Tragic final moments of grandmother entering what she believed was B&B, before being beaten to death

Home CCTV footage captured the tragic final moments of a grandmother entering a property she believed was her B&B that night, before she was beaten to death by the homeowner.

The last moments before Margaret Barnes, 71, was murdered by David Redfern, 46, have been revealed, showing the grandmother dragging her suitcase up to his seafront home in Barmouth, North Wales, on July 11 last year.

The short clip shows Mrs Barnes hauling her small suitcase up the drive as she places her black handbag on a table outside of the door, before entering the property at around 10:22pm.

This comes following Redfern’s sentencing today at Caernarfon Crown Court. 

Judge Mr Justice Bourne sentenced him to a minimum term in prison of 14 years, and the time spent on remand will be deducted to the time he will serve – making a net minimum term of 13 years and 127 days.

However, the judge cautioned Redfern that the ‘minimum term is not a fixed term,’ adding that if and when he is released, he will be ‘subject to license for life.’

Redfern dragged Margaret Barnes, 71, downstairs by her feet after he found her asleep in a bed at his seafront home, after the 21-stone homeowner was left furious when he discovered Mrs Barnes had mistook his home for a B&B.

David Redfern, 46, dragged 71-year-old Margaret Barnes downstairs by her feet after he found her asleep in a bed at his seafront home in Barmouth, North Wales, on July 11 last year

He called Mrs Barnes (pictured) a ‘thieving c***’ before pulling her by her ankles out of his bed and down the stairs, ‘stamped’ on her and threw her suitcase on to the street

Ms Barnes ended up mistakenly entering Belmont House, Redfern’s seaside property in Barmouth  

He found her undressed, unpacked and in one of the bedrooms, before calling her a ‘thieving c**t’ and ‘scumbag’ as he ‘stamped’ on her and threw her onto the street, Caernarfon Crown Court was told.

Tragically, Mrs Barnes, who had actually been intending to stay at the Wavecrest B&B just a few doors down from the property, died in the street from catastrophic injuries, including three broken ribs, that resembled a ‘high-speed car crash’.

During the opening the sentencing this afternoon, Mr Bourne said that Redfern had the intention to cause ‘really serious bodily harm rather than to kill’ Mrs Barnes. 

The judge said there were ‘sudden and bizarre’ circumstances. Redfern had been ‘astonished’ to find Mrs Barnes in his bed, holding a drink in her hand, possessions scattered around, with a smell of cigarette smoke. 

Mr Bourne said: ‘Your first reaction was entirely appropriate. You asked her what she was doing in your home, you’ve said her replies were contradictory or confused.

‘At 10.52pm you telephoned the police, told them calmly about the situation and asked them to send someone to remove Mrs Barnes. But after that things went terribly wrong.

‘You rejoined your partner and Mrs Barnes in the bedroom. There was some sort of confrontation. When told that the police had been called, you’ve said Mrs Barnes responded aggressively and accused your partner of stealing her handbag and lunged towards her.

‘It seems this was the trigger for what happened next.’ The kick or stamp must have been inflicted with ‘considerable force..’

Redfern was found guilty of her murder following a three-week trial, where the jury took 14 hours and 30 minutes to convict him of murder.

Prior to the incident, Redfern had drunk six or seven pints and a gin and tonic during a night out with his partner, before returning home and falling asleep while watching Antiques Roadshow.

But when they headed to bed at around 11pm, they found their bedroom door locked. 

He found the spare key and unlocked it to see semi-naked Mrs Barnes in their bed, drinking gin, her suitcase open, clothes strewn around with her false teeth on a side table.

It was previously heard how seven-and-a-half stone Mrs Barnes ‘simply mistook’ his large five-storey seaside home – called Belmont House – for her hotel after travelling more than 100 miles from Birmingham to the seaside resort for a £95-a-night break.

The 71-year-old had booked to stay in the Wavecrest B&B on Marine Parade – a few doors down from Redfern’s property

The retired factory worker had purchased a bottle of gin on a seaside evening stroll before seeking out her B&B.

The large house had formerly been a hotel before being bought for £449,000 to be renovated by Redfern and his partner who moved from the Essex area. 

But IT worker Redfern found the 71-year-old mistakenly in his home and dragged her downstairs by her feet. 

He then kicked or stamped on her and threw her suitcase on to the street.

Redfern said in his evidence: ‘There was a lady lying in our bed, drinking and smoking.

‘There was a black travel case open on the floor, clothes hanging up and strewn around the room.’

The court heard shocked partner Nicola Learoyd-Lewis saw Mrs Barnes and said: ‘Who the hell are you? What are you doing in our bedroom?’

Mrs Barnes is said to have replied: ‘This is my room and I’m meant to be here’.

Mrs Barnes suffered said it led to ‘catastrophic’ injuries to her liver, and broke a number of ribs.

The injuries’ she sustained were compared to that of a high-speed car crash, according to a pathologist. 

Prior to the incident, Redfern had drunk six or seven pints and a gin and tonic during a night out with his partner

David Redfern (pictured) was furious when he saw Margaret Barnes, 71, had undressed, unpacked and climbed into a bed at his house in Barmouth, North Wales, a court heard 

Tragically, Mrs Barnes subsequently fell unconscious and went into cardiac arrest as neighbours tried to resuscitate her, but she died at the scene from ‘traumatic injuries’. 

No ambulance was unfortunately able to attend the scene, the court heard today. 

But when a neighbour requested that an ambulance was called, it was heard that Redfern ‘refused.’ 

It was found that Mrs Barnes died from ‘assault’ of the ‘kick or stamp’.

A post-mortem examination found she had a traumatic liver injury, and was bleeding extensively internally.

A Home Office pathologist Dr Brian Rodgers said caused ‘deep tearing’ of her liver, broken ribs and internal bleeding.

The damage to the liver ‘wasn’t survivable,’ Dr Rodgers said in evidence.

Redfern’s ‘appalling’ comments were also caught on a Hive camera recording at his front door, where he said: ‘There’s nothing nothing wrong with her and all she is is p***ed.’

He called Mrs Barnes a ‘scumbag.’ 

In heartbreaking impact statements, Mrs Barnes’ family called her a ‘much loved mother and grandmother.’

The court heard Mrs Barnes loved puzzles, needlework and dancing and had travelled to China and Cape Verde with husband Raymond.

Daughter Natalie Barnes read a victim impact statement to court describing her mum as a person who ‘loved the little things in life.’

Redfern’s ‘appalling’ comments were also caught on a Hive camera recording at his front door, where he said: ‘There’s nothing nothing wrong with her and all she is is p***ed.’ He called Mrs Barnes a ‘scumbag’ 

Mrs Barnes had been booked into the Wavecrest B’n’B (pictured) which was several doors down on Marine Parade

She said: ‘When my mum called out for my dad and brother they were unable to save her.

‘As a family we will never get over what has happened. My mum didn’t need to die and we don’t understand why she had to.’

Speaking about the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Mark Pierce said: ‘We welcome today’s life sentence for David Redfern for the brutal murder of Margaret Barnes.

‘During a two-week trial Redfern showed no remorse, attempted to blame Margaret for his actions and subjected her family to the trauma of a two-week trial where details of the event were explored in graphic detail. How a 21 stone, 6’1’ man could have inflicted such catastrophic injuries on a frail, 71-year-old lady, 25 years his senior, is beyond the comprehension of any reasonable person.

‘David Redfern is a cowardly, vicious bully and will now spend at least 14 years behind bars where he can reflect on what he has done.

‘In stark contrast, Margaret’s family have displayed tremendous courage and dignity throughout the investigation and during the court proceedings. They can now start to re-build their lives as they begin to move forward.’

Margaret’s family added: ‘Margaret, who was a much-loved wife, mother and grandmother has now been gone for 8 months. As a family it has been the hardest time of our lives. It has been especially difficult for Margaret’s husband who had been her partner for 56 years.

‘We now have some sort of closure on what has happened however no length of sentence will ever fill the void that Margaret has left behind. As a family we would like to thank the police their hard work in putting the case together. We would also like to thank Katherine and Arwyn the Family Liaison Officers for their support, the Jury for their time and also KC Mike Jones and his prosecution team.’