David Barraclough, 46, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years and one month in jail on Friday, October 9, after pleading guilty to murdering his wife Carolann, 37, at their home in Horbury, Wakefield. He refused to enter the courtroom to hear his sentence.
Killing and cover-up
Barraclough killed Carolann with a claw hammer and kept her body in a chest freezer for almost two weeks, Leeds Crown Court heard. He searched for escorts and emptied their bank accounts after the killing.
During that time, he downloaded a dating app, exchanged explicit messages on the internet and used Carolann's phone to convince her daughter that she was exchanging messages with her mother in hospital. Judge Andrew Stubbs KC said he wanted to use new legislation to force defendants to attend court, but was told the powers are not yet in force.
Judge's account
The judge outlined how Barraclough went into a police station on March 5, saying he had killed his wife on February 20 and claiming to have been a victim of domestic abuse. But the judge said this account was “riddled with lies” and that Barraclough had subjected his wife to years of domestic violence.
Judge Stubbs said Barraclough carried out the “brutal attack” while Carolann lay in bed, with her three children present in the house. He said it was “merciful” that the children did not witness the attack or find their mother in the freezer. The judge said the defendant used the hammer to inflict four lacerations and a large “degloving” injury, adding: “She could only have survived a short time while under attack.”
Web of lies
The judge described how Barraclough sent messages from his wife's phone to her eldest child, including “I’m starting to feel a bit better I’ll be home soon” and “love you have a good day”. He also joined dating apps, contacted escorts and withdrew large amounts of money from the couple's joint account. On the day he handed himself in, there was 16p left in the accounts.
Judge Stubbs rejected claims of remorse, noting a “significant amount of planning”. Carolann's sister, Sarah Rowley, said the family were “completely shattered by the senseless and violent way Caz was taken from us”. Detective Inspector Tom Hilyer of West Yorkshire Police said Barraclough was “a very manipulative and calculating individual”. Jill May, senior Crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said his actions were “blatantly not those of a man in mourning”.
