Man jailed for life for murdering wife hidden in freezer

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 9 Oct, 16:44 · Archive

David Barraclough has been jailed for life for murdering his wife Carolann and hiding her body in a freezer at their West Yorkshire home.

David Barraclough murdered his wife Carolann with a claw hammer at their home in Horbury, West Yorkshire on 20 February. She was 37 and a mother of three. The children were in the house at the time. He bound her body with packaging tape, wrapped it in a duvet and placed it in a freezer in their utility room.

For nearly two weeks, Barraclough maintained a pretence that his wife was alive. He used her phone to send messages to her daughter claiming Carolann was recovering from illness in hospital. He also told people she was unwell and receiving treatment. The outlets differ on one detail: The Mirror reports he joined dating apps, contacted escorts and exchanged explicit messages; the Daily Mail adds that he also spent her money in local pubs and specifically names Tinder as one app he used.

On 5 March, Barraclough walked into a police station and confessed to killing his wife, telling officers the body was in the freezer. He initially claimed he was a victim of years of domestic abuse and had 'snapped'. The judge rejected this account as 'callous' and self-serving. Barraclough was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of between 21 years and six months and 22 years and one month.

How it is being reported

• Husband murdered wife and dumped body in chest freezer before sending texts to her children to make it look like she was still aliveDavid Barraclough, 46, beat Carolann Barraclough, 37, around the head in their bedroom then bound her with packaging tape and placed her body in a freezer in their utility room.Daily Mail · 9 Oct, 16:02
• Evil husband joined dating apps as wife he murdered with hammer lay dead in freezerDavid Barraclough has been jailed for life for murdering his wife, Carolann Barraclough, whose body was found in a freezer at their West Yorkshire home - this is a breaking storyThe Mirror · 9 Oct, 14:37

In this story: David Barraclough · Carolann Barraclough · Horbury · West Yorkshire · Leeds Crown Court

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem