love and happiness to all the people that she touched".
Ms Rose, 57, had six children and 13 grandchildren and lived with her partner Richard Jones in Brantham, a place he said "Anita had always felt very safe in".
She was active and would often walk 30,000 steps a day, getting up early to watch the sunrise and walk her dog Bruce.
Image source, BBC CrimewatchAnita Rose and Richard Jones first met as teenagers
Alice Cunningham
Reporting from Ipswich Crown Court
Image source, John Fairhall/BBCOn 24 July last year, an attempted murder investigation was launched after Anita Rose, 57, was attacked near Rectory Lane in Brantham, Suffolk.
She died in Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge four days later and the investigation became one of a murder.
People living in Brantham described their shock and fear over what happened, and while arrests had been made no charges had been brought against any suspects.
The months went on with various CCTV appeals and house-to-house inquiries. Ms Rose's family also helped launched a £20,000 Crimestoppers appeal for information in October.
Weeks later that same month, police made another arrest and then charged Roy Barclay, 56, of no fixed abode with her murder.
He denied killing her, but was found guilty following a trial at Ipswich Crown Court that concluded last month.