A fugitive who murdered a grandmother who was walking her dog has been sentenced to life behind bars.
Roy Barclay, 56, was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court to a minimum of 25 years in jail after killing 57-year-old Anita Rose.
The woman had been out walking her dog in Brantham, Suffolk, on July 4 last year before being found seriously injured by a member of the public and dying in hospital four days later.
**ARE YOU READING THIS ON OUR APP? DOWNLOAD NOW FOR THE BEST GB NEWS EXPERIENCE**
During the sentence, Judge Martyn Levett said Barclay had "repeatedly stamped on Anita's head with alarming similarity to the disproportionate manner in which you attacked Mr Gunfield" in 2015.
Barclay denied the murder but was found guilty after a trial at the same crown court where he was sentenced on Wednesday.
He had previously been convicted and jailed over a 2015 attack on pensioner Leslie Gunfield, in Walton-on-the-Naza in Essex.
Prosecutors said the attack on Rose shared similarities with the previous assault.
The man had been released in February 2020 but had no fixed address.
Anita Rose was murdered last year
| PABarclay was then wanted on recall at the time of his attack on Rose after breaching his licence conditions.
Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC told the court Barclay "lived mostly in the countryside" where he wandered the fields and lanes.
He said the man slept in "various makeshifts camps" where he "lived off-grid for two years" where he 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," Paxton said.
Roy Barclay was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 25 years
| PAJurors heard Barclay had previously pleaded guilty over the 2015 incident to grievous bodily harm with intent.
The court heard Gunfield had told Barclay that he would inform security about him going through rubbish bins.
Gunfield sustained serious injuries to his head and required 10 titanium plates for fractures after Barclay's attack.
During victim impact statements, Rose's daughter Jessica Cox said Barclay had shown no remorse for the murder.
She fought back tears when declaring "he has put us through a nightmare which we can't wake up from ... I don't feel he has shown any remorse."
Cox described Barclay as "evil".
Levett noted that Barclay was “someone prone to dangerous outbursts at the slightest confrontation”.
The judge described Barclay was "unpredictable" and because of his silence during police interviews and not giving evidence, "we will perhaps never know what triggered this outburst of horrific violence".
When he was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 25 years, Barclay showed no emotion.
Acting for Barclay, Simon Spence said his client “accepts the jury’s verdict” and “understands the nature of the sentence” the judge must impose.
Crown Prosecution Service's Nicola Pope said the killing was "a savage attack on a much-loved mother who was murdered in an act of terrifying senselessness".
"We were determined to ensure the perpetrator was brought to justice."