Overview

• Gareth Dack, 41, was found dead at HMP Frankland, a high-security prison in Durham, on April 21, 2025.
• Dack was serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 33 years for the 2016 murder of 79-year-old Norma Bell in her Hartlepool home.
• The murder involved brutal violence, including strangulation, desecration of the victim's belongings, and an attempted arson to destroy evidence.
• Norma Bell, a widowed grandmother and long-time foster carer, was remembered by her family as having a 'heart as big as a lion.'
• The Prison and Probation Ombudsman has launched a mandatory investigation into Dack’s death, as is standard for all deaths in custody.