Ex-soldier ‘murdered gran, 75, and battered her husband with metal pole after bursting into their home during burglary’

A FORMER soldier allegedly murdered a great-grandmother and battered her husband with a metal pole during a burglary, a court heard. Rose Smith, 75, and Ronald Smith, 81, were watching TV in Finsbury Park, North London, when four men burst in and made demands for cash, it is said. The gran was found collapsed in a hallway at around 9.20pm on August 11 after a neighbour flagged down police. Rose was rushed to hospital but tragically could not be saved and was declared dead the following day. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! A post-mortem examination gave the preliminary cause of death as a stroke, which the prosecution alleges was caused by the incident. Jeffrey Dean Rose, 46, appeared at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court today charged with manslaughter, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and aggravated burglary with intent. The court was told a man armed with a metal police attacked Ronald, who “had to raise his arms to protect his face”. Prosecutor Grace Bussey said: “They were told to sit on the sofa and their phones were taken off them. “When Mrs Smith left the living room she collapsed in the hallway.” Suzanne John, defending, said dad-of-two Jeffrey Rose was a private investigator from 2012 to 2016. Most read in The Sun She told the court he then became a soldier but was discharged due to the Covid pandemic and instead became a bin man. The defendant was remanded in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on September 22. In a statement, Rose’s family said: “This is the most devastating loss our family could ever have imagined. “Rose was a truly wonderful, outgoing woman who was loved by so many people. “She loved bingo, going to cafes with her friends and, above all, spending time with her family. “She treasured the time she spent with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchild. “She was the life and soul of every party. She had a wonderful personality, a big heart and a way of bringing laughter and happiness wherever she went. “We want people to remember Rose for the person she truly was — loving, fun, kind, sociable and full of life.”