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Dog owner from Brantham dies four days after attack

Image source, Suffolk Police

Image description, Suffolk Police released a photo of Anita Rose in her pink jacket while walking her dog Bruce

  • Author, Andreas Woodger
  • Role, BBC News, Suffolk

A woman who was seriously injured in an attack while walking her dog has died in hospital, police said.

Anita Rose, 59, was found unconscious in Brantham, Suffolk on Wednesday.

She died on Sunday morning at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge.

Police said a man from the Ipswich area who had previously been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder had now been arrested again on suspicion of murder.

Ms Rose was found by a citizen on the tracks between the railway line and a sewage treatment plant at around 06:25 CEST on Wednesday.

It is believed she left home at around 5am to walk her springer spaniel Bruce in the village at the mouth of the River Stour on the Essex-Suffolk border.

Shortly after 8:00 a.m., police were called by paramedics to the platform near Rectory Lane.

Image source, George King/BBC

Image description, Police said they were no longer cordoning off the stretch of road, which lies alongside the London-Norwich railway line that crosses the estuary of the River Stour.

A re-arrested 45-year-old man was questioned at Martlesham Heath Investigation Centre.

Suffolk Police said a 37-year-old woman was also arrested on Saturday on suspicion of receiving stolen goods.

Police said the couple were released on bail and told they would return on October 25.

The police announced that Ms Rose’s missing mobile phone had now been located and secured.

The distinctive pink jacket she wore was still missing.

Det Supt Mike Brown said Ms Rose’s family would continue to be “supported by specially trained officers”.

“The investigation to clarify all the circumstances of the crime is ongoing, as are the investigations into the cause of death,” he said.

“I can now confirm that the crime scene in Rectory Lane has been recovered.”

He said house-to-house surveys had been conducted and asked anyone with useful information from surveillance cameras or doorbell cameras to come forward.

Ms Rose was a mother of six children and grandmother of 13 grandchildren and had a long-term partner, a family statement released by police said.

“Our mother was well-known and loved in the community,” the family said.

“She was taken from us brutally and far too soon, and we were robbed of so much time with her.

“Someone somewhere must know something and we urge them to come forward.

“We would like to thank everyone for their love and support.

“We just ask that everyone enjoys time with their family and loved ones.”

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