Murderer died in prison after row over loud music
A MAN who stabbed his ex-girlfriend while he was out on licence from a life sentence for murdering his wife, died in prison after a row with a fellow inmate.
Kenneth Milroy, 52, was jailed in 1995 for strangling his wife, Kathleen, and served nine years before being released on licence in March 2004.
Five months later, after his girlfriend Lynne Bell had dumped him via a text, he stabbed her in the back nine times as she lay sunbathing in the garden of her Lobley Hill home.
Ms Bell, a mother-of-three, heard her lungs pop and collapse as he stabbed her with the hunting knife.
Milroy, of Woolsingham Gardens, Gateshead, was again jailed for life after admitting wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
A new report has revealed the 67-year-old died of a heart attack following an argument with a fellow prisoner in HMP Northumberland.
He arrived at the Category C jail in March 2017 with high blood pressure and high cholesterol and was deemed to be obese. He accepted medication for his blood pressure, but he refused treatment to help lower his cholesterol.
On January 16 last year, Milroy complained of chest pains and said had been breathless all night.
He was examined by a nurse practitioner who diagnosed a chest infection and gave him antibiotics.
That afternoon Milroy suffered heavy chest pain along with feeling clammy and breathless while getting his blood pressure checked.
Staff called for an ambulance and paramedics checked Milroy over, but they found no reason to be concerned and advised he continue to be treated for the infection.
Eight days later, a nurse saw Milroy, who was complaining of a tight chest, and he was prescribed medication for indigestion.
The former welder was involved in an argument with another prisoner who he said was playing music too loudly just before midday on March 10 last year. Milroy told a prisoner custody officer (PCO) that he had “had enough” with the music. The officer told him he would speak to the other prisoner.
Milroy began walking back to his cell when the dispute with his fellow inmate flared up again. The PCO said the convicted killer was “very angry and physically shaking”.
Upon the return to his cell, Milroy suffered a heart attack. Staff and paramedics were unable to resuscitate him and he died at 1.11pm.
A Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigation found Milroy received healthcare of a reasonable standard and was equivalent to that he could have expected to receive in the community.
However, the report said: “The clinical reviewer had some concerns about how staff responded to Milroy’s chest pain in January 2020.
“She considered that it would have been useful for staff to have carried out a second electrocardiogram (ECG) and taken a blood sample when Mr Milroy experienced further chest pain on the afternoon of January 16. Staff did not carry out daily observations for four or five days afterwards as advised.
“Also, mistakes were made in the application of the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) tool.”
A total of four recommendations were made, including the head of healthcare ensuring staff adhere fully to advised plans of care.
Samantha Pariser, prison director for HMP Northumberland, said: “While we note the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman report states the standard of healthcare he received was of a reasonable standard and equivalent to what he could have expected to receive in the community, we would refer you to G4S, as they were the healthcare provider at the time.”
G4S did not respond to a request for comment.