Inmate 'unhappy' with prison move before death

David Richards died in HMP Lowdham Grange on 13 March 2023

The mother of one of three people who died in a prison in the space of a month says she is "disgusted that three men were able to harm themselves in such a short space of time".

David Richards, who had run male stripping company Dreamboys, was found unresponsive in his cell at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire on 13 March 2023.

The 42-year-old had been transferred to the Category B prison on 24 February that year after receiving threats in another jail, an inquest heard, and was the second of three men to die that March.

Susan Braybrook said her son was "very unhappy" about being moved to a prison without a vulnerable prisoner unit (VPU).

'Vulnerable' man

An inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court on Tuesday heard Richards had been a successful businessman, having given up boxing to focus on his career as a singer and stripper.

In her statement, Ms Braybrook said her son sold Dreamboys in 2019, then encountered difficulties the following year when the Covid pandemic closed down live entertainment.

She said her son was "very driven" but "also vulnerable, which was masked by his confident persona".

In January 2023, Richards was jailed for the attempted murder of his wife.

Ms Braybrook told the court she "did not condone" his offence and was too upset to attend his trial, but kept in daily contact with him while he was in prison in Chelmsford, where he had been on remand since April 2022 and volunteered as a trained listener and in the laundry department.

She said he had been receiving threats, which meant he was moved from the general prison to the VPU before being transferred.

"David took the threats very seriously," her statement said.

"[He] was very anxious about moving because of the ongoing threat."

Richards was moved to HMP Lowdham Grange on 24 February 2023

Ms Braybrook said she did not know her son had moved to Lowdham until after he arrived, adding Richards said he only learned of the transfer on 24 February that morning.

"He was very unhappy about being in Lowdham Grange because it didn't have a VPU and it was so far away," she said.

"I know you don't get to choose your prison, but to move all the way to Nottinghamshire seemed a bit off."

She said she spoke to her son on the morning of 13 March, and had no concerns at the time, but said he would have been worried about moving from an induction area to general prison because of his previous experiences.

When family liaison officers told her of his death, she said it was "a complete shock", with the media reaction "extremely traumatic".

The court heard a post-mortem examination found injuries consistent with hanging, while no alcohol or illicit drugs were found in his system.

Richards died a week after Anthony Binfield was found unresponsive in his cell, and 12 days before Rolandas Karbauskas died on 25 March.

Ms Braybrook also expressed anger at what happened at Lowdham Grange.

"I'm disgusted that three men were able to harm themselves in such a short space of time," she said.

"There are so many vulnerable people in prison, and more needs to be done to protect them."

The inquest will cover circumstances around the deaths of all three men, and a jury is expected to return a conclusion next year.

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