Gwynedd man sentenced for murdering 71-year-old grandmother

David Redfern, 46, of Marine Parade, Barmouth, was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 14 years, at Caernarfon Crown Court this afternoon (March 31).

On Wednessday (March 29), a jury found Redfern guilty of the murder of Margaret Barnes, a 71-year-old woman from Birmingham.

The court had heard that, on July 10, 2022, Mrs Barnes had entered and fallen asleep in Redfern's home, mistaking it for Wavecrest Guest House, on the same street, where she was supposed to be staying.

Redfern subsequently delivered a single kick/stamp to her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene in the early hours of July 11.

Marine Parade, Barmouth (Image: GoogleMaps)

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Mrs Barnes had travelled to Barmouth alone, but was seemingly visiting friends or relatives.

In the late afternoon of July 10, she was said to be "significantly under the influence" of alcohol while walking into Barmouth.

At 10.10pm, she accidentally walked into Redfern's bedroom, while he and his partner were in another room of his house, watching television.

Roughly 35 minutes later, the couple entered the bedroom to find Mrs Barnes in their bed.

When they asked what she was doing, her replies were described as "contadictory" and "confused".

Redfern then phoned the police, and said Mrs Barnes accused his partner of stealing her handbag.

A "kick or stamp" was then inflicted by Redfern upon Mrs Barnes with "considerable force", and the injuries she sustaned were "unsurvivable".

He then dragged her by her ankles downstairs, before throwing her wheeled suitcase onto his front garden.

Redfern sat on a chair outside and watched as Mrs Barnes gathered her possessions.

She was called a "lying c***" by him, and he also aimed offensive jokes of a sexual nature at her.

Police were diverted to a firearms incident nearby, and no ambulance attended, though it was deemed that medical treatment would not have saved Mrs Barnes.

She was pronounced dead at roughly 2am on July 11.

A statement from Mrs Barnes’ husband, Raymond, read: “She didn’t have an aggressive bone in her body.”

Mrs Barnes was a mother to Simon and Natalie, and had four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

At about 9.30am on July 11, Mr Barnes said he received a knock on the door at home, to be told by the police that his wife had died.

He added in his statement: “From that moment, my life and my family’s life changed forever. Our lives will never be the same again.”

Caernarfon Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

Natalie and Robyn Barnes, Mrs Barnes' daughter and grandaughter respectively, also read out victim statements in person during Redfern's sentencing.

Natalie Barnes said: “Mum was a kind, accepting person who loved the little things in life.

“Every morning, we all wake up and are hit with the realisation that we are never going to see her again. We are struggling to accept her premature death.

“The actions of David Redfern have greatly affected our family life. It has destroyed our family.

“Since my mum’s death, my dad has completely withdrawn himself from family life.

“He now struggles to sleep, and we no longer talk about anything other than my mother’s death.

“My mum didn’t need to die, and we don’t understand why she had to.”

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Robyn Barnes added: “No words can describe the agony, hurt and heartbreak that we all feel from the death of my nan.

“There isn’t a day where I don’t think of my nan. I had to take two months off work to come to terms with the circumstances.

“Going to identify my nan is something I should never have had to do. There will be an empty seat around our table at special occasions.

“I’ve changed as a person since my nan’s death. I’m completely heartbroken, and this grief will stay with me forever.”

Defending, Mark Cotter KC said Redfern was a “man under significant stress” at the time of the incident, having lost his driving licence due to a medical condition.

Since being remanded in custody, Redfern, a man with no previous convictions, had been described as a “model prisoner”, Mr Cotter said.

Mr Cotter added that, despite Redfern denying the charge of murder, he said on more than one occasion at the scene: “This is my fault. I’m the person who is going to have to live with this."

Redfern was said to have consumed alcohol on the night in question prior to attacking Mrs Barnes, but while “there was enough alcohol for it be a factor,” Mr Cotter said he was not intoxicated.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Bourne told Redfern that his attack was a "dreadful thing to do a defenceless person".

He added: "Margaret Barnes was an elderly and frail lady, affected by intoxication.

"I accept you must have been very shocked to find a stranger in your bedroom, but your reactions surpassed anything that any reasonable person could imagine."