Inmate 'likely died hours before being found'

Craig Anderson was found in his cell in November 2022

Report from BBC Isle of Man.

An inmate who was found unresponsive in his prison cell had "likely" been dead for several hours, an inquest has heard.

Craig Anderson, 28, was declared dead shortly before 8am at the Isle of Man Prison on 25 November 2022, the day after he was sentenced to five years in jail.

A timeline of events leading up to Mr Anderson being found unresponsive said he had last had contact with a prisoner in a neighbouring cell sometime before 10pm the night before.

Douglas Courthouse also heard while Mr Anderson had expressed concerns about getting a long sentence, he had also seen it as "positive" to allow him time to work on his mental health.

The timeline, provided to pathologist James Lyness, said that on 24 November Mr Anderson had entered his cell at approximately 5:15pm, the time he was routinely locked in each night.

At 8:30pm senior prison officer Ciaran Ball had checked all the doors were locked, and between that time and 10pm Mr Anderson had communicated via the radiators with an inmate in the cell next door.

That inmate said he had then heard Mr Anderson's television on at full volume at about 3am.

The 28-year-old was found unresponsive shortly after 7:30am and, following resuscitation attempts, was pronounced dead half an hour later.

Dr Lyness said the cause of Mr Anderson's death was suffocation, and no one else had been in the cell that night.

A cell inspection found a brown tablet wrapped in foil, believed to be his prescribed medication Quetiapine, which is used as an anti-psychotic and mood stabiliser and can also be used as a sleeping tablet, the court was told.

Consultant psychiatrist in substance misuse for the Drug and Alcohol Team (Dat), Kirsten Wafer, said Mr Anderson had expressed concerns about "how he would cope with a lengthy sentence", but had also "seen it as a positive" as it would give him time to "work on his mental health".

She detailed about 10 years of engagement that Dat had had with Mr Anderson, along with support he had received from addiction charity Motiv8 and the community mental health team.

Mr Anderson was set to undertake dialectical behaviour therapy, a talking-based therapy which is carried out weekly over the period of a year, to help him with a mental health diagnosis he had received.

He was also due to be seen by criminal justice liaison officer for Dat Karen Pearson on the day he was found dead.

The inquest at Douglas Courthouse continues.