At about 5am on Wednesday 24 July, Anita Rose pulled on her bright pink waterproof jacket and left her home in the village of Brantham, Suffolk, to take her springer spaniel, Bruce, for a walk. As she did each morning, the 57-year-old turned on to a loop leading through fields near the shoreline of the Stour estuary.
Ninety minutes later, at 6.25am, a fellow dog walker found Rose lying unconscious on the path with serious head injuries. She was taken to hospital but died four days later, on 28 July, when Suffolk constabulary’s investigation became a murder inquiry.
It was an immense tragedy for Rose’s partner, six children and 13 grandchildren, and a horrifying crime for her neighbours – but it was not allowed to remain with them.
Just as with the fictitious claims made about the perpetrator of the Southport stabbings, Rose’s death has been exploited by malign activists seeking to stir up racist hatred by spreading disinformation.
“It’s completely disrespectful to Anita’s family,” said Mal Bridgeman, chair of the parish council, as the frightened, close-knit village reeled from Rose’s murder. “A human being lost her life. And people are trying to use that situation to their own ends, with absolutely no grounds for it. It’s hugely disrespectful to her partner, her children and her grandchildren.”
The online lies began after Suffolk constabulary made the first arrests, days after Rose’s killing. On 27 July, a 45-year-old man from Ipswich was arrested on suspicion of murder alongside a 37-year-old woman from Ipswich, who was held on suspicion of handling stolen goods. A Brantham man in his 20s was later arrested on suspicion of murder. All three were released without charge, and have been bailed until October.
On 30 July, the day after the Southport attack, the first claims appeared on X that the arrested 45-year-old and 37-year-old were Somalian. The rumour was repeated by other anonymous accounts, and amplified by influential anti-immigration accounts.
One tweet on 2 August falsely claimed that “two Somali immigrants who followed her attacked Anita to rob her” – to date it has been seen by 2.5 million people. The untruth was then referenced by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and by the rightwing former actor Laurence Fox.
Amid the dangerously febrile climate of last week’s unrest, it led Suffolk constabulary to take the highly unusual step of publicly rebutting the false rumours, stating that the man and woman were not Somalian. “We typically wouldn’t comment on a nationality and the only reason we have in this instance is because it’s a dangerous piece of misinformation,” a spokesperson said.
“It’s just nonsense,” said Bridgeman. “Honestly, I don’t think it’s got much traction here – it just doesn’t register. I think people are more concerned about Anita herself, her family – and also themselves, because [some are thinking] if it was an hour later, it could be them walking their dog.”
The police have spoken to more than 600 people and say they have identified new potential witnesses, while continuing to appeal for others. But the fact that, more than two weeks on, no one is in custody is causing understandable anxiety, Bridgeman said.
Many local people are now walking their dogs in small groups rather than alone, he said. “But I’ve also noticed a number of people have changed their routes, so they’re walking up and down the road rather than through the beautiful countryside.”
The Rev Chris Willis, vicar of the village church of St Michael’s, said he had spent some time with Rose’s family. “They’re lovely people, very close, and they just don’t deserve to be going through what they’re going through.”
As for those who have tried to weaponise the tragedy, he said: “The best thing to do is to give them no credence.
“We are a very, very tight community, who are together in shock. And my view is there’s no willingness to allow people with wrong motives to affect [the village’s attempts] to pull together and support one another. Anyone who wants to inflame that, I don’t think the community will have any time for them whatsoever.”
