Brantham dog walker murder – what we know seven days on

It has been one week since a village community was rocked by an attack on a dog walker who later died.

On the morning of Wednesday, 24 July, Anita Rose was walking her dog close to Rectory Lane in Brantham, Suffolk, before she was found unconscious with serious head injuries.

She died in hospital on Sunday and a man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and released on bail.

As police conduct anniversary checks in the area one week on, here is what we know so far about the incident.

Police said they had been called by the East of England Ambulance Service to a track near to a railway line close to Rectory Lane that morning.

A woman, who the force said at the time was in her 50s, left her home at 05:00 BST to walk her dog.

She was found by a member of the public at 06:30 with serious head injuries and taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge in a critical condition.

Her dog, a springer spaniel named Bruce, was found with her and was safe and well.

A cordon was set up in the area and the force said it was treating the incident as an attempted murder.

Police confirmed the victim as 57-year-old Anita Rose from the village and she died four days after the attack.

Her family, in a statement, said she was “well known and loved in the community”.

“She was brutally taken from us devastatingly too early, and we have been robbed of so much time with her,” they said.

“She wasn’t just a mum of six, she was also a grandma to 13, a long-term partner, a mother-in-law and a special friend to so many.”

Det Supt Mike Brown, head of the joint major investigations unit at Norfolk and Suffolk Police, made an appeal to find two key items as part of the investigation.

The first was a pink, long-sleeved, zip up jacket that Ms Rose was wearing prior to the attack but was no longer with her.

It is still missing and officers described it as waterproof in material, possibly from the brand Regatta.

As well as this, Ms Rose’s iPhone was missing but was later recovered by officers.

Police arrested a 45-year-old man from the Ipswich area on Saturday on suspicion of attempted murder.

He was taken into custody at the Martlesham Police Investigation Centre.

After Ms Rose had died he was re-arrested on suspicion of murder before being released on bail.

A 37-year-old woman from the Ipswich area was also arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods in connection with the incident and she was also released on bail.

Both have conditions to return to the police on 25 October.

Det Supt Brown reassured the public over concern that the man had been bailed.

“It is important to understand that at times it may be necessary to make arrests in serious and complex investigations based on the evidence available at that time to fully understand the role individuals may have played in any offences identified,” he explained.

“As such, a person’s status in an investigation may change as the case develops which may result in options such as bail being used.”

Many Brantham residents said the incident was “shocking” and something that was unheard of in the village.

“It’s quite frightening,” said 79-year-old Alan Goodridge.

“It was initial horror that some poor lady was out walking her dog and that happened to her.”

Jacqueline Manners said she found out about the attack during a dog walk and regularly walked in that area, but would not be for the time being.

“I was shocked, really shocked,” she said.

The police said they were continuing to investigate the incident as a murder.

Ms Rose’s family are being kept up to date with the investigation and supported.

Seven days on, officers will be conducting anniversary checks in the Rectory Lane area and will be on train services between Ipswich and Manningtree to speak to passengers.

Officers will also be distributing leaflets containing details of the investigation and a QR code that links to the Major Investigations Portal online.

“As ever, we are keen to speak to anyone who saw anything on Wednesday that they think might be useful to the police investigation and anyone living in the area that has CCTV or doorbell cameras,” Det Supt Brown said.

“If you have any information, please do come forward.”