BRONSON BRIDE TRAGEDY
Estranged wife of Britain’s most violent prisoner is found dead at her home after he finds a new love
The estranged wife of Britain’s most violent prisoners has been found dead at the age of 38.
Soap actress Paula Williamson – who married Charles Bronson behind bars in November 2017 – was found by her latest partner.
He called an ambulance to her home in Stoke-on-Trent after discovering she was not breathing, it was reported.
Miss Williamson, who was due to divorce Bronson, had played minor roles in Coronation Street and emmerdale. her death is not being treated as suspicious.
Bronson, 66 – who has spent more than 40 years behind bars – and Miss Williamson struck up a relationship as penpals. He proposed on Valentine’s Day 2017 by singing a version of the song My Way and they married in November that year at Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire.
Bronson was hand-cuffed to a warden for the duration of the bizarre twohour ceremony and the guests drank fizzy mineral water. Miss Williamson’s parents refused to attend and she flew to Malta on their honeymoon alone.
Because conjugal visits are not allowed, the marriage was never consumated and the relationship ended nine months later after Miss Williamson was pictured with another man on holiday.
She then appeared on Loose Women on ITV and broke down in tears when asked about the marriage. She had previously spoken of her struggles with depression, anxiety and borderline personality disorder.
Bronson, who has spent 44 years in jail for robbery and kidnap, is said to be ‘shocked and upset’ by Miss Williamson’s death. he is said to have spoken to his best man Rod harrison at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, where he is now held.
On Monday it was revealed he is to marry again after striking up a romance with a woman of 63 called Joan. It will be his fourth marriage.
‘My Joan comes from the same era and likes all the same things as me,’ he told The Sun. ‘We’re traditional and have the same style and attitudes. She’s stunning. There’s not a 33-year-old bird out there who’s fit to clean her shoes.’
In October last year, Miss Williamson revealed she checked herself into the £300-a-night Clouds house rehabilitation facility in Salisbury after attempting suicide. ‘I really hit rock bottom’, she said. She told the Daily Star Sunday: ‘I remember being at home and thinking, “what’s the point carrying on”.
‘I was getting so much abuse over Charlie… awful nasty messages from people who don’t know me, which I didn’t deserve. Plus, I was really hurting from being dumped and watching Charlie move on so easily.’
Before her wedding to Bronson she had declared: ‘I’m madly in love with Charlie and he’s madly in love with me. But even I can’t believe I’m marrying Britain’s most notorious prisoner. We just want to be a normal couple.’
But last July, Miss Williamson revealed that Bronson had filed for divorce after a photo of a man touching her on holiday emerged.
She broke down in tears on Loose Women saying: ‘I have got an alcohol problem, I’ve got a prescription drug problem. every single messed up thing I’ve done is through alcohol.’
A statement on the actress’s Twitter account yesterday read: ‘Paula’s Management can confirm Paula as Passed away. Thank you for all the messages Paula’s Family will be deeply Touched. (sic.)’
Staffordshire Police confirmed there will be a post mortem examination.
Miss Williamson played a nurse in three episodes of Coronation Street between 2008 and 2012. As well as emmerdale, she appeared in hollyoaks and in the 2011 drama, Appropriate Adult.
Bronson, who adopted the name of the hollywood star of the Deathwish movies – was first locked up for an armed robbery that netted him just £26, at the age of 22 in 1974. he has spent most of the years since then in jail.
In that time he has attacked more than 20 prison guards and other inmates, taken hostages in at least ten prison sieges and cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds in damage. he also served portions of his sentence in secure hospitals.
Finally, in 1999 he was handed a discretionary life sentence for kidnapping Phil Danielson, a prison art teacher, in 1999. Bronson kept him ‘leashed like a dog’ for almost two days after he criticised one of the convict’s drawings.
‘Fit to clean her shoes’