Murderer who killed a foster mother dies in prison

A cocaine addict who murdered a foster mother and set fire to her home to destroy the evidence has died in prison.

Gareth Dack killed 79-year-old Norma Bell in Hartlepool in 2016. Throughout her life, Mrs Bell had fostered more than 50 children.

Dack was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 33 years and was imprisoned at HMP Frankland in County Durham.

The Prison Service confirmed Dack, 41, died in prison on Monday and said an investigation would be carried out by its ombudsman.

Dack had been found guilty of murder and arson, with the judge saying he had killed "a defenceless woman in cold blood".

At the time, Mrs Bell's family she had a "heart as big as a lion" and had dedicated her adult life to fostering.

Dack's death was in the same prison under scrutiny after Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi threw hot oil at officers and stabbed them with makeshift weapons on 12 April.

Abedi, 28, was jailed for life for helping his brother carry out the 2017 suicide bombing, which killed 22 people.

One officer remains in hospital in a stable condition, while two others have been discharged.

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