Colton murder accused attempted suicide before, inquest hears

A man found dead in his prison cell while awaiting trial for murder had tried to take his own life before, an inquest has heard.

Stuart Williamson, 56, had been charged with the 2018 killing of Diane Douglas, from Colton, near Norwich.

She was reported missing by family members on 21 October last year.

The Norwich inquest heard police had been called days later to an incident in which Mr Williamson had drunk vodka and walked into the sea.

Ms Douglas' decomposed body was found at Mr Williamson's home on 2 November 2021.

He was accused of murdering her between 1 and 31 December 2018, when she was aged 55 or 56.

Staff at HMP Norwich were aware that Mr Williamson, a former mental health nurse, had suffered mental health breakdowns in the three years prior to his stay.

His mental health care plan showed a history of suicide attempts and he had been taking sertraline, an antidepressant, the inquest heard.

From his arrival at HMP Norwich, he was assessed for the possibility of self-harming and suicide by prison staff, the coroner was told.

Nathan Holmes, one of the team responsible for assessing Mr Williamson's safety at the jail, said the attempted drowning incident had not been passed on to the prison.

Until 28 November 2021, Mr Williamson was on a review, known as ACT, to regularly monitor his safety against self-harm or suicide.

Mr Holmes carried out a final assessment on that date before deciding to end the ACT review.

The prisoner would continue to be monitored by wing staff for the next seven days and be seen by mental health teams.

Speaking to Mr Williamson during his final ACT assessment on 28 November, Mr Holmes said he was told by the prisoner that he had recently contacted his sister using the in-cell phone.

The pin-activated phone had been reported as not working by Mr Williamson on 22 November.

The inquest was told that during the assessment, he asked for a pin to be able to call his parents, but had not requested one for his partner.

Asked by the lawyer representing Mr Williamson's partner Louise Alder, if that might suggest a relationship breakdown, and cause for concern, the prison officer said "no".

The prison went into lockdown on 17 December 2021 and a series of care plans, purposeful activities and support to keep inmates occupied were implemented, the inquest was told.

Mr Williamson was found dead in his cell on 29 December.

The inquest is continuing.

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