Farmer Tony Martin, who shot burglar dead in 1999, dies aged 80

Farmer Tony Martin, who shot dead a burglar in 1999, has died aged 80, his friend has said.

Martin was initially convicted of murdering 16-year-old Fred Barras but this was reduced to manslaughter on appeal.

He was living alone at his farmhouse in Emneth Hungate, Norfolk, which was nicknamed Bleak House, when he caught Brendon Fearon, then 29, and Barras inside.

He fired his pump-action shotgun three times towards the intruders, killing Barras and injuring Fearon.

Martin's close friend Malcolm Starr told Sky News he died in hospital after suffering a stroke.

"Since the incident, it affected him badly. He's at peace at last - he's in a better place. He lost his mother and two aunts who he was close to," he said.

"He was an eccentric. He once turned up at my office on a tractor wearing a red beret. He just left his farm and thought he'd visit. A month later, we heard someone was shot near him. I said 'I hope it's not Tony'.

"Now I realise why he couldn't communicate with people - when it was taken to appeal, he was found to have Asperger's. I don't think he's capable of lying. Someone that lied would give the police the wrong story.

"I would say on his behalf it surely really upset him, but he didn't have any remorse. They invaded his privacy.

"He had so much turmoil and he never recovered from it. I think he deserves some good publicity. He stuck to his guns and didn't apologise."

Martin was initially jailed for nine years in 2000 but released three years later following the appeal.

He never returned to live in his old home.

His case provoked a national debate about how far people should be allowed to go to defend their homes and he became a cause celebre for campaigners.

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In 2018, Martin backed pensioner Richard Osborn-Brooks after he stabbed burglar Henry Vincent to death at his home in Hither Green, southeast London.

Mr Osborn-Brooks faced no police action and a coroner later ruled Mr Vincent was lawfully killed.

(c) Sky News 2025: Farmer Tony Martin, who shot burglar dead in 1999, dies aged 80