Overview

• The Prison Service confirmed that Derek Brown, 64, died in hospital on 29 September 2025 while imprisoned at HMP Wakefield.
• Reports state he became unwell on 27 September in custody and died two days later after being taken to critical care.
• Brown was convicted on 6 October 2008 of murdering Xiao Mei Guo, 29, and Bonnie Barrett, 24, and received a minimum 30-year sentence.
• A search of his Rotherhithe flat found traces of both victims’ blood and items including a bow saw receipt, heavy-duty gloves, rubble sacks, and cleaning materials.
• The victims’ remains have never been recovered, and police previously suggested he sought notoriety by targeting women in London’s Whitechapel area.