A farmer who shot dead a sixteen-year-old burglar who broke into his property ‘felt no remorse’ when he visited his grave. Tony Martin...
A farmer who shot dead a sixteen-year-old burglar who broke into his property ‘felt no remorse’ when he visited his grave.
Tony Martin was jailed for three years after killing Fred Barras with an illegal gun at his Norfolk farmhouse in 1999, in an incident which caused a national debate over homeowners’ rights.
His conviction for murder continues to divide people twenty years on and provokes heated debate on how far people should be able to go to protect themselves and their property.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the 74-year-old described how he stands by what he did on the night, claiming to be acting in self-defence and believes he does not ‘have to excuse himself for anything’ and believes the law still falls short in protecting householders defending their homes.
On ‘that fateful night’ on the 20th August 1999, Brendan Fearon, 29, and Fred Barras travelled from Newark in Nottinghamshire to raid the home, aptly named Bleak House in Norfolk, where Martin stored antiques.
Martin awoke to hear noises coming from downstairs and came down from an upstairs bedroom
Realising he had intruders, he opened fire with an illegal shotgun into the darkness, shooting Barras in the back and injuring Fearon, who managed to make a getaway.
Barras died at the scene.
He has since visited Barras’s grave out of 'curiosity'.
‘I was up in Newark at the Midlands Show and there is a huge cemetery there. Well, Mr Barras is there, buried up the far end. It’s quite hard to find.
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