A man has denied the murder of a woman who was found unconscious after taking her dog for a walk.
Mother-of-six Anita Rose left her house to take her springer spaniel, Bruce, for a walk at about 5am on July 24 last year.
The 57-year-old was found unconscious with a serious head injury near Rectory Lane in Brantham, Suffolk, at about 6.25am that day, and died four days later.
Roy Barclay, of no fixed address, has been charged with her murder, said to have happened on July 28.
The 55-year-old pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder when he appeared before Ipswich Crown Court on Friday, via prison video-link.
Judge Martyn Levett remanded him in custody until a trial at the same court from May 27 this year.
He set a further case management hearing for February 28.
Suffolk Police said a male cyclist called an ambulance after he found Ms Rose lying unconscious on a track road near the sewage works and railway line off Rectory Lane.
Ms Rose was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, having sustained a serious head injury and facial injuries, where she died four days later on July 28.
The dog was not harmed in the incident.
