Man who murdered wife and hid body in freezer while contacting escorts jailed for life

A man has been sentenced to life in prison after murdering his wife with a hammer and keeping her body in a freezer while he emptied their bank accounts and contacted escorts.

On the day he was due to go to trial earlier this week, David Barraclough, 46, admitted to murdering Carolann Barraclough, 37.

She was found dead at her house in Horbury, Wakefield, after police responded to a concern for safety report in March.

Judge Andrew Stubbs KC described her murder as "a brutal attack with a hammer whilst she lay in bed" and noted that her three children were present in the home at the time.

He said Mrs Barraclough was then placed in the utility room freezer wrapped in a duvet, with her hands and ankles bound with tape, and a bin liner over her head.

He added that it was "merciful" that the children did not witness the attack or find their mother's body in the two weeks it remained concealed.

At Leeds Crown Court on Friday, Barraclough was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 22 years and one month.

He refused to appear for sentencing, and Judge Stubbs said he wanted to use new legislation to force his attendance, backed with the threat of a two-year jail sentence, but the powers are not yet in force.

Addressing the absent Barraclough, he said: "Thereafter, your behaviour displayed a callous disregard for your wife, her children, your children and her friends".

He continued: "As your wife lay dead and undiscovered in the freezer, contrary to your subsequent claims to be heartbroken, you joined dating apps, contacted escorts and exchanged explicit messages with another woman.

"You used your wife's bank card for your joint account to withdraw large amounts of money to support the life you were living."

The court also heard that he used Mrs Barraclough's phone to convince her daughter that she was exchanging messages with her mother in hospital.

On 2 March, he sent a message to her eldest child, saying: "I'm starting to feel a bit better I'll be home soon".

And on 4 March, he sent "love you have a good day".

The court heard that Barraclough turned himself in at a police station on 5 March, saying he killed his wife on 20 February and claiming to be a victim of domestic violence.

But Judge Stubbs said his account was "riddled with lies" and that he had subjected Mrs Barraclough to years of violence and controlling behaviour.

He noted that the day Barraclough walked into the police station, the couple had 16p left in their accounts.

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In a statement read to the court, Mrs Barraclough's sister, Sarah Rowley, described how the whole family were "completely shattered by the senseless and violent way Caz was taken from us".

She said her children were the "centre of her world" and added: "The void of her absence is agonisingly loud."

Jill May, senior crown prosecutor for Crown Prosecution Service Yorkshire and Humberside, said: "David Barraclough tried to paint himself as a victim of domestic abuse who had no choice but to kill his wife and was heartbroken by what had happened. The evidence told a very different story.

"His actions in the weeks after her death, including downloading dating apps and taking out large sums of money from their joint account, were blatantly not those of a man in mourning."

(c) Sky News 2026: Man who murdered wife and hid body in freezer while contacting escorts jailed for life