Overview
- Tams died on 18 October 2025 at the young offender institution in Barnard Castle, County Durham, the Prison Service confirmed.
- No cause or circumstances have been released, and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been notified to investigate as standard for deaths in custody.
- He was one of three teenagers found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court in December of murdering 40-year-old Gary Belfield, having been 17 at the time of the attack.
- Tams received a life sentence with a minimum term of 26 years, while co-defendants Leandro Lopes and Kriesha Stroud were also convicted and publicly named after reporting restrictions were lifted in January.
- Belfield, a father of six originally from Manchester, was stabbed 11 times and died at the scene, and a second man in his 20s was seriously injured but later recovered, with Northumbria Police calling the case incredibly tragic and highlighting efforts to tackle knife crime.