A look back at the life of notorious Norfolk farmer Tony Martin, who shot and killed 16-year-old burglar in 1999
After a life filled with dramatic legal proceedings, controversial debates and far-fetched theories, farmer Tony Martin has died at the age of 80.
The farmer served three years in prison after shooting 16-year-old burglar Fred Barras dead at his home in Emneth Hungate in 1999.
He was initially found guilty of murder, but this was reduced to manslaughter on appeal and after widespread public backlash.
The case provoked a national debate about the measures homeowners can take to defend their property.
We take a look back through the Lynn News archives at some of the key points from Martin’s life.
AUGUST 1999
Martin was living alone at his farmhouse, nicknamed Bleak House, when he caught Brendan Fearon, then 29, and Barras, 16, inside.
He claimed that prior to this, he had been burgled on a number of occasions, with thousands of pounds worth of belongings stolen.
He fired his shotgun three times towards the intruders, killing Barras, who had already had a track record of criminal offences. Fearon was seriously injured.
After being charged and facing a trial, Martin was found guilty of murder by a jury and sentenced to life imprisonment.
2001-2003
After an appeal, Martin has his murder conviction reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, owing to a series of mental health issues.
Despite having a number of parole applications rejected, he was eventually released three years into a five-year sentence due to good behaviour in prison.
Around this time, Fearon attempted to sue Martin for loss of earnings due to the injuries he sustained in the shooting.
However, the claim was later dropped.
JANUARY 2011
Former court reporter Maureen Huggins spent 55 years behind the press bench - and in 2011, she told the Lynn News about how Martin’s trial was her most memorable.
“Everyone thought he was going to be found not guilty of murder. I got the shock of my life when he was found guilty,” she said.
She added: “The most extraordinary day was one day when he was on bail and supposed to be hidden in a safe house.
“I was in court and my colleague rushed into the court and said, ‘Tony Martin’s outside’. And there he was, wearing his trademark floppy, farmer’s hat, just wandering around the court. I couldn’t believe it.
“He wasn’t supposed to be seen in public until the case started – least of all at the court. It turned out that he thought that his safe house had been discovered so he had come to court to be asked to be locked up for his own safety!”
MAY 2013
Martin was voluntarily assessed in hospital as a “precaution” after confronting an intruder on his property.
Fourteen years after the 1999 killing, he had found another person trying to steal car batteries from one of his outbuildings. The man fled, and Martin opted not to give chase as he had “lost faith” in the legal system.
But days later, he walked into Wisbech’s police station after telling friends he was “worried about what he might do”.
He was believed to have undergone a mental health assessment at Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Close friend Malcolm Starr said: “He wanted the police to keep him safe, so he wasn’t put in a position where he had to defend himself.
“One person would be scared of being burgled, but he is absolutely terrified. He is obsessed with it. He is so conscious of it happening again.”
JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2016
Martin was arrested on New Year’s Eve and bailed over an allegation of possessing an illegal firearm.
Officers had spent much of the day searching his property as part of what they say was a “planned operation.”
However, by late February, their investigation determined that the firearm seized in the raid was not viable at the time.
It was originally thought to be an air weapon, but was in a poor enough condition that allegations against Martin could be dropped.
Around this time, Martin also spoke out about illegal firearms in the country following a shooting in an Essex care home.
NOVEMBER 2018
The infamous 1999 case was recreated for television, with ‘The Interrogation of Tony Martin’ airing on Channel 4 and starring Steve Pemberton in the title role.
It was watched by millions across the country.
Every word in the hour-long drama, created by Story Films, was taken verbatim from police interviews or witness statements.
Martin himself even made an appearance in the last five minutes of the programme, filmed at his former home that summer, which he said he had not been inside since the incident.
SEPTEMBER 2019
One year later, a far-fetched talk on Martin’s notorious case promised to be “explosive” and force those present to challenge what was said by police at the time.
The talk, entitled ‘Tony Martin: Target of Police Conspiracy’, was to be delivered by campaigner Brian Pead.
Chris Schooling, a fellow campaigner, said: “Everyone we have spoken to and explained the evidence we have found which shows how corrupt the case was against Tony Martin have been shocked.
“We have unearthed so much new evidence and have gone through hundreds of documents and found so many things that don’t add up including evidence that shows Tony Martin could not have shot Fred Barras and Brendon Fearon that night.”
Mr Schooling said the aim was to garner enough public support to force the re-opening of the case and quash Martin’s manslaughter conviction.
However, there has never actually been any viable suggestion that Martin did not carry out the shooting.
JANUARY 2020
Just months before the first Covid lockdown, Mr Pead took his crusade to overturn Martin’s guilty verdict on tour with the publication of a new book.
The book had the same title as the 2019 talk.
He claimed it contained fresh and compelling new evidence which he uncovered in more than six years of researching the famous murder trial.
The 800-page book cost £20 to purchase.
FEBRUARY 2025
Martin died in the QEH last Sunday after suffering a stroke in December.
Looking back on his life, his friend Mr Starr told the PA news agency: “I think his honesty got him incarcerated because he couldn’t lie.
“I don’t think you can predict how you’d act if someone came into your property.”
