Inquest Reveals Three Prisoner Deaths in One Month at Nottinghamshire Facility

An inquest has been informed that three inmates passed away in their cells within a single month at a correctional facility in Nottinghamshire. Anthony Binfield, Rolandas Karbauskas, and David Richards were identified as the individuals who died, all of whom were incarcerated at HMP Lowdham Grange and discovered deceased during March 2023. The jury at Nottingham Coroner’s Court was informed on Monday that HMP Lowdham Grange’s management had transitioned from the private contractor Serco to Sodexo in the month preceding these fatalities. This combined inquest concerning the three men is scheduled to continue hearing testimony through January. The jury learned that Binfield received his sentence in 2017 and was transferred to Lowdham Grange, designated as a Category B prison, in 2021. The 30-year-old inmate had come back to the facility in November 2022 following a brief period at Wandsworth, and he was discovered unresponsive in his cell around 22:20 GMT on 6 March of the subsequent year. Richards, aged 42, who had previously been incarcerated at Chelmsford before his arrival at Lowdham on 24 February 2023, was pronounced dead in his cell at approximately 14:10 on 13 March, merely days prior to his scheduled transfer from the prison’s induction area to a standard wing. One week subsequent to this, Karbauskas, 49, arrived at the institution, having been held at HMP Lincoln since March 2022; however, he was also discovered and pronounced dead by paramedics at 10:55 on 25 March. Laurinda Bower, the coroner presiding over the hearing, stated that all three fatalities were being investigated concurrently because of “similarities” observed in how and where the deaths occurred. She informed the court, “Anthony, David and Rolandas died while they were detained in state custody.” The coroner further stated, “Each of the deceased died as a result of ligature asphyxiation.” The court was apprised that the operational responsibility for the prison had shifted from Serco to Sodexo on 16 February, marking the inaugural instance of a UK prison transitioning between private contractors. In December of the previous year, the facility was brought under the direct control of the Ministry of Justice, which subsequently confirmed earlier this year that this arrangement would become permanent. Ms Bower informed the jurors that the inquest’s investigation would include an examination of the prison environment during the period when the deaths occurred.