Murder accused Martley Matthew found dead at Leicester prison

Ashton Slatcher was left with a brain injury after he was stabbed in Green Lane Road on 24 August 2017

A man accused of murdering a man who was stabbed in a street has died in police custody, the Ministry of Justice confirmed.

Martley Matthew, 62, of Burleigh Drive, in Wigston, Leicestershire, was found dead at HMP Leicester on 24 June.

A post-mortem test has taken place, but the cause of death is not yet known.

Mr Matthew was charged with the murder of Ashton Slatcher, 43, who was attacked on 24 August 2017 and died in hospital 10 months later.

Mr Slatcher, from Leicester, who was stabbed on Green Lane Road in the city in 2017, was left with a brain injury and died last June.

The defendant, who denied murder, was due to start the first day of a trial at Leicester Crown Court earlier.

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A Prison Service spokesperson said: "HMP Leicester prisoner Martley Matthew died on 24 June 2019.

"As with all deaths in custody there will be an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman."

Leicestershire Police told the BBC: "The case has been discontinued following the defendant's death."