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Partner of dog walker tells trial of final call

Laura Foster
BBC News, Suffolk
Reporting fromIpswich Crown Court
Suffolk Police Anita Rose is wearing a black and white zebra print shirt, with her long blonde hair in a ponytail. She is sat at a table at a rooftop bar. She's smiling and looking directly at the camera.Suffolk Police
Anita Rose was found with serious injuries on a footpath in Brantham in July last year

The partner of a woman who was attacked while walking her dog and died four days later has told a court of their final phone call.

Anita Rose, 57, was found seriously injured in her home village of Brantham, Suffolk, on 24 July.

Her partner Richard Jones told a court that Ms Rose felt "very safe" in the village and her last message to him was "drive safe, I love you".

Roy Barclay, 56, of no fixed address, denies murder and is on trial at Ipswich Crown Court.

BBC Crimewatch Anita Rose and Richard Jones wearing matching white bathrobes are looking at a camera smiling. Their heads are tilted towards each other.BBC Crimewatch
Anita Rose and Richard Jones had known each other since they were teenagers

Mr Jones said he had known Ms Rose since they were teenagers but they began dating in 2011 after they met by chance at a garage.

The prosecution told the court the pair had moved to Brantham where they lived with her son, Tyreek.

Mr Jones told jurors Ms Rose would get up early to walk their dog as "she liked to be out before others because she liked to watch the sun come up" and said she felt "very safe" in the village.

The court was told that on 24 July, Mr Jones had called Ms Rose at 05:24 as he was away working in East Yorkshire and that the call had lasted three minutes.

Mr Jones, who is a lorry driver, said the last conversation he ever had with Ms Rose ended with her saying: "OK babe, drive safe, I love you."

BBC/Shaun Whitmore Richard Jones, wearing a dark zip up top, is pictured leaving Ipswich Crown CourtBBC/Shaun Whitmore
Richard Jones told the court his partner felt "very safe" in the village

The jury heard that at 06:15, Mr Jones video-called his partner but this time the screen was black and there was no sound, even though the call was answered.

He said this was "very odd" so he tried to call Ms Rose a number of times afterwards.

At 06:25, she was found with serious head injuries by a cyclist near the Brantham sewage works.

Prosecutors allege that Barclay, who had been "on the run trying to avoid the police... and avoid being recalled back to prison", killed Ms Rose.

Suffolk Police Roy Barclay looks directly at the camera. He is wearing a red T-shirt and has a beard. Suffolk Police
Roy Barclay denies murdering Anita Rose

Under cross-examination, Mr Jones was asked why, if he was very worried about his partner, he had posted an image of Kermit the Frog making a joke about sausages on Facebook at 07:16.

Mr Jones told the court that he thought it was funny and that he did not know what had happened to Ms Rose at that point.

The trial continues.

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