Prolific burglar, 20, who battered former actress and model, 77, to death when she caught him raiding her home is jailed for life
- Thug Daniel Barnett savagely murdered Jean Farrar in home invasion attack
- The judge said he had never before seen such horrific injuries
- The 77-year-old victim appeared with Roger Moore in The Saint
- Family paid tribute to 'the kindest and most gentle person we ever knew'
By SAM WEBB PUBLISHED: 12:58 GMT, 1 July 2013 | UPDATED: 13:26 GMT, 1 July 2013
A prolific burglar who battered to death an elderly former actress and model when she caught him breaking into her home was jailed for at least 32 years today.Career criminal Daniel Barnett, 20, repeatedly kicked and stamped on 77-year-old Jean Farrar to silence her shouts and screams. Mrs Farrar, of Brentford, west London, was an ex-Royal Family seamstress under Hardy Amies and went on to star alongside Roger Moore in The Saint and also acted as a stand-in for Hayley Mills. By the time of her death she was clinically blind and had become a hoarder, filling her home with so much junk she had to sleep downstairs.
Victim: Jean Farrar was murdered in her home by burglar Daniel Barnett during a break-in at her Brentford home
Beauty: Jean was a model working throughout the 1960's and once appeared in The Saint alongside Roger Moore
She was known to friends and neighbours as an eccentric and was often seen walking with the aid of a ladies’ bike. Barnett targeted her house just hours after raiding a block of sheltered flats to steal a TV and DVD player.
The ‘barbaric’ attack in the pensioner’s brightly-lit hallway was witnessed by a passer-by walking along the street. Through the plate glass windows of the front door, Barnett was seen to jump up and down on the body of the pensioner until her moans of pain stopped.
Murderer: Daniel Barnett was called an 'aggressive, bad-tempered, cowardly young man' by the judge
The prolonged assault left her virtually unrecognisable, even to family members. Judge John Bevan QC said that he had never previously heard of a victim suffering such horrific ‘pan-facial fractures’ and a burst eyeball. Police arrived within minutes and arrested Barnett nearby with the victim’s blood all over his hands, trousers and trainers. Barnett claimed he found Mrs Farrar’s injured body after climbing into the house through an open sash window to carry out a burglary.
He told detectives: ‘Open window, easy target. That’s it. 'I don’t know what the person who went in before me done. I didn’t assault anyone.’ During an Old Bailey trial Barnett, who picked up his first conviction aged 15, insisted a ‘mystery man’ must have responsible for the killing. But he was convicted of murder after just an hour’s deliberation by jurors. The judge sentenced him to custody for life with a minimum of 32 years before parole.
He said: ‘The victim was a frail 77 year-old woman and was entitled to be given the respect due to the elderly in society. ‘You argued with her, brought her to the ground and kicked and stamped on her face in a gratuitous, vicious and cowardly attack on a totally defenceless victim and then continued investigating whether there was anything worth stealing before returning to finish her off with another kicking and stamping.
‘I have seen some unpleasant injuries in my lifetime but pan facial fractures and a burst eyeball are new to me. That involved an intent to kill. ‘You were convicted on overwhelming evidence. You are an aggressive, bad-tempered, cowardly young man who has no respect for his elders and in this case much betters. ‘A crime of this awfulness demands severe punishment.’ The court heard passer-by Michael Poyser had heard loud shouting and crashing from Mrs Farrar’s home as he walked home in the early hours of last October 25.‘He could see two figures in the hallway through the frosted glass panels,’ said prosecutor Peter Wright QC.
Her family said: 'We can only hope that in her dying moments she was comforted by the immense love we had for her and all of the moments that she gave us'
‘He saw the man throw the woman against the walls of the hallway several times. The woman was screaming in pain. ‘The man then threw the woman against the front door and she fell to the floor. ‘As Mr Poyser stood watching the events he saw the woman begin jumping on the woman and kicking her repeatedly until the screaming stopped.’ After seeing the attacker run upstairs, Mr Poyser dialled 999 before moving further down the road to await the police. Officers arrived to find Barnett still inside the front room. He then ran upstairs again and escaped out of the bathroom window, leaving his bloody palmprint on the glass. Minutes later he was seen in a neighbour’s back garden clambering over the wall. He was arrested nearby a short time later.
Loving: Mrs Farrar's family described her as 'the kindest and most gentle person we ever knew'
His bloodstained sweatshirt, Mrs Farrar’s keyring and part of Barnett’s white BlackBerry phone were also found in separate places nearby. Barnett’s trainers were spattered with blood and had hairs sticking them. Mrs Farrar, who was pronounced dead at the scene, had suffered fractures to her face and skull. Barnett picked up his first conviction in 2007 for possessing cannabis, with further assault and public order offences following. In addition to a string of burglaries, he also has convictions for pulling an airgun on a stranger and punching a shopkeeper in the face during robberies.
At first he denied going to Mrs Farrar’s home but later admitted he planned to burgle the house at around 2am. He claimed he went over to her and touched her ‘to see if he could wake her up’. But the prosecutor told the court: ‘We say only one man entered the house, the one covered in Jean Farrar’s blood.’ Mr Wright added: ‘Mrs Farrar disturbed him and she had paid for it with her life.
‘In the hallway he subjected her to a most ferocious attack. This was an attack that was sustained and brutal and involved delivering a series of heavy blows to an elderly lady in her own home. ‘It was designed to silence her and cause her at least really serious bodily harm if not death.’
Barnett, from Brentford, denied murder.The judge took the unusual step of reading out in full the victim impact statement from Mrs Farrar’s son Jamie because he was sure father-of-one Barnett would not bother to read it. It said: 'Our family’s sense of pain and horror over losing my mother, Jean, in such a violent and brutal way is indescribable.'Over the course of this trial we’ve heard the excruciating details of my mum’s death, but we have heard almost nothing about her extraordinary life.
Mrs Farrar (pictured) was a stand-in for Hayley Mills, who found fame as a child actress after appearing in a number of Disney films
'Jean loved life and would share this love with all those she talked to.'Mr Farrar said what was most difficult to bear was 'that my mum, the kindest and most gentle person we ever knew, felt fear and pain in her last moments of life all because of the actions of Daniel Barnett.'We can only hope that in her dying moments she was comforted by the immense love we had for her and all of the moments that she gave us,' he added.
'We were not even offered the dignity of a peaceful good-bye as her body was so brutally mutilated we were unable to see her be laid out to rest.'He added: 'Daniel Barnett did not need to enter my mother’s house that night. He chose to.'Upon finding my mum at home, he easily could have left. Instead he chose to beat her and throw her against the wall.
'Daniel Barnett has proven himself to be a coward of the worst kind.
'He attacked a frail, clinically blind, vulnerable 77-year old woman in her own home'
'And when she screamed in pain, he chose to kick her, stamp on her, and jump on her head until she was unable to scream anymore.'As my mother lay dying alone in her hallway, he left her and attempted to make his own escape to freedom and presumably a return to normal life with his family.'The attack that Daniel Barnett carried out on my mum was barbaric, and he has not displayed any signs of remorse or taken any responsibility since.'Instead he has made the situation even more agonising by dragging us through eight months of waiting for this trial to start and the trial itself, where we have heard the horrific details of my mother’s last moments of life.'Daniel Barnett has proven himself to be a coward of the worst kind. He attacked a frail, clinically blind, vulnerable 77-year old woman in her own home.'A woman who had no chance of defending herself. He showed her no mercy. He showed her no compassion. Instead of accepting responsibility, he has repeatedly lied and changed his story.'Judge Bevan, speaking to Barnett, added: 'Whether you will change and make some effort to repent for what you have done over the years to come, I don’t know. A crime of this awfulness inevitably demands severe punishment.'
A prolific burglar who battered to death an elderly former actress and model when she caught him breaking into her home was jailed for at least 32 years today.Career criminal Daniel Barnett, 20, repeatedly kicked and stamped on 77-year-old Jean Farrar to silence her shouts and screams. Mrs Farrar, of Brentford, west London, was an ex-Royal Family seamstress under Hardy Amies and went on to star alongside Roger Moore in The Saint and also acted as a stand-in for Hayley Mills. By the time of her death she was clinically blind and had become a hoarder, filling her home with so much junk she had to sleep downstairs.
Victim: Jean Farrar was murdered in her home by burglar Daniel Barnett during a break-in at her Brentford home
Beauty: Jean was a model working throughout the 1960's and once appeared in The Saint alongside Roger Moore
She was known to friends and neighbours as an eccentric and was often seen walking with the aid of a ladies’ bike. Barnett targeted her house just hours after raiding a block of sheltered flats to steal a TV and DVD player.
The ‘barbaric’ attack in the pensioner’s brightly-lit hallway was witnessed by a passer-by walking along the street. Through the plate glass windows of the front door, Barnett was seen to jump up and down on the body of the pensioner until her moans of pain stopped.
Murderer: Daniel Barnett was called an 'aggressive, bad-tempered, cowardly young man' by the judge
The prolonged assault left her virtually unrecognisable, even to family members. Judge John Bevan QC said that he had never previously heard of a victim suffering such horrific ‘pan-facial fractures’ and a burst eyeball. Police arrived within minutes and arrested Barnett nearby with the victim’s blood all over his hands, trousers and trainers. Barnett claimed he found Mrs Farrar’s injured body after climbing into the house through an open sash window to carry out a burglary.
He told detectives: ‘Open window, easy target. That’s it. 'I don’t know what the person who went in before me done. I didn’t assault anyone.’ During an Old Bailey trial Barnett, who picked up his first conviction aged 15, insisted a ‘mystery man’ must have responsible for the killing. But he was convicted of murder after just an hour’s deliberation by jurors. The judge sentenced him to custody for life with a minimum of 32 years before parole.
He said: ‘The victim was a frail 77 year-old woman and was entitled to be given the respect due to the elderly in society. ‘You argued with her, brought her to the ground and kicked and stamped on her face in a gratuitous, vicious and cowardly attack on a totally defenceless victim and then continued investigating whether there was anything worth stealing before returning to finish her off with another kicking and stamping.
‘I have seen some unpleasant injuries in my lifetime but pan facial fractures and a burst eyeball are new to me. That involved an intent to kill. ‘You were convicted on overwhelming evidence. You are an aggressive, bad-tempered, cowardly young man who has no respect for his elders and in this case much betters. ‘A crime of this awfulness demands severe punishment.’ The court heard passer-by Michael Poyser had heard loud shouting and crashing from Mrs Farrar’s home as he walked home in the early hours of last October 25.‘He could see two figures in the hallway through the frosted glass panels,’ said prosecutor Peter Wright QC.
Her family said: 'We can only hope that in her dying moments she was comforted by the immense love we had for her and all of the moments that she gave us'
‘He saw the man throw the woman against the walls of the hallway several times. The woman was screaming in pain. ‘The man then threw the woman against the front door and she fell to the floor. ‘As Mr Poyser stood watching the events he saw the woman begin jumping on the woman and kicking her repeatedly until the screaming stopped.’ After seeing the attacker run upstairs, Mr Poyser dialled 999 before moving further down the road to await the police. Officers arrived to find Barnett still inside the front room. He then ran upstairs again and escaped out of the bathroom window, leaving his bloody palmprint on the glass. Minutes later he was seen in a neighbour’s back garden clambering over the wall. He was arrested nearby a short time later.
Loving: Mrs Farrar's family described her as 'the kindest and most gentle person we ever knew'
His bloodstained sweatshirt, Mrs Farrar’s keyring and part of Barnett’s white BlackBerry phone were also found in separate places nearby. Barnett’s trainers were spattered with blood and had hairs sticking them. Mrs Farrar, who was pronounced dead at the scene, had suffered fractures to her face and skull. Barnett picked up his first conviction in 2007 for possessing cannabis, with further assault and public order offences following. In addition to a string of burglaries, he also has convictions for pulling an airgun on a stranger and punching a shopkeeper in the face during robberies.
At first he denied going to Mrs Farrar’s home but later admitted he planned to burgle the house at around 2am. He claimed he went over to her and touched her ‘to see if he could wake her up’. But the prosecutor told the court: ‘We say only one man entered the house, the one covered in Jean Farrar’s blood.’ Mr Wright added: ‘Mrs Farrar disturbed him and she had paid for it with her life.
‘In the hallway he subjected her to a most ferocious attack. This was an attack that was sustained and brutal and involved delivering a series of heavy blows to an elderly lady in her own home. ‘It was designed to silence her and cause her at least really serious bodily harm if not death.’
Barnett, from Brentford, denied murder.The judge took the unusual step of reading out in full the victim impact statement from Mrs Farrar’s son Jamie because he was sure father-of-one Barnett would not bother to read it. It said: 'Our family’s sense of pain and horror over losing my mother, Jean, in such a violent and brutal way is indescribable.'Over the course of this trial we’ve heard the excruciating details of my mum’s death, but we have heard almost nothing about her extraordinary life.
Mrs Farrar (pictured) was a stand-in for Hayley Mills, who found fame as a child actress after appearing in a number of Disney films
'Jean loved life and would share this love with all those she talked to.'Mr Farrar said what was most difficult to bear was 'that my mum, the kindest and most gentle person we ever knew, felt fear and pain in her last moments of life all because of the actions of Daniel Barnett.'We can only hope that in her dying moments she was comforted by the immense love we had for her and all of the moments that she gave us,' he added.
'We were not even offered the dignity of a peaceful good-bye as her body was so brutally mutilated we were unable to see her be laid out to rest.'He added: 'Daniel Barnett did not need to enter my mother’s house that night. He chose to.'Upon finding my mum at home, he easily could have left. Instead he chose to beat her and throw her against the wall.
'Daniel Barnett has proven himself to be a coward of the worst kind.
'He attacked a frail, clinically blind, vulnerable 77-year old woman in her own home'
'And when she screamed in pain, he chose to kick her, stamp on her, and jump on her head until she was unable to scream anymore.'As my mother lay dying alone in her hallway, he left her and attempted to make his own escape to freedom and presumably a return to normal life with his family.'The attack that Daniel Barnett carried out on my mum was barbaric, and he has not displayed any signs of remorse or taken any responsibility since.'Instead he has made the situation even more agonising by dragging us through eight months of waiting for this trial to start and the trial itself, where we have heard the horrific details of my mother’s last moments of life.'Daniel Barnett has proven himself to be a coward of the worst kind. He attacked a frail, clinically blind, vulnerable 77-year old woman in her own home.'A woman who had no chance of defending herself. He showed her no mercy. He showed her no compassion. Instead of accepting responsibility, he has repeatedly lied and changed his story.'Judge Bevan, speaking to Barnett, added: 'Whether you will change and make some effort to repent for what you have done over the years to come, I don’t know. A crime of this awfulness inevitably demands severe punishment.'
