Man who kept wife's body in freezer jailed for life

A man who murdered his wife with a hammer and hid her body in a chest freezer while telling family and friends she was ill in hospital has been jailed for life.

David Barraclough, 46, killed Carolann Barraclough, a mother of three, at the family's house in Horbury, near Wakefield, in February.

Leeds Crown Court heard he then spent about two weeks trying to conceal what he had done, telling relatives and friends she was in hospital and sending messages from her phone pretending to be her.

Barraclough pleaded guilty to murder on the first day of his trial and refused to attend court for sentencing. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years and one month.

The court heard Carolann Barraclough was killed sometime between 19 and 21 February.

After her death, Barraclough tied up her body and placed it in a freezer in the utility room of the home they shared.

Prosecutors said he repeatedly lied to her children, family, friends and neighbours, claiming she was in hospital recovering from an illness and that only he was able to visit her.

He also used her phone to send messages suggesting she would soon return home and prevented the children from entering the room where the freezer was kept.

On 5 March, Barraclough walked into Normanton Police Station and told a receptionist: "I've killed my wife."

Officers who went to the family home found Carolann Barraclough's body inside the freezer.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said evidence showed Barraclough continued with his daily life after the killing, including visiting pubs, withdrawing large sums of cash from a joint bank account and downloading the dating app Tinder two days after his wife's death.

He later claimed he had acted in self-defence after being struck with a hammer and described himself as "heartbroken", "in a haze" and "confused".

However, prosecutors said CCTV footage showed no visible injuries and rejected his account.

Jill May, senior crown prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside, said: "After brutally murdering Carolann, Barraclough hid her body in the home she shared with her children and lied repeatedly to her friends and family as he spun a calculated web of lies, pretending she was alive and recovering from illness in hospital."

She praised Carolann Barraclough's eldest daughter for her "incredible bravery" in providing evidence.

In a statement read to the court, Carolann Barraclough's family said she had been "the bright light of our family" whose "joy was infectious".

They said: "Caz was a vital and irreplaceable part of our family. The world is a much darker place without her."

A separate statement on behalf of her three children said all were autistic and had relied heavily on routine, familiarity and knowing the adults around them would keep them safe.

It said: "For two weeks they were told their mum was in hospital, but their mum was in their own home."

The statement added the children had lost "their world, their security and the future they were supposed to have with their mum".

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