David Barraclough Pleads Guilty to Murder of Wife Carolann After Freezer Discovery

A 45-year-old man has admitted to killing his wife, whose body was discovered in a freezer at the couple's West Yorkshire residence. David Barraclough entered a guilty plea on October 6 at Leeds Crown Court, the day he had been scheduled to stand trial for the murder of Carolann Barraclough, 37. The mother of three's remains were located inside a freezer at the home in Wakefield on March 5, after police were called over a safety concern. Barraclough had previously denied the charge but altered his plea to guilty during the hearing. A sentencing date is expected to be fixed on October 7. His Honour Judge Stubbs told Barraclough that he would see him again the following morning, though a sentence was unlikely to be handed down then, and that any basis would be addressed before a date was set. YorkshireLive reports that Ms Barraclough's family has also recently suffered the loss of her father, Dave Rowley, last month. In a statement, the bereaved family said that after the unimaginable loss of Carolann seven months earlier, they were once again in turmoil following the devastating death of Carolann's father, Dave. The family said that after losing Caz, as Carolann was known, they had been under tremendous strain while waiting for the trial, and that Dave, who had already been experiencing health problems, died on September 17 without seeing justice. A fundraiser set up to help with remaining funeral expenses described the family's hardship. Its organizers wrote that they were asking for assistance during an extremely difficult and heartbreaking period, noting that the family had endured more sorrow than anyone should face. They said that earlier this year the family lost their cherished daughter, sister and mother, Carolann, who was violently taken from them, and that relatives were still struggling to accept that loss. Then they were hit by another devastating blow: Carolann's father, a beloved husband, father and grandfather, died suddenly from a heart attack. He had been seen at a hospital earlier that day and sent home, but hours later his family had to take him back to the hospital, where he passed away.