A husband killed his wife with a claw hammer and then looked for escorts and emptied their bank accounts while her body was stored in a freezer, a court heard.
David Barraclough, 46, hid for almost two weeks that his wife Carolann Barraclough, 37, was dead at their home in Horbury, Wakefield, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Barraclough also downloaded a dating app and used Mrs Barraclough’s phone to convince her daughter that she was exchanging messages with her mother in hospital.
CCTV released by West Yorkshire police shows Barraclough in Normanton Police Station on 5 March 2026 saying he needed to “speak to an officer privately” before confessing: “I’ve killed my wife.”
On Friday (9 October), Barraclough was jailed for life by Judge Andrew Stubbs KC, who ordered him to serve a minimum term of 22 years and one month.